trying to run function just once

The script I supplied is PHP.

Where or what is _init()
_init is a function that I got from the CI3 samples. It gets called from __construct() and I use it to set up env variables. I probably should move that type of stuff out of there to reduce delays. My plan was that once I get the code working I will go through and clean it up. . 

proof that an old dog can learn new tricks