SEPTEMBER 2021 `100 62

All-New
JOKES!

25 WAYS
TO KEEP YOUR

HEART
YOUNG
EXTRAORDINARY
TEACHERS
The King Of
His Classroom

DRAMA IN REAL LIFE

BONUS READ
Caught In A Swarm
The Day The World LIFE SKILLS
Came To Town Can We Still Be Friends?
Of Killer Bees
Features
38
Cover Story
HOW TO KEEP YOUR
HEART YOUNG
25 tips to keep cardio vascular disease
edited By AndreA Au Levitt
at bay. And
ishAni nAndi

48
drama in real life
A Thousand Stings
Killer bees swarm and attack a climber
on a
Reader
’s Digest

CONTENTS
70
64

Ranjitsinh Disale has

ledge. Can his j
Bought at auction, Fostering ducklings
buddy reach him n

A
was a joy, until it
in time? a vintage cookie tin was time to give
By nichoLAs r
them back. By oLiviA
stren
:

hune-Brown 58 s
opens a window into

70
e

a neighbour’s rich life

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r
inSpiration
u

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From Sir, With Love
s
and secreted heart.
i
c Winner of the 2020
my Story o Global Teacher
d

Prize,
t

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By KAren GrissinGer
A Life in Buttons
o
transformed lives with
sense and tech
h
n
P
i

h
heart sensibility. By
t

i Ping and Gaston shreevAtsA nevAtiA

 department of WIt 15
78 The Unkindest Cut
by rIchard Glover
BonuS read
The Day the World It happens
Came to Town only In IndIa
18 Netflix and
When thousands of
Chill and How
people were stranded
Hiss-terical
in Newfoundland,
by naorem anuja
locals rose to the
challenge. poInts to ponder 20
By jim defede Edward Snowden,
Salman Rushdie,
ReadeRsdigest.in 3 and Varun Grover
30
ReadeRsdigest.in 3
Reader
’s Digest

Better Living neWs from the

World
12 8 Over to You 30 Are We Still of medIcIne
Friends? 36 Easy Ways
Conversations by chrIstIna palassIo to Ease Zoom
health Fatigue, Singing
In my opInIon for the Brain and
34 House Calls
12 Let’s Talk by luc rInaldI Why Reschedule
About Sex a Mammogram
by dr tanaya narendra
u

X
 38
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e

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I t
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4 september 2021
Culturescape 102
s

IntervIeWWIth e

fIlmmaker
rakeysh
On the Cover
G

omprakash mehra
a

94 Taking Everyone
I

Along
y

by karIshma upadhyay studIo

107 Towards an
rd recommends 7
Indian Gay Image,
102 Films, Watchlist, Humour in Uniform
Lake Pichola,
Books and Music
Udaipur, 1983 28
revIeW by shreevatsa nevatIa All in a Day’s Work
106 Wrong Number me and my shelf 108 56
by jaI arjun sInGh
Payal Dhar’s Life’s Like That
Favourite Reads 62
As Kids See It
Brain Games 110 69
Brainteasers 112 Laugh Lines
Sudoku 98
113 Word Power Laughter, The Best
115 Quiz Medicine
116 Quotable Quotes
Humour
 cover Illustration by Valero Doval
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ReadeRsdigest.in 5
VOL. 62 NO. 9
SEPTEMBER 2021
Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie
Vice Chairperson Kalli Purie
Group Chief Executive Officer Dinesh Bhatia
Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa
Chief Executive Officer Manoj Sharma
editor Kai Jabir Friese senior associate editor Ishani Nandi
group creative editor Nilanjan Das features editor Naorem Anuja
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Nevatia editorial coordinator Jacob K.
 Eapen mumbai: senior gm (west) Jitendra Lad
bengaluru: gm Upendra Singh kolkata:
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associate art directors Chandramohan
BUSINESS
Jyoti, Praveen Kumar Singh
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6 september 2021
Reader
’s Digest

Humour in

UNIFORM
 “Could we move the pieces representing
ourselves a little farther away from the battle?”
opened amid all that ever seen!” the
/
sergeant shouted.
One of our jet figh h

t
After a few more
ters crashed during
wind. But our sergeant choice, unprintable
a sandstorm outside o

words, he deman
of Twentynine Palms
n

l
ded of the student,
Marine Base in Cali
major offered me “Now, what are you
fornia. Thankfully, no u

a
going to do about
one was injured. I was p

some advice. this situation?”

assigned to help clean m

“Tuttle,” he said, “the The student timidly

up the site by bagging
o
trick is to be smarter replied, “I’ll mention
it to my mother.”
c

.
than the bag.”
the debris. —Don Tuttle —Harold Stump
k

During an ROTC drill

My greatest chal Reader’s Digest will pay
t
in college, our
s
for your funny anecdote
n sergeant took
or photo in any of our hu
lenge was simply get umbrage with a mour sections. Post it to
fellow student’s
o

o
the editorial address, or
t
choice of footwear. email us at
ting the plastic bags “Those are the worst [email protected]
r

c
shoes that I have

ReadeRsdigest.in 7
Notes on the
OVER TO July issue

YOU
 face is that this is the most important
issue of the present era and needs
serious attention of political leaders
What Our Planet Needs Now across the globe. Each one of us
needs to contribute to save our planet
My compliments for this cover feature
or the quickly deteriorating state of our
which has highly informative pointers climate will ruin the whole world. Efforts
from renowned eco experts. Indeed, such as water, energy and electricity
there is a lot that everyone can do to
slow down the rapid march of deadly 8 september 2021
climate change. Perhaps the biggest conservation, forest restoration and
challenge we face is dwindling water mini mized use of gas-fu elled vehicles
availability. Wanton deforestation, on an individual, govern ment as well
extinction of species, waste handling as cor porate level must be undertaken
and reducing carbon emissions are all in earnest to secure our future
important, but water scarcity is generations. SANJAY CHOPRA,Mohali
undoubtedly on top of the list. It is a
life-sustaining resource that affects Good News: Food for Furry
health, hygiene, nutrition as well as Friends The story of Archie
agriculture and food production. I feel Sen’s efforts towards the feeding and
the experts did not touch upon the car ing of stray dogs is so inspiring.
critical need of water conservation May her example, and that of others
committed to this cause, serve as a
nearly enough! We must get in to
reminder to all of us to look beyond hu
mission mode and begin a nationwide
mans and serve other species on earth
drive to teach people to conserve
as much as our own.
water along with food and energy. —Vikramjit Singh,  Amritsar
—Krishan Kalra, Gurugram, Trustee,
The Climate Project Foundation The Man on the Rann Reading RD’s
‘Kind ness of Strangers’ stories can be
Krishan Kalra gets this month’s ‘Write & Win’ prize of
₹1,000. —EDs
emo tionally overwhelming in the way
That climate change is badly impacting they reaf firm our faith in hu man
our environ ment across the globe is a decency. It’s interesting how so
serious matter. The hard truth we must
honoured that passion, humanity and
confidence. He well fellowship.
understood the author’s —URVASHI JANI, Delhi
much in these inci
dilemma and the trust
dents depends on the
‘stranger’, and the re
she placed in him in a Science Must
vulnerable moment. Prevail The next
spect they have for the
Such experiences cata complex chal lenge in
trust and confidence
pults us into achieving maxi mum
placed by someone in
recognizing and vaccine coverage is
trouble. The man on
appreciating com rectifying vaccine
the motorcycle
 hesitancy. The BeSD engagement via radio, Changed History
(Behavioural and television and regional Such interesting anec
Social Drivers) model newspapers, getting lo dotes—a simple
put cal creators to get the gesture reviving
message out through diplomatic rela tions
music and art, helping between nations, a
ASHA workers and dirty plate resulting in
forward by WHO, which
midwives spread the discovery of a
emphasizes
credible healthcare life-saving vaccine,
‘motivation’ as the
facts to rural folks. It scribbles on a trashed
vanguard of hu man
is a dictate of paper turning into a
psychology, could be
science that people bestselling book.
adopted to counter
should Amazing how ordinary
misinformation and
misplaced beliefs, par
Reader events could well find
’s Digest a place in history.
ticularly in rural India.
Thinking local and Vasudevan, Bengaluru
observe COVID-appro
utilizing established
networks to create cul priate behaviour to pull Write in at
turally resonant mes through the pandemic. editor.india@ rd.com.
Let’s hope that wiser The best letters
sages is the need of discuss RD articles,
the hour to achieve counsel prevails.
offer criticism, share
vaccine saturation. —Pradeep Kumar, Surat ideas.
This could be through Do include your phone
community Accidents that number and postal address.

Keeping It in the Family

Can a magazine become a family heirloom?
As Reader’s
Digest approaches its 100th birthday in 2022,
we’re looking to
hear from folks for whom RD is something of a
hand-me-down,
passed along from parents or grandparents. Is
that you? And do
you think you might know the magazine’s oldest (or youngest!)
living subscriber? If RD has been special to you and yours since,
well, forever, send us your story at [email protected] and
get a chance to be published next year!

ReadeRsdigest.in 9
Reader
’s Digest
 ATIONS
CONVERS

Let’s Talk
About Sex Why we need

to rescue sexual health from taboo and misinformation

by Dr Tanaya Narendra
ignorant adults.

W
An example of this ignorance, one
hat?We that never fails to amuse and alarm
me about the state of sex-ed in our
have a sep coun try, is of a patient couple who
came to
arate place
to pee from! How my father, Dr Narendra Khoparzi, a
am I learning this fer tility specialist. The couple had
only now, at the age trouble conceiving for seven years.
of 32!” comments Despite a whole gamut of tests, no
GreenGurl1989 on one of my You reason could be found. Following a
Tube videos in which I explain the long, intimate discussion with the
anatomy of a vulva. GreenGurl1989 husband, my fa ther found (to his
is not alone. Sadly, a lot of women mirth and dismay) that the man had
are grossly unaware of their own been penetrating his wife’s navel
ana the whole time. I wish I was making
tomy. But, how did we get here?   this up! His logic: “Bacche toh pet
For the land of the Kama Sutra, In se aate hain, na!” (Children come
dia is astoundingly behind in sex ed from the stomach, right?) A perfectly
ucation. For centuries, we have healthy couple could not conceive
used art, literature, architecture, be cause they just didn’t know what
folklore to impart wisdom on the ins to do.
and outs of our bodies. Somewhere Fundamental knowledge about sex
though, we turned sex and ual health and sex is largely missing,
discussing it taboo. The result: We because these topics are often
are raising generations of sexually treated as shameful, and sexual
 pleasure is viewed as immoral. always come through the ‘G-spot’ or
Relegated to de bauchery, it is not that research suggests its very
surprising that com monplace facts existence may be a myth. Or that
are unknown to most. Few are condoms come in flavoured
aware that female orgasms do not varieties because they are

12 september 2021
the only contraceptive that protects Using porn as a substitute for formal
you from contracting sexually sex-ed also gives rise to high-risk
transmitted infections sex ual practices, with a double
(STIs)—including syphilis, whammy of proliferating body-image
gonorrhoea, chlamydia, hepatitis and self esteem issues. The result:
and HIV—via oral sex. It should be A whole gen eration of young people
under who are well aware about complex
lined that consensual, pleasurable geopolitics and climate issues
sex is key to good quality of life, and across the world, but
STIs are a serious public health clueless about their own bodies! A
concern. young person’s first encounter with
With over two million currently in menstruation need not be a shock
fected with HIV—a serious infection ing, scary experience, but it
whose transmission is preventable frequently becomes one because
with safe sex practices—India has they have no idea what is
the third largest HIV-positive happening with their bod ies. Puberty
population in the world. We have and menstruation are never
catastrophically low rates of condom discussed in a timely, open and
usage: According to the National factual way either at home or at
Family Health Survey 4, as much as school. Infor mation is therefore
78 per cent of young men report not sought from equally ignorant peers,
using a condom in their last sexual unreliable sources and possibly
encounter. This is due to a num sketchy internet articles. Not only
k
ber of myths such as that condoms re does this leave them with half baked,
c and often untrue, knowledge, there
duce pleasure, and they only help in is not always someone to clarify or
rectify misconceptions. Silenced,
o

shamed or reprimanded, young

s

r
preventing a pregnancy. More often people
e

t
ReadeRsdigest.in 13
u
than not, these myths are a result of the Reader
h

s
’s Digest
uninitiated using pornographic con
: rarely find safe spaces to ask
questions about issues they are
o

o
tent to educate themselves about sex. naturally curious about. Shrouding
h menstrual health in secrecy stems
p
 from traditions that view periods as Health Minister wanting to ban sex
being dirty and impure and treating education. Worries of encourag ing
menstruators as such. promiscuity, and tarnishing fam ily
Unscientific attitudes towards re values have been a huge deterrent.
productive and menstrual health spell Thankfully, the MHRD’s New Education
disaster: Women find it much harder Policy aims to include sex education in
to be taken seriously about their men its Adolescent Education programme.
strual health, both at home and in the But it’s not all dismal. With on line
doctor’s office. Did you know it takes, content consumption predicted to hit
on average, seven years for menstrua over 600 million consumers in India,
tors to be diagnosed with endometri social media is a great avenue to
osis—a serious condition that leads to provide this information. Be it per
crippling pain and possible fertility formance anxiety, gender identity,
problems? All because women are LGBTQ+ issues, the basics of sex, con
often told that cramps, no matter how sent or STIs, issues banned from living
debili tating, are just part of ‘being a rooms find place on social media and
woman’. online forums where doctors, NGOs
Male sexual health issues such as and brands work to share inclusive
premature ejaculation, penis size and and judgement-free sexual education
other performance issues don’t fare to vo racious viewers and readers. It’s
much better, fed as teens are with the a mini revolution happening on our
same unreliable and unrealistic on phones!
line content or hearsay. Without com We’ve have had sex for millennia.
prehensive sex education, woefully It’s time we recognize that the world,
lacking in India, our youth have little and especially young people, will con
chance to be functional adults capable tinue to have sex, so we are obligated
of responsible sexual choices. to provide accurate, inclusive informa
Lauded for its effectiveness, the tion that keeps them safe and healthy.
Netherlands introduces sex-ed to Here’s hoping we can say goodbye to
children as young as the age of four, belly-button blunders, and say hello to
with themes of intimacy and love better, healthier, more satisfying sex
being the focus. As a result, they lives in the future!
have the lowest rates of teenage
pregnancies and STIs across the Dr Tanaya Narendra, MBBS, MSc
developed world. Clearly, frank, open (Oxon) is a Fellow of the Royal
dialogue works better than shrouding Society For Public Health. She was
these important issues in secrecy. awarded Influencer of The Year 2020
by SH24 (NHS, UK) for her
14 september 2021 Instagram and YouTube channel
@Dr_Cuterus.

India, on the other hand, saw its own

Reader
’s Digest
 SMILE
The Unkindest

Cut By Richard Glover

In my case, it was spotting my wife

T here’s always a moment in the

life of any marriage when you

Jocasta’s search query: “How to cut a
man’s hair.”

ILLUSTRATION BY Nishant Choksi

come across something truly
shocking in your partner’s Google It’s true that, when we were in
search history, and wonder “is this lockdown, my hair was looking a little
what it has all come to?” wild. Tufts of fuzzy hair had sprouted
on the sides in a way that made me bowl of peanuts. Time things right
look like a toy-store koala. and you can usually be assured of
Worse, according to Jocasta, I resem receiving both.
bled my father. “Put you in a two-tone My hairdresser, Shane Henning, is
shirt with a white collar,” she said, the recipient of many industry
“and I really couldn’t pick the awards. He is a skilled
difference.” conversationalist, able to deliver
both bon mots about cultural and
ReadeRsdigest.in 15 political affairs as well as kindly
Reader observations about the state of
’s Digest one’s mane.

Three days later, a cardboard box 16 september 2021

arrived, containing a Home Haircut
Kit, whose set of clippers featured
‘Advanced Blade Geometry for a
There’salsoaratherdiv
quicker haircut’.
i n e scalp massage, delivered by
I turned the box over in my hand.
one of the younger staff members,
“I didn’t think speed was the main
to kick off proceedings.
thing when it came to professio nal
These reminiscences about my
hairdressing.”
tonsorial life, as enjoyed
Jocasta demurred. “It will be fine. I
pre-COVID-19 lockdown, are
know what I’m doing. I watched a
interrupted by Jocasta, who is in the
five minute video on YouTube.”
process of heaving a heavy wooden
chair into the middle of the back
lawn. “Sit on that,” she said, in a
“I’M NOT tone I don’t recall any staff members
RUNNING THAT using in the aforementioned salon.
Taking my seat, I inquired about
SORT OF both my scalp massage and the
SALON,” JOCASTA glass of chardonnay.
“I’m not running that sort of salon,”
SAID, AND SET Jocasta replied, turning on her
UPON MY HEAD clippers and giving the motor a rev.
She then set upon my head with
WITH THE the ferocity of a demented beaver,
FEROCITY OF A giant clumps of hair being detached
from my skull and falling like a
DEMENTED BEAVER. pepper-grey snowstorm. This went
on for about three minutes before
Normally, I attend a rather smart she stood back to admire her work.
hair salon, where one is offered a “Oh no, I’ve ruined it. I knew I
cup of tea and a biscuit up to about should have practised on a mop.” It’s
four p.m., and then, post-four p.m., a not a phrase I’ve ever encoun tered
glass of chilled chardonnay and a
 Shane employing, as it does tend to mentioned by Shane.”
dent the confidence of the client. “It’s Jocasta tentatively snipped off a
OK,” said Jocasta, “I’m pretty sure I few more locks before making the
can fix it.” wistful observation: “That Shane is a
She put down the electric clippers very kind human being.”
and picked up the scissors, operating She then moved her scissors
now at a slower pace. down wards. “You shouldn’t be too
She may have been trying to build worried about hair loss anyway.
my confidence because she began to There’s plenty of it growing out your
adopt a more professional tone. “Any ears.”
plans for the weekend?” she said. She started snipping away with
Reader
’s Digest
“Well,” I replied, “I was planning
on spending it at home, in isolation, some vigour. “Slow down,” I said, “I
with you.” wanted to look like George Clooney,
not Vincent van Gogh.”
“Yes,” replied Jocasta, as she
snipped around my ears. “I had very Jocasta, unusually, found this quite
similar plans myself.” amusing, laughing in a way that was
sending the scissors in all directions.
At this point, she was pressing
her body again mine as she reached By making the joke about Van Gogh,
to do the top of my head. It seemed I was about to become the author of
a bit intimate, sexy even. Maybe it my own misfortune.
was to make up for the lack of free I said: “Hang on, I wanted to be
chardonnay. served by Vidal Sassoon, not Edward
Scissorhands.” Luckily, Jocasta
“I won’t take too much off here,”
said Jocasta, rather spoiling the found this joke much less amusing,
mood, her laughter evaporating in a way
that facilitated a marked
improvement in her hairdressing.
SHE BEGAN SNIPPING Ten minutes later, she stepped
back from her work once more.
WITH SOME VIGOUR. “Actually, it’s amazing. It now looks
“SLOW DOWN,” I pretty good.”
She fetched a mirror and showed
SAID, “I WANT TO me the result. It really wasn’t too
LOOK LIKE GEORGE bad. I’d gone from backing singer for
CLOONEY, NOT VAN ZZ Top to Samson after his session
with Delilah.
GOGH.” Jocasta took a series of photos—
front, sides and back, like something
from a police arrest report—and sent
“as you seem to be thinning on top.” them to Shane. He emailed back
I turned to her, aghast. “Thinning on immediately and offered her a job at
top? That’s not something ever the salon.
 Shane says Jocasta’s hairdressing Sydney Morning Herald.
is superb. I just wonder whether she
needs work on her people skills. ReadeRsdigest.in 17
Also, a glass of chilled chardonnay
wouldn’t go amiss.

This column was first published in the

BJP flag and paraded
around as
It Happens

“All
the
best
Raju

Colour me orange
A noble steed rented beta”
out for an honest
day’s work, couldn’t
ONLY IN a conscripted
have known he would
end up in the INDIA mascot.
rights
Animal
groups,
papers—a poster boy including BJP MP
for animal rights! Maneka Gandhi’s
Hired to be part of NGO, People for Ani
Union Minister Jyoti mals, have
raditya Scindia’s Jan registered umbrage
Ashirwad Yatra, the against this act of
poor horse was given animal cruelty. We
a ghastly makeover— say its neigh time!
painted tip to toe in Source: news18.com
the colours of the
 tough day at work.
How Hiss-terical! The day was about to
Kishore Badra was hea get much more
ded home after what unfortunate.
can only be As he was walking
presumed— in light of along, Badra felt a
the events that sharp sensation in his
leg. Switching on his
torch light to check, he
dis covered much to
his chagrin that he had
been waylaid by a
three foot-long krait.
Enraged by the
venomous attack, our
hot-blooded protag
onist abandoned any

unfolded—was a
illustration by Raju Epuri
18 september 2021
prices of fuel, food and on Trinamool
everything in between? Congress leaders if
attempt to tend to Madhya Pradesh BJP they land at the
the serious injury leader Ramratan Payal Agartala air port; while
and sought instead a has a suggestion to the Shiv Sena
far less-trodden path ease our taut criticized some
of action. He grabbed purse-strings.
the reptile with both Questioned over rising
hands and repeatedly inflation, Payal let us BJP leaders and
bit the animal in know we can move to their language by
return, until it lay now Taliban-ruled Af likening them to
lifeless. We are happy ghanistan, as fuel is dirt “Talibans in Kabul”
to report that Badra is cheap there. He isn’t in their party
safe and well. alone in using the Tali
mouthpiece
Snakes, beware! ban as a point of refer Saamana over the
Source: Newsweek.com ence: Tripura BJP MLA recent row in volving
Arun Chandra Union Minister
Bhowmik asked Narayan Rane and
Tour de Taliban
supporters to launch his
Troubled by soaring
“Talibani-style attacks”
comments on Maha that came around for Netflix show Money
rashtra CM Uddhav refuelling. The offer Heist on the day of its
Thackeray. Joining this ran for two days and a release. This little
cacophony was total of 28 Neerajs treat, was awarded
another BJP MLA in were by the firm to its
Bihar, who suggested Reader employees for their
that “those who are ’s Digest hard work during the
feeling scared in India” pandemic, and to rein
head to Af ghanistan. able to enjoy the force the message
Looks like Pakistan spoils of the blood, that it was okay to
just lost favour among sweat and tears that take a break, every
our ruling classes as the athlete once in a while. Now,
the ‘anti-national’ put in through the that’s an idea
destination of choice. years, to lead him to we could wholehear
Source: indianexpress.com, his Olympic tedly get behind!
thequint.com, ndtv.com triumph. Source: Source: indiatoday.in
indiatoday.com
—COMPILED BY NAOREM ANUJA
Call me by your name
What’s in a name, you Netflix and chill
ask? Free petrol, if Jaipur-based IT-firm
your name is Neeraj. Verve Logic Reader’s Digest will pay
Cele brating Neeraj announced a ‘Netflix for contributions to this
Chopra’s historic and Chill Holi day’ column. Post your
Olympic gold, Ayyub allowing employees sugges tions with the
source to the editorial
Pathan, a petrol pump to stay home and address, or email:
owner in Bha ruch, binge watch the final [email protected]
Gujarat declared that season of the wildly
free fuel worth `501 to popular
ReadeRsdigest.in 19
all the name sakes

POINTS TO PONDER
Medals aside, isn’t it just amazing that something like
Olympics exist? So many journeys, ambitions,
heartbreaks—personal as well as of nations—intersecting in a
space of two weeks. For a brief moment the Earth, this
cosmic accident of a planet, feels like a shared home. Varun
Grover, stand-up comic and writer

When we’ve got these people who have practically

limitless powers within a society, if they get a pass
without so much as a slap on the wrist, what example
 does that set for the next
n

group of officials that come into power? To push the lines a i

c
i

little bit further, a little bit further, a little bit further, and .

we’ll realize that we’re no longer citizens—we’re subjects. a

Edward Snowden, NSA whistleblower and journalist m

The end product of education should be a free creative man, who can y

battle against historical circumstances and adversities of nature. a

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India

e

2021
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Varun Grover Edward Snowden 20 sePtember

Reader
’s Digest
 I’m trying to get to the bottom of why we associate
rising early with moral goodness. If I get up at 10 a.m. and
work till 2 in the morning, I’m lazy. If I get up at 5 a.m.
and work till 6 p.m. and go to bed at 8, I’m a good person. Is this
some k

o
kind of agrarian holdover, or what?
t

e
Rebecca Makkai, author
t

r
In the information age, the quantity of disinformation has
a

w
grown exponentially. If you seek the truth, beware. Maybe
i

m
you’ve come across the famous saying of President Abraham
a

o
Lincoln. ‘The Internet,’ Lincoln said, ‘is full of false quotations.’
h

r
Salman Rushdie, author
u

o
Who are your favorite heroines in real life? The women
t

t
of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who risk their lives and
t

their beauty to defy the foulness of theocracy.

h

Christopher Hitchens, novelist

e

Christopher Hitchens

ReadeRsdigest.in 21

Rebecca Makkai Salman Rushdie

 “Dan, you forgot to put on your out-of-office”

WORK
All While out walking
in a Day’s with my son, a
 m

doctor, I fell and cut philosopher player and as a physi

my hand. Real Jacques Derrida o

izing that the injury speak. The entire .

would require sutures, talk was about cian—jobs he knew

k

he voice-texted his cows; everyone c

nurse: “My mom has a was flummoxed but would appeal to some
bad cut. I’m on the lis tened carefully
t

way to the office to and took notes n

but not to others. So, as

sew her about … cows. o

There was a
o

28 september 2021 short break, and when reported in the Wash

r

up.” His ‘smart’ phone Derrida came back, a

he announced, “I’m
c

transcribed the last ington Post, Brown gave

part of his message: told it /

is pronounced
h

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the office to sober ‘chaos’.” — his future wife this ad o

up.” @pmgentry n

—Terry Kellen vice on how to describe

The late Bobby l

My professor once Brown had a

went to hear French enviable careers

both as a baseball
m
I

him to her parents: woman complained

“Tell your mother that I’m in medical
y

school studying to be a cardio logist. t

Tell your dad that I play for the that Van Bergen’s photo
G

Yankees.” —Patricia McLamara /

wasn’t as good as the

Before heading out to the office, I e

asked my eight-year-old daugh ter, e

“So, do I look OK?” first one she had taken.

Z

She looked me up and down before a

giving me the thumbs-up and

saying, “Not as bad “You must forgive me,”
r

as you did yesterday!” —Barb Lee e

t
)

D the photographer said.

e
n

Photographer Ruth Van

a
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(
“The last time I took
)

Bergen specialized in n

e
your picture, I was
o

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h

celebrity portraits. One

a
p

(
10 years younger.” ✦ She listed all of her ex-boyfriends
s who
currently worked there and said she
e

—GCFL.NET
G couldn’t wait to see the looks on their
a

m
faces when she showed up to work.
✦ “And what do you think you could
I

bring to this role?”

y

e
“Hire me and find out.”
G
We stopped the interview
Reader’s Digest will pay
/ then and there.
✦ See if you can decipher this
c

for your funny anecdote

a

r
applicant’s so-called mission
or photo in any of our statement: “Along with my detail
t

n
oriented and organizational skills,
humour sections. Post it I will bring encourage team to work
a

s
cooperatively and creativity to provide
to the editorial address, or an understanding the visual aspects of
o

k
our work.”
✦ “I see you managed a vegetarian
j

email: [email protected]
l

e
restaurant.” “What?”
Z
“It says here you managed a vegetarian
Reader restaurant.”
’s Digest “Oh, I guess I did write that. Not really,
When I sign an email ‘Yours’, it’s though. My girlfriend had an art
not a term of endearment. It exhibition, and I organized the
means this email is now yours. sandwiches for the opening. They were
vegetarian.”
I’m done
with it. Get it away from me.
— @kate_mckean

DON’T CALL US, WE’LL

CALL YOU
These hiring managers took to
reddit.com
to share the oddest job candidates
they’ve ever interviewed.
✦ “What about the job interests you?”
“What job do you mean?”
“This job, the job you applied for ...”
“What job is this again? What do
you do here?”
ReadeRsdigest.in 29
30 september 2021

BETTER LIVING
 ll
We How to
have a

Ar difficult
conversation
without

e losing your
cool

Sti
Friends
 ?
BY Christina Palassio
ILLUSTRATION by Nicole Xu
had concerns about its safety. “Are
you open to a discussion?” she
asked.
TEN YEARS AGO, a very pregnant
At the time, the two women were
Carly Stasko and her husband,
still building their relationship, and
Trevor, were living in Toronto and
while they got along, they had
preparing to welcome their first
some differences in their world
child. Then, about a month before
views.
her due date, Stasko received an
email from her mother
in-law, Lynnette Norris. Stasko had ReadeRsdigest.in 31
planned a home birth, but Norris
Reader
’s Digest
not to step on each other’s toes and
“I thought, this issue is either going how not to stay wallflowers.”
to be a wedge,” says Stasko, now Many challenging conversations
43, “or it’s going to be something don’t go as well as this one. It can be
that brings us together.” Stasko intimidating to broach difficult topics
agreed to the call. with people we care about. Fears
In the end, the conversation didn’t about how the other person will
change either woman’s opinion, but respond or about damaging a
a respectful approach allowed each relationship can keep important
to feel heard and valued. And by the conversations out of reach. But
time Stasko had a successful home don’t despair. If there’s someone in
birth shortly after, the issue no your life you’re truly interested in
longer felt so divisive. Today, Stasko having constructive dialogue with,
and Norris say that first big there are a few approaches that can
discussion helped them build a help.
foundation of trust and avoid a
legacy of resentment. “It’s like a Preparation is Key
dance,” says Stasko. “We learnt how To start important conversations on
 the right foot, ask yourself what you solution.”
want to achieve—and what’s
realistic. When we feel strongly
about some
“IT’S NOT ABOUT
thing, we often decide we’re going RESOLVING THE
to change someone’s mind. But is it CONFLICT THE WAY
really possible? Having a chance to
talk about an issue that matters to YOU WANT. IT’S ABOUT
you, or to learn more about COMPROMISE.”
someone’s
position, might be more realistic
goals. Next, set boundaries for the Shawcross has worked with
conver sation, commit to respecting people to resolve issues related to
them and then enter into the parking and barking dogs, as well
conversation with goodwill. Jackie as situations where neighbours’
Shawcross is a volun teer mediator opposing values made it hard for
with Community Media tion Calgary them to peacefully coexist. As a
Society, an organization with a mediator, she helps to identify the
28-year history of helping neigh assumptions and biases that are
bours who feel like they’re stuck in getting in the way of moving
dis agreements. She defines forward. An ideal outcome is one in
goodwill as a true intention to have a which a person shifts from saying
conversation or resolve a conflict. “You’re a horrible neighbour,” to
“It’s important to remember that it under standing where that person is
isn’t about resolving conflict the way coming from and what motivates
you want,” she says. “It’s about them.
being willing to compromise to find a

32 september 2021
curiosity. “When we’re talking about
an issue that’s emotionally,
ideologically or politically charged,
To do that, she adds, it’s vital that
we tend to instinctively approach it
peo ple agree on the best way to talk
as if we’re soldiers on a battlefield,
about the issue at hand. In both her
where our motivation is to defend
mediation work and her personal
our pre-existing beliefs or what we
relationships, Shawcross uses what
want to be true,” says Julia Galef,
she calls the CHAT method: check in,
author of The Scout Mindset: Why
have an agenda, arrange a time to
Some People See Things Clearly
talk, and talk.
and Others Don’t.
To stoke your curiosity, she says,
Be Curious think like a scout. Unlike the soldier,
Too often we bring defensiveness or
the scout’s goal isn’t to attack or
aggression to important
defend. Instead, it’s to see the
conversations instead of genuine
landscape as clearly and factually
as possible. It’s not an easy task, but it may
In her book, Galef gives people help you keep the conversation
examples of how to reframe focused and stop it from devolving
judgment and defensiveness as into a personal attack. Still,
curiosity about another person’s sometimes, no matter how hard you
perspective. For starters, ask try, a civil conversation just isn’t in
genuine questions and listen to the the cards. Difficult talks can be
answers instead of for emotionally and even physically
mulating your rebuttal. Follow by drain ing. If you’re speaking with
being open to learning new informa someone who isn’t showing
tion that might shift your perspective goodwill or isn’t listening, it may be
or help you discover why someone time to move on and protect
believes what they believe. yourself so you have the energy to
Better Livinghave the discussions that will really
make a difference.
Reset and Move On ReadeRsdigest.in 33
Even the best-planned
conversations can go sideways. If
you’re in a conversa tion that’s
becoming more aggressive or
polarized, reset. One technique
Galef uses is to visualize herself
HEALTH
and the per son she’s talking to as
two explorers standing shoulder to
shoulder, looking out at the same
landscape. This mental exercise When done right,
helps her to remind herself that she
is trying to work with the other
virtual appointments
person to understand the issue. If can benefit everyone
your conversation is being derailed
by someone spouting a barrage of
half-truths or falsehoods, try serving
up what linguist George Lakoff calls
House Calls
a “truth sandwich”—the act of using
fact to counter falsehood. To do so,
begin your response with a factual by Luc Rinaldi
statement and cite your source and
why you trust it. Then indicate the

L
falsehood that’s been shared and
what is factually false about it. Then ast year, Covid-19 forced many
go back to your truthful statement
and try to continue the con versation aspects of our lives online, and
from there. medicine was no exception. We
 had to avoid non-essential outings, on pa tients, monitor new
including some visits to hospitals symptoms and discuss side
and doctors’ offices. So, patients effects of medication. Dia betes is
swapped in-person appointments also a good fit: people can
for phone and video chats. Google electronically share their
searches on blood-sugar levels, dosing and
the telehealth approach spiked. other information for a nurse to
Virtual visits are well-suited to review.
many medical tasks, including Mental-health counselling is
simple ones like refilling easy to access virtually, too,
prescriptions, as well as though it comes with pros and
diagnosing and treating condi tions cons. Therapists may not be able
that rely on a doctor’s sense of to see body language, which can
sight—pink eye, rashes, varicose sometimes be a clue to un r

veins—or a patient’s description of e

symptoms, such as back pain and e

sore throat. Telehealth also excels derstanding a client’s well-being. On M

at moni toring chronic conditions, e

such as congestive heart failure, the other hand, some patients like it
where
n

better—as do many providers, says

34 septeMber 2021 p

Annette Totten, an associate professor D

at Oregon Health and Science Univer o

sity in the United States who has stud r

ied telehealth extensively. “Some even u

say having that extra bit of distance

makes people more honest and less
stressed to talk about difficult topics.”
When done right, Totten’s research
shows, telehealth benefits health-care
providers and patients. It can signifi
cantly reduce hospital admissions,
doctors don’t need to provide a which frees beds for people in need of
new diagnosis but rather check up
critical care—which has been an you’re not going to get through tele
especially crucial factor during the health.” For example, doctors
pandemic. And it’s more convenient regularly use their hands to examine
for patients. Says Michelle Greiver, a potential tumours, hernias and
family doctor in Toronto whose entire fractures.
practice shifted to telehealth when the For maternal health, expectant
pandemic hit, “They don’t have to mothers still need to make the trip to
take time off work or travel to visit our the obstetrician. The same is true
office.” after birth, since babies can’t
To ensure visits go smoothly, Totten communicate their health concerns
recommends going into appointments and regularly need immunizations.
with a list of questions and to ask for And of course urgent health
written instructions about next steps. matters—for example, a broken
Patients can avoid wasting precious bone, prolonged shortness of breath,
minutes during their appointments by symptoms of a heart attack or stroke,
ensuring beforehand that their inter etc.—should still push patients to the
net connection is working and that emergency room.
they have all the necessary software Griever expects the rise in tele
and hardware. health use to last well past the end of
Of course, sometimes telehealth just the pandemic. At her family clinic, she
Reader says, almost all of what needs to be
’s Digest done can be taken care of by phone.
“I don’t think we will go back to as
doesn’t cut it. “Diagnosis is an art, and many in-person visits as before. It’s
doctors take in information from lots just not needed to provide the best
of places,” says Totten. “There are possible care.”
things that involve touch or smell that

Secrets of the Keyboard

The longest word you can type using only the top row of a standard
QWERTY keyboard is the 11-letter ‘rupturewort’, though ‘proprietor’,
‘perpetuity’, ‘repertoire’ and ‘typewriter’ are among the more common—
and only slightly shorter—words. The longest common word you can type
using only the middle row is the 10-letter ‘alfalfas’. But the bottom row
contains no vowels, which leaves only ‘zzz’ and ‘mmm’—if you even
count those.
QUORA.COM AND S H E E P. H O R S E

ReadeRsdigest.in 35
 golfers were
“definitely” likely to continue the
ac tivity after the study’s end,
compared to 33 per cent of the
tai chi group.

36 september 2021
Hypertension or
News From the Menopause?
WORLD OF For young women,

MEDICINE
oestrogen helps regu
late blood pressure. But during and after
meno pause, oestrogen levels go down
and hyperten sion risk (high blood
PARKINSON’S pressure) goes up. Con fusing matters is
the fact that some menopausal
PATIENTS SHOULD symptoms—chest pain, hot flashes,
sleep distur bances, palpitations,
HIT THE LINKS headaches and tired
ness—are identical to
Exercise is one of the most red flags for hyperten
powerful treat ments for people sion. For this reason,
with Parkinson’s disease, but a lotthe European Society of Cardiology
recommends monitoring your blood
of patients don’t do it. In an effort pressure during meno pause to make
to identify an activity that’s sure you don’t overlook any im portant
beneficial and already popular, symptoms.
k

research presented at the

c

American Academy of Neurology s

com pared tai chi—which can help e

improve balance and prevent t

falls—to golf, a favourite sport of

h

many people over 55. Within 10 :

weeks, the Parkinson’s patients

o

assigned to play golf saw balance h

and walking ability improve. Just l

as impor tantly, 86 per cent of

l

Reader
’s Digest
 it can be unhealthy to see your own
EASE ZOOM face for such long stretches of time.
That’s because seeing your image
FATIGUE WITH makes it hard to resist evaluating
yourself, which is stressful and often
THESE TIPS lowers your mood. The fix for this one
is simple: Once you’ve made sure
you’re framed properly, hide the self
Even though the worst of the view window and focus
pandemic seems to be behind us, instead on others in
videoconferencing apps such as the meeting and the
Zoom will probably remain in our topic of discussion.
lives. Unfortunately, communicating
Singing for
this way tends to leave people feeling
worn out, and a Stanford University the Brain
paper has pinpointed some of the
surprising reasons why. Lifting your voice in a choir has
For one, videoconferencing shows cognitive benefits, according to a
you close-up views of people’s Finnish study that found better verbal
faces—people who all appear to be fluency in elderly singers compared
making prolonged direct eye contact to non-singers. This makes sense,
with you because they’re looking at since it’s a hobby that re quires
their screens. During in person regulation of attention, versatile
interactions, this kind of body information process ing, linguistic out
language is usually reserved for put, learning and memorization.
either intimate relationships or
conflict. Although your conscious Reschedule Your Mammogram
mind knows it’s just a business
meeting or a friendly chat, another If you’ve missed a routine breast
part of you may still instinctively find cancer screening appoint ment
those non verbal signals unnerving. because of the pandemic, schedule
To reduce this source of strain, switchone sooner rather than later. In a
to audio-only mode for a while or study of Swedish women, those
simply shrink the application’s window who’d attended their last two mam
so people’s heads don’t appear so mograms before a breast cancer
large and close. diagno sis were 29 per cent less
Most videoconferencing software also likely to die than those who’d made it
shows you your own video feed, and to only one of them.

ReadeRsdigest.in 37
COVER STORY
How to Keep
Your

HEART
YOUNG
Exercise and proper diet are a
good start. But these
cardiologist approved tips offer
surprisingly
helpful additions to any routine

From thehealthy.com
Edited by Andrea Au Levitt
additions by Ishani Nandi

Given our current health crisis, it’s easy to forget that

COVID-19 is not the leading cause of death in the world.
That distinction belongs to heart disease, which killed
more than nine million adults in 2019 and represents 16
per cent of all deaths globally according to the WHO.
Over six million of these deaths occurred in people
between the ages of 30 and 70 and the highest incidents
occurred in China, followed by India, Russia and the US.
Research shows that COVID-19 itself may harm the
heart, by either hindering the flow of oxygen or initiating
 a potentially damaging immune response. Clearly, it is
more important than ever to take control of your
cardiovascular health no matter your age: These 25 facts
are a perfect place to begin any heart-health education.

38 september 2021
Reader
’s Digest
 Illustrations by Valero Doval

ReadeRsdigest.in 39

Reader
’s Digest
 going through changes and is not

1
bouncing back as it once did, stress
and anxiety can start to become
Get screened early
quite significant issues,” she
explains. “Learning solid coping
The US Preventive Services Task skills,
Force recommends that everyone
over age 18 get regularly screened
40 september 2021
for hypertension, or high blood
pressure. According to results of a
2019 survey
conducted by the Cardiological Soci stress management, mindfulness,
ety of India, almost one in every and healthy outlets can truly impact
three Indian adults are each and every area of your
hypertensive. And a study in PLOS functioning.” Stress relief can come
Medicine revealed that less than 45 in many forms. Try taking a deep
per cent remain undiag nosed. “Your breath; giving your
blood pressure can be high without self a mini-massage by massaging
showing any symptoms— that’s why the palm of one hand with the
it’s known as ‘the silent killer’,” says thumb of the other; reciting a
Nieca Goldberg, MD, a car diologist mantra, such as “I’ve got this” or “I
and the medical director for the feel calm”; breath
Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s ing the scent of lavender,
Health at New York University’s Lan peppermint or rose; taking a walk;
gone Medical Center. You should or simply spac ing out for a few
also get a lipoprotein profile, which minutes.
mea sures your LDL (bad)

3
cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol
and total cholesterol. Left Pay attention to your shoes
untreated, high blood pressure and
high cholesterol can lead to heart Oedema, the buildup of excess fluid
dis ease, an aneurysm or even a in the body’s tissues, can be the
stroke. result of congestive heart failure.
When your heart doesn’t pump

2 Manage stress and anxiety

Stress plays a role in 77 per cent of

blood as effectively as it should, the
blood instead collects and causes
swelling, most commonly in the feet
and legs. “People may notice their
all health concerns, including shoes feel tight or their socks make
digestive trouble, an inability to lose lines on their ankles,” says Gregg
weight and heart disease, says Nikki Fonarow, MD, in
Martinez, PsyD, an adjunct psychol terim chief of the University of Califor
ogy instructor at Southern New nia, Los Angeles, division of
Hamp shire University. “When you cardiology.
reach an age where your body is
 tion approved the Barostim Neo Sys

4
tem as a “breakthrough device” that
Watch the cleaning chemicals gives patients who don’t benefit from
standard treatments an option to re
duce their symptoms and improve
Many cleaning products—even
their quality of life. It’s easily inserted
some ‘green’ ones—contain
under the collarbone.
chemicals that have been linked to
strokes and high blood pressure.
When possible, clean your house
with items you’d cook with, such as
white vinegar, lemon, baking soda
and cornstarch.
7 ... and medications that

can multitask
As an adult, having type 2 diabe tes

5
increases your risk of dying from
Toss your plastic containers heart disease as much as fourfold, re
ports the American Heart
Association (AHA). If you have been
Chemicals commonly found in
diagnosed with the condition, ask
plastic water bottles and food
your doctor about diabetes drugs
that also have heart-protective
properties, includ ing empagliflozin
containers, such as bisphenol A (Jardiance), dula glutide (Trulicity)
(BPA) and phthalates, leach into the and semaglutide
con tents of these containers. More Cover Story
than 50 medical papers link
phthalates to car diovascular issues.
Use glass, ceramic or stainless steel
containers instead. Or look at the
recycling code on the bot tom of any
plastic container; if it is a 3 or 7, it
may contain BPA or phthalates.

6 Ask about new devices ...

Experts believe that 40 per cent of

the world’s 2.6 crore cases of heart
failure—a life-threatening chronic
con dition in which the heart is too
weak to properly pump the blood
and oxygen the body needs—occur
in India. For these patients, there’s
new hope: In
2019, the Food and Drug Administra
 ReadeRsdigest.in 41
Reader
’s Digest

9 Vegetarians, be aware that

you are not immune

“There’s a lot of hype around
plant-based diets, and with good
reason. Eating a diet low in animal
sources of protein and fat and high
in produce has been linked to lower
risks of cardiovascular disease,”
says Erin D. Michos, MD, associate
direc tor of preventive cardiology at
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
“But not all meatless diets are
healthy. You can avoid meat and
still load up on refined grains,
simple starchy carbs, sugary
beverages and dairy—thereby
(Ozempic). “These reduce the likeli increasing your risk of disease,
hood of a heart attack, a stroke, including heart disease.”
heart failure and even kidney

10
disease,” says Eduardo Sanchez,
MD, chief medical officer for
prevention at the AHA. Ladies, take note if

8
you had a preterm
pregnancy ...
Mind the salt, whatever your
Women who undergo spontaneous
preterm delivery (before 37 weeks)
blood pressure may have a greater likelihood of
“Even for people who don’t heart disease, according to a Dutch
have high blood pressure, less study. Moms of preemies had a 38
sodium will significantly blunt the per cent higher risk of coronary
rise in blood pressure that occurs artery disease, a 71 per cent higher
as we age,” says Goldberg. “As an risk of stroke, and more than
important bonus, it will also reduce double the risk of overall heart
the risk of developing other disease. Researchers say these
conditions, like kidney disease, women may be prone to
which are also associated with inflammation, which is linked to
eating too much sodium.” preterm delivery and common
 among heart disease patients. diabetes,” says car diologist Kavitha
Chinnaiyan, MD, director of cardiac

11
imaging research and an associate
... or experience lower professor of medi cine at Oakland
University Beaumont School of
Medicine. Research at the
oestrogen levels ...
University of Alabama, Birmingham,
Oestrogen is essential for the
found that women who enter meno
maintenance of many of the body’s
pause early (before age 46) may
systems, including reproductive have

42 september 2021

double the risk for a heart attack or

stroke, Woman’s Day reported. “Ex
health, bone development, mood perts suspect that if you stop ovulat
management and heart health. ing prematurely, this may be a sign
When menopause hits—at age 51, of blood vessel disease, and you
on av erage—oestrogen takes a may need extra screenings,”
nosedive. “Those changes result in according to the magazine.
the develop ment of risk factors for
heart disease, including high blood
pressure, high cholesterol and
 back pressure or extreme fatigue,

12
all of which can eas ily be mistaken
... or passed a stress test for other issues.

but still have chest pain

Heart attack symptoms can present
differently in women be cause
13 Men: Have a beer

A study published in the Jour

there’s a difference in plaque
buildup and blockage patterns be nal of Agricultural and Food
tween men and women, according Chemistry found that men who
to cardiologist C. Noel Bairey Merz, drank one beer a day for one month
Cover Story lowered their cholesterol levels,
increased their blood levels of
heart-healthy antioxidants, and
MD, director of the Women’s Heart
Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart reduced their levels of fibrinogen, a
Institute. Whereas men often have protein that contrib
plaque buildup in the major arteries utes to blood clots. Red wine might
around the heart, in women it is the be even better; some studies
smaller coronary blood vessels that suggest that resveratrol, an
cease to constrict and dilate prop antioxidant found in the skin of
erly, creating the lack of blood flow grapes used to make red wine, can
and oxygen to the heart, Bairey reduce cholesterol and lower blood
Merz says. Thus, women can have pressure. That being said, research
normal angiograms and stress tests clearly shows that too much alcohol
even if they have heart disease, can lead to heart failure, not to
leading doc mention liver damage, obesity and
some types of cancer. So whether
tors to dismiss even classic
symptoms such as chest pain and you
shortness of breath. Women may
also experi ence dizziness, ReadeRsdigest.in 43
light-headedness or fainting, upper
Reader
’s Digest

choose beer or wine, keep it to just one or two drinks a

day.

14 Open the windows

in your house ...

The air inside your home
might be even more polluted than the air in the world’s
dirtiest cities. There are dozens of possible sources, in
cluding hair spray, candles or fumes from the nonstick
coating on your cookware. While any of these might be
harmless in small amounts, the caustic brew they create
when mixed together can turn up inflammation, raise
blood pressure and harden arteries. Open windows and
use a fan to circulate the air and reduce indoor pollution
levels.

15
in the car
... but keep them closed

This reduces your exposure

to airborne pollutants. A Harvard University study found
that exposure reduces something called heart rate
variability (HRV), or the ability of your heart to respond
to various activities and stresses. Reduced HRV has
been associated with increased deaths among heart
attack survivors as well as the general population.

16
disasters
... and beware of natural

A hurricane or earthquake
in your region affects you not only m e nt a l ly a n d e m
o t i o na l ly bu t physically as well. Researchers

44 september 2021
 at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans studied the
number of patients suffering heart attacks in the years
after Hurricane Katrina hit the area in 2005. They found
a threefold increase in the 10 years after Katrina
compared with the numbers in 2003 and 2004. Patients
were also more likely to have heart attack risk factors
after the hurricane, including high blood pressure,
coronary artery disease and diabetes.
more prone to waking up during the
night and less likely to get the deep

17
sleep your heart needs to function
properly. Women also have to battle
Prioritize sleep the symp
toms of perimenopause and meno
A sound snooze is good for your pause—hot flashes are notorious for
heart, but as you age, your brain wrecking slumber. “Shorter sleep
and neurons begin to change and duration and poorer quality of sleep
your ‘sleep architecture’ suffers, seem to be associated with
reports the National Sleep increased stiffness of the arteries
Foundation. That means you’re and increased cholesterol plaque,
 especially in the carotid arteries,” women, especially as the risk of
says staff cardiologist Christine heart and other diseases begins to
Jellis, MD, PhD, of the Miller Family climb in our 40s.
Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic

20
Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. A
few classic tips for a better night’s Limit weekend binges
sleep: Avoid afternoon naps and
caffeine within six hours of your
Watching what you eat is
bedtime.
important, but research
suggests that when you eat might

18 Urinate when you

feel the urge

affect your health too. We tend to
dine at consistent times during the
workweek, but on the weekend, s l
e e p i n g i n , l at e d i n n e r s a n
Research at Taiwan Univer d impromptu brunches disrupt our
sity found that a full bladder causes usual meal patterns. The problem:
your heart to beat faster and puts Departing from our typical calorie
added stress on coronary arteries, schedule by as little as 10 per cent
triggering them to contract, which can lead to increases in blood
could lead to a heart attack in people pressure, waist size and
who are vulnerable. body-mass index, according to a
new study at Columbia University

19
of 116 women ages 20 to 64.
Get the right minerals Researchers believe that
disruptions to the circadian rhythms
of our heart and other organs are
Potassium and magne
to blame.
sium are among the most
Cover Story

important. Potassium helps keep

our cells, tissues and organs’
21 Get some sun

Low levels of vitamin D have

electrical system working properly.
Magnesium helps protect against been linked to heart disease,
heart attack risks, strengthens cancer, diabetes, obesity and even
muscles and tissues and lowers COVID-19, and the risk for many of
blood pressure. If you notice your these tends to increase with
heart skipping a beat, your doc tor advancing
may want to test your mineral lev
els. Calcium supplements may also ReadeRsdigest.in 45
be necessary, for both men and
Reader
’s Digest
Reader
’s Digest
 22. HEALTHY EATING = HEALTHY
HEART
Doctors have long touted the link between diet and a heart
health: Get lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains
and lean dairy; reduce processed foods and saturated fats.
That advice hasn’t changed. But here are some new
findings worth special attention.
thumbs-up to
Yoghurt Some Cumin This spice that mushrooms for anti
yoghurts, and spreads is often used in curry inflammatory and anti
such as margarines, dishes has also been oxidant benefits.
contain added plant found to have
sterols and stanols. powerful effects on Vitamin C Studies
According to Heart heart health. sug gest that diets
UK, a serving of one A study published in high in vitamin C
such product a day the journal may reduce
over three weeks can Complementary your risk of stroke,
reduce blood levels of Therapies in Clinical espe cially if you
LDL cholesterol by up Practice found that smoke, and
to 10 per cent. Plant over weight or obese oranges are one of
sterols and stanols are women who the best sources.
absorbed from the in consumed just half a Strawber ries,
teaspoon of this brussels sprouts,
spice daily broccoli and red bell
reduced their LDL peppers are also
cholesterol and excel lent sources.
trigly Kiwi is a
cerides—and heart-health
raised their standout, too; it’s
levels of good rich in vitamins C
HDL cholesterol and E and the miner
too. als potassium, mag
nesium, copper and
Mushrooms A phosphorous.
testines into the blood recent scientific
stream and block review pub lished in Chocolate A little
some cholesterol from the Journal of the dark chocolate (at
being absorbed, American College of least 75 per cent
which lowers the Cardiology analyzed cocoa; 85 per cent is
cholesterol in how popular foods best) can be
your blood. help your heart. The heart-healthy. It is rich
authors gave a big in healthful flavonoids,
particularly those that can Heart Association. insulin resistance and
can help lower the risk What’s more, high blood pressure in
of heart disease, ac chocolate or cocoa adults.
cording to the Ameri may lower the risk of
Cover Story

age. Sunlight stimulates your

body’s
production of vitamin D; you
can
also get vitamin D from food
and
supplements.

23 Don’t let your

heart harden

Starting at around
age 50,
the heart muscle
begins
to stiffen, making it tougher
for it to
pump blood efficiently
throughout the
body. The medical term for
this phe
nomenon is ‘diastolic dysfunction’:
The muscle isn’t able to relax after
each beat, increasing wear and tear.
For women, hormonal changes can
make matters worse. “When oestro
gen levels decline, women often de
velop stiffening of the heart muscle,”
says integrative cardiologist Regina
Druz, MD, of the Integrative Cardiol
ogy Center of Long Island, New York.
Regular exercise and a balanced diet
can help. Don’t delay consulting your
doctor if you have any of the hall
mark symptoms: shortness of coughing up pink and foamy mucus
breath, fatigue, rapid heartbeat, or swelling in the legs, ankles and
feet. cycling, playing tennis or jumping
rope, at least five days a week.

24 Be active ...

People who spend a lot of

25 ... and be kind

time being sedentary are 73 A study found that those

per cent more likely to develop meta who spent money on other
bolic syndrome, a cluster of people had lower blood pressure
problems that raise heart disease than those who spent money on
risk. “Aerobic exercise and themselves. To double your
resistance training are the most benefits, do something physically
important for heart health,” says active on behalf of someone else:
Johns Hopkins exercise physiolo While you’re out shoveling snow,
gist Kerry J. Stewart, Ed.D. Spend at clear your neighbor’s walkway too.
least 30 minutes a day engaged in
any heart-pumping activity, such as ReadeRsdigest.in 47
brisk walking, running, swimming,

Swarmed by killer
bees, their toxins

A
coursing through his
bloodstream, a rock
climber passes out on
a ledge 130 feet up.
DRAMA IN REAL Can his buddy reach
LIFE him in time?

THOUSAN
 D
By Nicholas Hune-Brown
illustration by Steven P. Hughes

48 september 2021
Reader
’s DigestReadeRsdigest.in 49
Reader
’s Digest

The rock hills of Hueco Tanks rise

dramatically above the scrubby
Chihuahuan Desert in West Texas,
four masses of weathered, craggy
rock that have long been a
climbing paradise.
Afghanistan for three months to fly
Doug April was just finishing a six reconnaissance missions as a
month stint as a camp host at Hueco private military contractor. He
Tanks State Park, living by himself in wanted to make
an RV. The lanky 46-year-old was the most of his last days of climbing.
divorced with three kids, the At around 8 a.m., April’s climbing
youngest in high school. He had partner, Ian Cappelle, pulled up to
served two tours of duty in Iraq, the campsite. The 38-year-old
where he saw plenty that was hard geologist had moved to El Paso
to forget. Through it all, climbing had with his wife five years earlier. Burly
been a refuge. Out on the rock, he and bearded, Cappelle met April
could turn off his buzzing mind and while out climbing just after he’d
just focus on what was in front of moved to town, and they’d been
him. buddies ever since. Cappelle saw
April as a kind of big brother—an
Now, in May 2015, that respite
was coming to an end. April had left experi enced climber and a
the Army three weeks earlier, generous teacher. “What should we
retiring as a major, but he wasn’t do today?” April asked as they
through with war zones. In a few packed their ropes that morning.
weeks, he was headed to “Well, you’ve been up Inde cent
 Exposure twice already,” Cappelle his red climbing shoes. Inde cent
said. “I’d like to do that route.” April Exposure had always given him
paused, looking down pen sively at

50 september 2021

pitch and attached himself to an an

the heebie-jeebies. It wasn’t the chor. April followed, and they paused
most difficult route in Hueco Tanks, a moment to rest, 130 feet up in the
but it was probably the most air.
intimidating. It had two pitches, or April led the second pitch. The
sections between belay points, and hard est section came early on—a
both had passages that left you huge step to the right, followed by
hanging out unprotected over 10 feet of slim, fingertip-and-toe
130-feet drops. edges. He’d had trou ble there in
Midway along the route there was past attempts, but this time he
a plaque in memory of a University nailed it, making his way to a shelf
of Texas, El Paso, student who had the size of a refrigerator.
died while attempting it. But this “Oh man, that was great!” he
would be April’s last climb for quite a called out across the chasm, about
while, and he wanted to make it a 10 feet above his partner and 25
memora feet out to the right. Then he spotted
ble one. Cappelle agreed to lead the something that he had not expected
first part of the climb, and April would to see along that rocky face. This is
lead the second. weird, he thought.
Drama in Real Life

THE ROUTE GAVE HIM

THE HEEBIE-JEEBIES.
MIDWAY WAS A MEMORIAL
PLAQUE FOR SOMEONE WHO
HAD DIED DURING A CLIMB.
These would act as brakes if ei
CAPPELLE BEGAN by working his ther of them fell, holding the rope
way to his right, his chalked fingers tight. Cappelle clipped the ropes into
finding their way to the cliff’s metal anchors drilled into the rock
handholds. He and April were face as he went, for added
tethered together for safety with two protection. Midway through the first
lines of rope (one blue, one orange) pitch, just 20 minutes into the climb,
that connected them via belaying he saw the memorial plaque for the
devices on each of their har nesses. student and silently paid his
 respects. He made it to the ledge When Africanized bees sense a
that marked the end of the threat, they don’t send just a couple
Where did all these bugs come of bees to ward it off—they send
from? April slapped the back of his hordes, and they’ll keep chasing for
neck. That was all the rest of the the length of four football fields until
colony needed to hear. Suddenly, a the threat is eliminated. If
cloud of bees swirled out of a someone’s stung 1,000 to 1,500
nearby crack in the wall—more times, scientists estimate, they’ve
bees than he’d ever seen. It was got a 50–50 chance of dying. Since
like a scene from a horror movie. the 1950s, swarms of Africanized
The swarm enveloped April in an bees have been responsible for
instant, stinging him over and over more than 1,000
again, the pain spreading across his
neck, face and body.
Regular honeybees can just ignored it. Instead, it flew
sometimes be territorial, but straight at him and stung him on the
Africanized bees, though somewhat neck. The stings came quickly after
smaller, are much more aggressive. that—one, two, three, four and then
They arrived in the northern a crescendo of pain as the bulk of
hemisphere in 1956, when African the hive attacked him. Cappelle
bees introduced to Brazil to tried to cover his face, a
high-pitched whine drowning out ev
ReadeRsdigest.in 51 erything as the bees attacked his
Reader ears, eyes, nose and mouth.
’s Digest
His mind raced as the bees stung
him. Why hadn’t April unclipped him
increase honey production escaped, self once he reached the ground?
bred with European honeybees and Cap pelle could have pulled up the
ultimately spread across the rope, anchored himself to the wall,
Americas, making their way to the and rap pelled down to safety. But
southwestern United States by the April was still
1990s.

HE WATCHED AS A CLOUD OF
BEES SWIRLED OUT OF THE
ROCK. IT WAS LIKE A SCENE
FROM A HORROR MOVIE.
jerk of tension in his harness as his
deaths worldwide; there’s a reason partner’s weight pulled the rope taut.
they’re known as killer bees. He had no idea what was wrong, nor
Cappelle watched in disbelief as why April urgently yelled, “Lower me,
April jumped off the ledge. He felt the lower me, lower me, go, go, go!” But
 from his perch on the narrow ledge, an effort to stave off the effects of
Cappelle played out all 200 feet of the bee venom. He reached up to
rope, ripping it through the belaying brush the bees off his head and felt
device as fast as he could. Below a layer of insect bod
him, the wall sloped inwards ies an inch thick, stinging him over
beneath the ledge he was standing and over again. The toxins coursed
on, and April disappeared from view. through his bloodstream.
That’s when Cappelle saw the first At a certain point, his thoughts
bee flying toward him. He figured it turned from panic to a strange
would go away if he calmness. It was a terrible way to
go. He was so sorry his wife was
52 september 2021 going to lose him this way, but there
hanging there, dead weight. was nothing he could do. The world
Cappelle stood on the ledge and shrank around him, contracting to a
sucked water out of his climbing pinprick, and Cappelle blacked out,
bottle, desperate to stay hydrated in slumping down on to the rocky ledge.
Exposure
Drama in Real
Life
Cappelle (left) and
April at The Indecent
10 minutes, and the bees hadn’t
stopped stinging.
“Untie the blue rope!” he yelled up
to Cappelle. They were
double-roped for safety, and he
wanted Cappelle to use one of the
ropes to rappel himself away from
the insects. But neither man could
hear the other. All they could hear
was the deafening buzz.
After so many stings, April’s body
was numb to the pain. He could feel
the bees climbing all over him, but
)
the
2

E
stings hardly registered. One flew into
L

his mouth—vibrating and fuzzy, with

Hueco Tanks P

BELOW HIM, April hung suspended A

in midair, six feet away from the wall a slight flowery taste—and he quickly
C

and about 65 feet off the ground. N

He’d been stuck that way for about

A
spat it out. After more than a dozen
 route. He swung himself toward the
I

S bolt, caught it on the third try and

E
stings, people can experience vertigo, clipped himself in. Then he released
T
the ropes that were attached to
Cappelle, leaving them dangling in
R

nausea and even convulsions and

U the wind.
O

ReadeRsdigest.in 53
Reader
’s Digest
routeThe site
of the On a good day, this wouldn’t have
attack
been that difficult a route, but this
wasn’t a good day. April was pumped
full of bee venom, his body inflamed
and his mind swimming. And yet,
through that fog of pain, toxins and
fear, he managed to carefully pick out
the route. The climb down was the
longest five minutes of April’s life. By
the time he made it to the ground, he
was nauseous and nearly delirious. He
stumbled towards the road just as a
park ranger pulled up as part of his
daily patrol. “Ian,” April gasped,
gesturing up at the cliff. They could
fainting. April had been stung hun see Cappelle up
dreds of times. He pulled his
baseball cap over his face and tried
to think.
quickest way to get to Cappelle was to
He had always been able to keep
hike up the back of the mountain and
his head in a bad situation. He’d
then rappel down to him. April wore
crashed a helicopter in training and
the park ranger’s radio, as well as a
seen men die in combat. And no
mesh net that he pulled over his cap.
matter the danger, he’d always
Partway up the trail, he ran into two
managed to flick a switch in his
climbing friends and conscripted them
brain to turn off the fear and con
into the rescue plan. By the time they
centrate on what needed to be done.
reached the top, it had been about 45
What needed to be done now was
minutes since the start of the attack,
clear: He had to climb down. The
and April had no idea whether
face of the mountain was
Cappelle was still alive. Even in his
crisscrossed with climbing
nauseous state, it didn’t cross his
routes—he just had to find one.
mind to ask one of his fellow climbers
About 15 feet away, he spotted an
to head down instead. It was his
anchor that was part of another
partner down there—he would
 NO MAT TER THE DANGER, HE’D
ALWAYS MANAGED TO FLICK A
SWITCH IN HIS BRAIN TO TURN
OFF THE FEAR.
one’s been blown up or shot,” April
on the ledge. He was in a foetal posi remembers. It’s not fear, exactly—
tion, a massive cloud of bees more like a look of pure incredulity:
surround ing him. “Ian!” April yelled. How did this happen to me? “That’s
His friend didn’t move. The ranger how he looked at me. Then he put
called search and rescue. But April his head back down.”
did the math in his head. It would
take them about an hour to get a
team from El Paso. And to get a
April made his way down to the
team that could safely climb up to
Cappelle and remove him? That ledge. The bees were all over him
could take climbers who didn’t know again, but he barely noticed the new
the area a few hours more. Cappelle stings. He attached Cappelle to his
likely didn’t have that much time. belay de
April knew what he had to do. “Drive vice. “I’m going to get you out of
me back to my car,” he said to the here,” he said. Cappelle was just
ranger. “I’ve got another rope in conscious enough to follow April’s
there. I’ll go get him.” instructions while April carefully
lowered him 130 feet to the ground.
Below them, the first ambulance was
APRIL SCRAMBLED UP the rocks
just pulling up. April watched as the
as fast as he could in his condition.
rangers and paramed ics collected
The
Cappelle. Then he lowered himself
down. By the time he reached the
54 september 2021
ground, Cappelle was in a helicop
be the one to get him. April set an an
ter destined for a hospital in El Paso.
chor at the edge of the cliff and
It was only then that the search-and
clipped himself in. One of the other
rescue team arrived at Hueco Tanks.
climbers began belaying him down.
April turned down the paramedics’
For about the first 50 feet,
advice to go to the hospital, even
Cappelle was out of sight. Finally
though he felt faint. In the parking
the cliff grew steep enough that April
lot, he ran into two climbers who had
could see his partner, still
wilderness first-aid training. The best
motionless, still covered by a
way to re
swirling blanket of bees. “Ian!” he
move the stingers, they told him,
yelled. This time Cappelle looked up.
wasn’t to use tweezers, which
“He had the same look I’ve seen too
squeezes the poison from the
many times in combat, where some
venom sacs into your body. April happened if April hadn’t come back
stripped down, and the two men for him. His one memory after
used their credit cards to scrape him regaining consciousness is of a
down, sloughing off hundreds of thick carpet of dead bees cover ing
stingers that fell on to the desert the cliff ledge and then April’s red
sand. At the hospital, doctors shoes entering the picture. Cappelle
estimated that Cappelle had been tried to tell April how much he appre
stung more than a thousand ciated what he’d done, how he’d
times—a high enough dose to be come back for him even though he
lethal. He was lucky; after a day or himself had suffered so. But his
two, the venom was flushed out of friend waved him off. It hadn’t even
his system, and he was fine. been a choice. “There was just no
way he wasn’t going to try to help
MONTHS LATER, after April returned me,” says Cappelle.
from Afghanistan, the men planned From their perch on the small
an other climb. After all, it’s what they alcove, the two men took in the
did view. Out there, in the Basin and
Drama in Real Life Range Province, just a little
elevation gives sweeping vistas in
every direction. The Franklin Moun
together—they climbed. And though
tains sat out to the west, hazy and
they returned to Hueco Tanks, they
indis tinct. To the north, 136 km
weren’t ready to tackle Indecent Ex
away, they could see the faint
posure again. “I made sure we
outline of the Sacra mento
weren’t going to do that route,” April
Mountains silhouetted against a sky
said wryly. So up a different path
that seemed endless. The sun was
they went. Any trepidation they
just right, the breeze light. They
might have felt be ing out there
stood up again, the rope strong and
dissipated quickly. They reached a
se cure between them, and went
small alcove high above the desert
back out on the rock.
and sat down to rest.
In the months since the attack,
ReadeRsdigest.in 55
Cap pelle had had plenty of time to
think about what could have
 “Sorry, we’re running a little behind.”
backpack, he said, I had asked for.
“Well, I’ll tell you “Oh, sorry, hon,” the

LIFE’S one thing: I am

never going
back to that
clerk replied. “You said
ranch. I thought you
said Franch.”
Like That
place.” —Debra Grizzle
—Kay Marske
Mom, who is 94 and
When my five-year I was new to the an avid reader, was
old came home from South when I perusing a list of new
his very first day in stopped off at a books from the public
kindergarten, I excit fast-food restau rant. library when she noted
edly asked, “So how When my order disappointedly, “I never
was your first day of arrived, I pointed out see familiar authors on
school?” that the dressing on these lists.”
Dropping his the salad was or ange My ever-helpful
rather than the ranch

56 september 2021
Cartoon by Harley Schwadron
“My hair’s not messy. It’s on an
adventure.” —My nine-year-old
 daughter, officially kicking off ✦He forgot how to
eat carrots.
her career as my spiritual
✦His day care
advisor — @LetMeStart allows swords.
Reader
’s Digest

✦Only “some” lizards can read.

husband explained, “Why do you
“That’s because say that?” I
Louisa May Alcott asked. “Who’s
died.” going to
—Colleen Weber want to transplant
all those trees?” Reader’s Digest will pay
My husband was —Linda Throp for your funny anecdote
dis pleased with the or photo in any of our
jar of Dubious claims my humour sections. Post it
pimiento-stuffed toddler made this to the editorial address, or
email:
green olives he had week: ✦He invented
[email protected]
bought: “They’re just the
not vinegary.” thumbs-up.
“They were vinegary — @HENPECKEDHAL

when I ate them,” said our WITH THE ONE YOU

youngest son. LOVE
GETTING EVEN
“When did you shake her head: — @TheBoydP
eat them?” I asked.
/

y
✦ I now charge my
“This morning. e

wife for finding things

I sucked all the red Orchard for Sale.
l
for her that are in
things out and put e

z
plain sight. —
the olives back in a

@FatherWithTwins
“Well, that’s dumb,”
the jar.” D

✦ Instead of telling
—Linda Bennett r

she said. my husband I’m

e
annoyed with him, I’m
During a drive through t

e
e just gonna put
strawberries
p

farm country, my ✦I know it sounds

G

a mean, but when I’m in a salad.

m

mad at my wife and — @LizHackett

mother spotted a large
I
want to lash out, I ✦My husband ticked
y
open a bottle of some me off, so I sent him
t

sign that made her condiment when a picture of the

t

e
there’s already one thermostat set to 72
G
open. degrees.
— @not_thenanny
✦The next time my
linguist boyfriend ticks
me off, I’m just gonna
say ‘irregardless’ and
see what he does.
ReadeRsdigest.in 57

— @aubviouslynot
MY STORY

A LIFE IN

BUTT Bought at auction, a vintage

NS
cookie tin opens a window into
a neighbour’s secreted heart
 By Karen Grissinger
FRom countRy woman

Illustrations by Maria Amador

58 september 2021
Reader
’s Digest ReadeRsdigest.in 59
Reader made small talk about the large
’s Digest num ber of people that had

“G
gathered and the prices her things
were bringing. She told me she
was selling almost

oing, going, gone, for 60 september 2021

$3 to bidder No. 43, the all her possessions because she

lady in the last row, white was moving to a nursing home in
h a t .” T h e a u c t i o n e e r town. Her eyes fell to the button
called out my auction box, and when she looked up, they
number and location. I had just won were glis tening with tears. I asked
the bidding for a 1950s cookie tin whether she minded if I sat with her
full of memories at an estate sale awhile. She slid over to make room
outside McConnellsburg, Pennsylva for me next to her on the swing.
nia, near the farm where my I took the lid off the tin, and her
huband and I live. gnarled hands lifted a handful of but
Delighted at my victory, I took the tons and then slowly dropped them
box and gave it a shake. The con back into the container. Her fist
tents rattled. I pried off the lid and closed around a delicate pearl
took a peek. Inside were button, now
dozens—or maybe even
hundreds—of buttons, pins and
other items, all glittering in the I NOTICED A BRASS
sunlight. It reminded me of my MILITARY BUTTON.
mom’s button box. As a girl, I’d
always enjoyed digging through it, “FROM MY FIRST
just as my own daughters enjoyed HUSBAND’S UNIFORM.”
looking through mine.
I listened to the auctioneer’s
patter as more objects were bid on
and sold. I bought some lovely yellow with age. She smiled as she
embroidered pillowcases and a few told me about the birth of her first
other things. Soon my eye caught child and the special pearl-buttoned
the movement of a swing on the christening outfit that would be worn
front porch of the house. A petite by five more babies before time
older woman watched the wore the garment thin.
happenings in her yard, her eyes I noticed a large, dark brass
wandering over the crowd, looking military button and asked her about
for the familiar faces of friends and it. “From my first husband’s
neighbours. uniform,” she said. “It’s one of the
As I carried my purchases to my few things I had to remind me of
car, I stopped to chat with her. We him when he didn’t return home
 alive.” small key from the box, I heard the
They had been married seven sharp intake of her breath. It was the
months before he left to serve his key to a music
country in World War II. “I married My Story
his best friend two years later, and
we had a good marriage,” she told box that played a special love song,
me. she said. She’d lost it years ago.
From my hand to hers, I passed
the key to her memories.
We found a Sunday school pin
holding a bar for perfect attendance
in every year except one. She
explained, “The year my mother
was sick with cancer, I stayed
home on Sundays with her so my
father could get to church. He
never missed a Sunday until he
died, 15 years ago.”
Garter clips, wooden nickels,
snaps and ruby buttons took her
further down memory lane. I learnt
about her wedding, the birth of her
children and much more of the life
she’d led for 89 years.
After our chat, I set the woman’s
box of memories down on the swing
“That’s the way it was in those days. and slid my hands into hers. I knew
Someone always looked out for the we would talk again, when I went to
widows and children.” visit her at her new home. And I
As we sifted through the box to knew that when I reached my own
gether, we found hairpins ranging home, my heart would pull me to
from black to brown to shades of my sewing room, where I would
grey and even white. Each colour rediscover my own lifetime of
noted the passing of time and its memories in my own button box.
effect on her hair. When I pulled a

Four Myths About How We Learn

1. ‘I have a personal learning style.’
Science: No such thing exists. You learn mostly by doing what you’re trying to learn.
2. ‘I should reread that.’
Science: It doesn’t work; quizzing yourself about the material does.
3. ‘I’ll trust my first answer.’
 Science: Humans are overconfident and shouldn’t trust their quick
response. FAST COMPANY

ReadeRsdigest.in 61
AS KIDS SEE IT

“I downloaded the parental control app, but they’re still not doing what I want them
to do.”

A first grader told me 62 september 2021

No one runs faster than
that she doesn’t need My kid: That’s how a toddler holding
school because she life works, mom. some thing they
wants to be a pineap — ASHLEY ASHFIELD shouldn’t.
ple when she grows — @TOTALLY_NOT_ANG
up. — My four-year-old:
@TEACHERONTOPIC Can we get a As my mother, seven
cat? Me: No, year-old niece and I
Me: Every morning, they make were leaving church
I pick up this action me sneeze. one day, my niece
figure and stand it My four-year-old: noticed parishioners
up on the shelf, and Can you go away putting money in a
every night it’s on then? — S

the floor again. @THEDADVOCATE I

01 collection box near the

V
 N

E N O

D A C

exit. My niece turned to my mother and I

Reader
’s Digest
the house saying “Oh no”
and asked, “Do we have to pay to over and over again. At first
get out?”
it was cute, but now I’m
—KERRY HAGAN
afraid she knows something
My two-year-old is yell ing at me I don’t.
for taking too big of a bite from her —JAMES BREAKWELL, writer
My toddler is walking around
WARMALD —Kalyani Davidar,
pretend sandwich. Now via email
she can’t make My two-year-old
another one because stormed past me in My four-year-old was
we’re out of pretend pyjamas while holding trying to tell us a scary
bread. a pop-up book. When story the other night
— @HENPECKEDHAL I asked him where he and she ended it
was going, he said in with, “And they were
I bought my son a an exasperated tone, dead … for the rest of
book about bats and “I’m going to a their lives!” —AUDRA
meeting!” — McDONALD, actor
halfway through it he
@PAPANEEDSCOFFE My two-year-old
shouted,
E loves to play in the
“What? Bats are real?”
dirt so much that he’s
All this time he thought
Recently, I was com begun telling us that
they were made-up
plaining that we have he wants to eat dirt
things in ghost stories.
too much stuff in our for supper. Now, we
—
house and need to get have to sprin kle
@TRAGICALLYHERE
rid of some of it. My ground pepper on all
four-year-old looked of his food.
I asked my
me dead in the eye —EMILY STEELE
five-year old
and said, “You should
granddaughter
prob ably burn it in the As a 4-year-old,
what she wanted to
oven like our food, my daughter Tijil
be when she
Mommy.” — was
grew up. She
@MUMINBITS fascinated with trains.
replied,
Once she spotted a
“A cashier.” When I
Principal: John, who train she had not
inquired further, she
jumped over the seen before and
said, “Because I get
moon? Five-year-old asked her father
to take people’s
John: “Neil what it was
money.” —GAYDEN
Armstrong!” called. “That’s a
 goods train,” he told board it?” —RATNA for your funny anecdote
her. THAKUR, Delhi or photo in any of our
humour sections. Post it
Before he could
to the editorial address, or
explain further, Tijil email: [email protected]
asked, “So, are only Reader’s Digest will pay
good girls allowed to

ReadeRsdigest.in 63
Reader
’s Digest

Reader
’s Digest
64 sePtember 2021
HEART
Ping
Gasto
n
 Fostering a pair of ducklings brought
new joy to our home—until I
discovered what awaited them
o
back at the farm
t

BY Olivia Stren
A

x
i

ReadeRsdigest.in 65
Reader and, um, let’s say, unusual thing I
’s Digest ‘added to cart’ was a pair of Pekin

O
ducklings.
This happened last June, when
my husband, Joaquin, my
five-year-old son, Leo and I were in
month three of lockdown. By then, I
had long shut
ver the past year, I’ve tered the charade that was our
home school, and there were no
summer camps and no play dates.
found myself justifying If there was a play date, I was the
all manner of what you playmate—and I was exhausted.
might call non Even our two cats seemed
essential purchases in increasingly oppressed by our con
the name of lockdown. I stant presence, pining for
ordered a hand-knit cotton sweater Precedented Times, when the
from Spain and throw cushions from house was their pri vate hotel and
Sweden, but the most delightful humans would only occasionally
 pop in, like housekeeping. Gabor. Yes, or until you’ve adopted
So there I was scrolling live
Instagram, retreating into the stock together in a pandemic. About
seeming perfection of other 10 days later, on a sunny June
people’s lives, when I spotted a morning, a man from the farm
friend’s photo of two tiny golden arrived at our downtown Toronto
ducklings in her living room. I mes doorstep. In what will remain the
saged her immediately. She best delivery moment of my life, he
explained that she was fostering handed over a shoebox housing a
the babies for a farm in rural pair of new born chicks.
southern Ontario. You can adopt Leo and I held them in our hands,
the newborns and parent them as each one a tiny, almost weightless
long as you like—typically, the farm par cel of silky gold. Their webbed
explains on its website, the usual feet, clementine-orange, felt soft
foster lasts a few weeks, until the and satiny against our palms, and
duck lings waddle from their downy their glossy lit tle beaks were
infancy into their more unexpectedly warm. Leo
obstreperous, immediately cast himself as their
father, and they accepted the role
66 september 2021 hap pily, waddling at his heels and
slipping on our hardwood floors, like
Bambi on an ice rink. He decided to
call one of
feathered teenaged fowl-hood. This
programme helps fund the farm and,
I told myself, generously provides
us with what we’d been lacking: joy, the ducklings Gaston, after his
spon favou rite cartoon character, and I
taneity and fellowship. named the other one Ping, after
the Chinese duck hero from one
“WE’RE GETTING DUCKLINGS!” I of my favourite childhood books.
proudly announced. Joaquin replied Leo kissed Ping and Gaston on
with some thing along the lines of their beaks and they nipped at his
“What?” lips, which he concluded meant
I explained that the farm would they loved him. He then decided
bring us everything we that they must need a bath after a
needed—’chick Gatorade’, a heat long trip from the country. He
lamp, food and bed ding (a bale of filled a Tupperware bin with
pine shavings) and also an activity water, which filled me with a
for Leo. surge of relief. (It was an activity!
“Okay. When do we get them?” he With out an iPad!). So much of
said gamely, at which point, I smugly parenting, especially pandemic
concluded that I had married wisely. parenting, comes down to guilt
“You never really know a man until management. And our new family
you’ve divorced him,” said Zsa Zsa members deliv
ered me from mine. When
 Leo lowered them into the
bin, they took to water like,
well, ducks. Afterwards, we
swaddled them to keep
them warm.
If the pandemic had
plunged us all into chaos, at
least this kind had a madcap
charm. The messiness was,
also, literal, of course. For
the ducks, the world is not so
much a stage as it is a toi
let—you can’t house-train a
duck the way you can a dog.
n
I had read that as a foster
e

t
duck parent, you can fashion
s

i
tiny diapers. One surely
v

Heart

himself scarce when it came to l

the dirty work. could do such a thing, but I

o

“It’s okay, Mummy, I’ll let you f

clean that mess,” he’d so did not. And while Leo was
generously offer. At this point, o

while serving as parent, cook, y

playmate, cleaner and head but happy to share love and

ler to Leo, I also had duck
e

husbandry to add to the list. r

Cheerios, he swiftly made

u

AFTER A FEW WEEKS, the ducklings o

at least tripled in size, and the Leo with his

fairy tale took a turn. As much as ducklings
we loved Ping and Gaston, they’d on the day
become an armful, and I began to they arrived.
think it was time to return them. It
was only then, however, that I
realized that I didn’t know what
would

ReadeRsdigest.in 67
Reader as if we were slipping into the
’s Digest pages of a

happen to them back at the farm.

When I called to find out, the Beatrix Potter book. Bunnies hopped
woman on the phone, annoyed by around sunlit grasses; a wooden
this line of inquiry, tersely swing hung from an old tree; minia
suggested that I refer to the last ture horses were enjoying a gambol
page in my ‘duckling manual’—a about the pasture; and grown-up
beak ducks promenaded about, their
orange folder that had arrived with plumage white and plump as
our pets. In fine print, I read to my summer clouds. If the owner had
horror that they’d likely serve as a offered to adopt me, too, I would
‘wonderful supper’ at a wedding or have happily moved in. We left our
a banquet. We had been fostering ducks and headed home, feeling
these animals, hadn’t we, not the sadness of
fattening them for a meal?
empty nesters (forgive the pun). The
We couldn’t keep them, but I also
duck’s home farm never fol lowed up
couldn’t drive them back to their
with me or attempted to get them
demise. And this is how I found
back. But a couple of months later,
myself launching a sort of
the adoptive parents got in touch to
duck-adoption
send me a photograph of Ping and
agency, frantically emailing and
Gaston. They were adults. In their
calling animal sanctuaries in hopes
snowy splendour, they were strolling
of finding them a safe home.
about with six other ducks.
Meanwhile, the ducks flirted with
“They have a great duck life!” she
adolescence, awk
wrote, “free to roam and be with their
wardly sprouting snowy feathers.
friends.” They somehow found what
(Ping, the taller of the two, looked
the pandemic has taken from us
like he might take up smoking.)
all—
After about a week and a half, I
freedom and the comfort of commu
was losing hope. Then I received
nity. I felt a certain swell of maternal
an email from a lovely woman who
pride, nostalgic for their golden baby
lives on a hobby farm in Port Perry.
hood and for the duck days of the
She was look
pandemic summer. Finding them this
ing for more ducklings. She was
country house of dreams was the
vegan. She was perfect!
best thing I did in 2020. Also,
We chauffeured Ping and Gaston
maybe the only thing.
to their new home, and as we
crunched over the gravel road, I felt

Sunny Words
Summer afternoon—summer afternoon;
to me those have always been the two most
 beautiful words in the English language.
HENRY JAMES

68 september 2021
Reader
’s Digest

LAUGH LINES
Why do football players
only dance when good stuff
happens? Just once I
wanna see a QB throw an
interception and do a sad,
interpretative dance. —
@MrGeorgeWallace

“I ran a
half-marathon”
sounds so much
better than
“I quit halfway
through a
marathon.”
— @RickAaron

If I throw my
son a baseball,
he drops it.
A football, he
 high school volleyball
games as a little kid and
thinking “These are some
of the most powerful
babysitters in the world.”
— @louisvirtel

You should
be able to play
defence at
bowling.
— @garfpooop

The part of the

baseball game
I most identify

I remember being at girls’

fumbles. But if I
Please
— @amydillon
toss him a
cell phone, my
We se

ga
m

Game
i

man has a sick with is the

y

tt

one-handed, umpire neuro

e

g/

no look. tically dusting

ot

to
o

— @ShrinkMedia home plate

hp
n

na

after the players mc

mess it up.
 ReadeRsdigest.in 69
Reader
’s Digest

Reader
’s Digest
70 sePtember 2021
 From
r,
INSPIRATION

Si
With Love
Winner of the Global Teacher Prize, Ranjitsinh Disale
has transformed a village with sense and tech
sensibility

By Shreevatsa Nevatia
 T
C

s
finalists. Speaking to Reader’s Digest on
o

here’s a palpable goodness the phone, Disale laughs when we ask

o

about Ranjitsinh Disale

him: “Why did you do this?”
that makes him easy to like. l

On 3 December, 2020, when A

actor–author Stephen Fry

announced that Disale had won the “I knew you would ask me that,”
e
million-dollar he says. “Beyond a little recognition,
l

A
what is there for the finalists who
Global Teacher Prize, he was, of course, didn’t win? I believe we are all
equals, and that by sharing this
s

prize money, I have actually

D

elated. There was something altogether invested in nine other coun

h

n
i
tries. These teachers will now have
endearing about how he and his fam more incentive to follow their pas
s

t
sion.” Kindness apart, the
i
j
33-year-old Disale hopes this
ily broke into spontaneous celebration. gesture will be tan gible proof of his
n

A
“sharing and growing principle”—it’s
r
only when you share knowledge do
After having settled down, however, you create opportuni ties for growth.
“I don’t want to be that person who
y

only talks,” he says. “I want my

e

Disale told Fry he wanted to share half

t deeds to speak for themselves, too.”
r

his prize money with his nine fellow ReadeRsdigest.in 71

o

Reader
’s Digest

The 12 years Disale has spent teach ing children at the

Zilla Parishad Primary School in the Maharashtra
village of Paritewadi have been full of action, even
adventure. Though his teaching style has relied on
techno logical interventions, his methods are guided by
the belief that education cannot be separated from the
society it can one day, eventually, better. The Global
Teacher Prize, commonly re ferred to as a ‘Nobel for
educators’, has made Disale’s story of dogged determi
nation an inspiration for the world.
For Disale himself, the prize has “opened a window”,
one that is fast helping him scale up. In June this year,
he was appointed educational advisor to the World
Bank. That apart, he has also been working on projects
with UNESCO and the Organization for Eco nomic
Cooperation and Development. “I feel that I no longer
have to limit myself to the four walls of the village
where I teach. Everything is suddenly a lot more open.
These last few months, the world is my classroom.”
Given how cinematic his life has proven to be, it’s not
surprising that Baahubali writer K. V. Vijayendra Prasad
is vying to script his biopic. Though Disale remains
unassuming, the trajectory of his journey is unmis
takably heroic. Not just has he beaten personal and
professional odds, he has also used his smarts and
empathy to turn around the fate of an entire village.
This is the story of an ordinary man’s triumphs against
incredible odds.

72 september 2021

Disale
invites various experts to speak to his students via
video-calling

WE DON’T NEED NO
EDUCATION
In 2005, Disale finished school with dreams of
becoming an engineer. His love of mathematics was
sure to see him through, but engineering school, sadly,
came with a set of problems that was far from
academic. “I was hurt by how seniors would rag juniors.”
Even while Disale now theorizes his experi ence of
bullying by saying education is a reflection of
society—“the way we have caste, political and
bureaucratic hierarchies in society, we also have
age-based hierarchies in college”—he adds that all
those years ago, he had “really collapsed, mentally and
 physi cally”. Disale returned home to Barshi.
Ever-supportive of his son’s wishes, Disale’s father,
Mahadeo, sought to distract him from his turmoil. He
sug gested Disale enrol in a nearby teach ers’ training
college. “The idea was to do it for six months, but I
ended up doing the full two-and-a-half years. My
professors helped fill me with
places is like the gap between
generations. While one is India, the
passion and confidence.” Usually other is Bharat.”
shy and reserved, Disale saw Although Solapur is a
himself grad ually emerge from a drought-prone district, it’s the
shell of reluctance. As he learnt how farmers of Paritewadi who felt more
to interact with chil dren both keenly the ravages of unpredictable
emotionally and psychologi cally, a weather patterns. Disale
young Disale revised his own empathized with their plight, but was
conceptions about personality: still dismayed by their neglect.
“Every time I saw a child smile, I felt “Neither parents nor the local bodies
so happy myself. I felt transformed said any
and empow ered. India has always Inspiration
had a tradition of good teachers. I
wanted to be one.” thing about the school’s condition.
Any school ecosystem needs

W
community support. Here there
hen Disale was posted to the was none of that.”
Despite being fresh out of teaching
school, Disale knew that if a prob
Zilla Parishad Primary School in
lem had to be solved, it first had to
Paritewadi, the city-dweller
be understood. To get all his 36 stu
expected to find a well-furnished and
dents in class, he thought he’d first
well-equipped school on his first day.
have to get to know their parents
The village, after all, was in Solapur,
bet ter. “In order to ascertain the
the same district he’d grown up in.
edu cational, economic and social
Nothing or no one had prepared
status of the villagers, I started by
Disale for what he saw: A room
conduct ing a survey,” he says.
where cows and buffa los far
Everywhere Disale went, he heard
outnumbered the two students
the same ques tion: “No matter how
who had turned up. When Disale
hard or how far our children study,
com plained his classroom was, in
they will end up working in the
effect, a mere cowshed, his principal
farm. Educated or not, they will
told him sternly, “You will have to
earn the same money. So, why
teach here.” “It was all really
bother sending them to school?”
shocking,” recalls Disale. “Barshi is
Disale kept countering this rea
only 70 kms away from Paritewadi,
soned aversion with a pragma tism
but the gap between these two
of his own. “Do you really want
your boys and girls to be do ing the

N
same work you are doing when
they get older?” Slowly, the parents ow that he had a full class to
started to relent. Women, Disale
found, became his first sup porters.
teach, Disale knew it was time to
“Since many of them came from
shift gear. “I started asking them
other villages, they were also more
questions like, ‘If you were the hero,
educated.” With a dozen-odd
what would you do?’ Suddenly, it
students now in his class, Disale
wasn’t just about enjoying the film, it
felt sure he’d soon achieve his
was also about understanding and
100% attendance target. “These
expressing that in one’s own words.”
kids would be my voice in the
Seeing his students become
community.”
attentive, Disale began to replace
movies with educational videos he
PERKS OF had down loaded from YouTube.
EDUTAINMENT After six “They used their visual memory to
months of trying, Disale some how watch and understand these videos.
managed to salvage his classroom. All of it had to do with their
But without any electricity, keeping curriculum, but I saw how
his ‘edutainment’ works, education
with entertainment in the end.” By
ReadeRsdigest.in 73 the time Disale recorded his own
Reader voice over the videos, the children in
’s Digest his classroom were beginning to
grasp essential educational
class 3 and 4 students in one place concepts—num bers, alphabet,
was a tall ask. “So, I thought I would geography, language, poetry, even
use technology to entertain them.” some basic ideas of the
Disale borrowed some money from
his fa 74 september 2021
ther and invested in a laptop. “They
were big fans of Salman and Shah
Rukh Khan, so every day I would
human body. Having realized that
show them one of their films on my
laptop. I didn’t teach them at all. We traditional methodologies like lectur
had an un ing would not engage his students,
Disale began filming his own videos
derstanding—watch the film, eat
your tiffin and go home.” Gradually, at home. This had an unexpected
word spread amongst the children’s benefit: “I teach a multi-grade
friends. Compared to the farm, a classroom, so when I was showing
place of toil, the classroom was a one set of students a video of mine, I
place of fun. Soon enough, Disale could teach the other personally,
had his 36 students. helping them understand and solve
their problems.”
Technology, Disale found, wasn’t
 just making education interactive, it Maharashtra to better teach his
was even making it efficient. students their given syllabus. “I am
Students could now rewind his good at mathematics and
videos, going over something they geography, but what about other
wanted to learn better. “You cannot subjects like Marathi, Science,
define quality ed English and Art? I can’t be proficient
ucation. Every person will have their in all these things, so I invited actual
own definition for it, but my goal was experts to my classroom via
clear—I wanted that every student video-calling.” As these teachers
should achieve the learning taught their respective class
outcomes clearly stated in the rooms, Disale’s students were also
textbook and the curriculum.” In able to learn from the best. “This is
order to meet this new objective, really simple skill-sharing.”
Disale organized what he calls In Solapur, a district at the border
“virtual field trips”. of Maharashtra and Karnataka, one
From 2012, Disale began hears
collaborat ing with teachers across
Inspiration

Technology has helped Disale create his unique mix of education and
entertainment.
struggle, says Disale, was changing
multiple languages spoken. Disale parental in
often has to switch between difference towards education.
languages while teaching, but he
refuses to accept this as a THE KIDS ARE ALL
challenge: “My class
room is diverse. My students speak
RIGHT Every evening at 7 p.m.,
Marathi, Kannada, even Telugu. an alarm rings from Paritewadi’s
That has not been a problem.” The Zilla Parishad Pri mary School. The
1,800-odd inhabit ants of the village education system wasn’t giv
stop what they are doing and for the ing them that freedom.”
next hour, try and tackle the Following the success of Disale’s
homework teachers have given their initiative, the Maharashtra govern
children. Disale now calls this the ment began introducing QR-coded
‘Hour of Life’, but when com ing up textbooks across the state in 2017,
with the idea, he had chosen a and a year later, the Centre
simpler name—‘Alarm on, TV off!’ “I announced that all NCERT
wanted the active participation of par textbooks would also now have QR
ents. I wanted them to be more codes. Disale, however, makes no
respon sible for the future of their mention of his national impact when
children.” Disale took to texting counting his successes. “From
parents in the afternoon, helping 2017, more than 85 per cent of my
them with questions they could ask students have got an A-plus grade.
their kids. “I wanted to give parents Also, I may not have drastic
some ownership, too. Edu cation is numbers to show, but let me point
not just about what kids learn in to some case studies.”
class. It’s also about nurturing their Disale speaks of two of his first
minds and making them good citi students, Vikram and Sushmita.
zens.” He had long seen how his While Vikram is now pursuing an
stu dents would bring to his MBA in Agriculture, Sushmita is
classroom the influence of their studying to become an engineer.
homes. He wanted to reverse the “Both of them often tell me that
impact: “The culture of education being exposed to technology at a
should also be taken home. I am young age helped boost their
very proud that this idea took off.” In confidence. Two students are not a
2015, when parents saw that large number, but this is a beginning,
Disale had placed QR codes in the a foundation. They are uplifting their
notebooks of their sons and daugh families and, also, themselves.”
ters, their initial curiosity gave way In a village as close-knit as Parite
to a deeper engagement. Having wadi, the likes of Vikram and Sush
learnt how to embed digital content mita are certainly examples others
in a QR code, Disale had started might come to follow but Disale’s
giving his kids real achievement lies in another, alto
gether reassuring statistic: For the
ReadeRsdigest.in 75 last 10 years, there hasn’t been a
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76 september 2021
access to videos they were seeing in
class. They could also take online
tests. “Since there’s at least one
smartphone in every family, kids
should be able to learn how they
want and when they want. Our
 KING OF HIS
CLASSROOM Given his novel
adoption of technol ogy, one,
perhaps, assumes that Disale
would have been the first teacher to
circumvent strict COVID-19
lockdowns, but, surprisingly, he
hardly used tech nology to teach
during the pandemic. “I only used it
to reach out to my stu dents. I saw
that this is a time when my students
Disale’s methods have led to a feeling can learn something beyond the
of empowerment among his girl classroom, something from their
students
parents, their grandparents, from na
ture.” Disale would assign his pupils
child marriage in the village. “One little projects. During the summer of
can say that this is because girls 2020, he asked them to track the
were getting educated, but girls’ day’s temperature and the impact it
educa tion must also be about had on their water consumption. “It
making them feel safe and secure in was a sim ple task—collect data,
their commu nity, right?” In his effort critically analyze it and make
to promote progressive values, decisions accordingly.”
Disale regularly invited women
The paring down of Disale’s meth
doctors and entrepre neurs from odology seems starkly at odds with
nearby villages to come and speak the world’s frantic embrace of
to his students. As a result of such remote learning. “I saw the public
persuasion, he says, parents be gin education system collapse,” he
asking, “If this girl can do so much, says. “In govern ment schools, you
why can’t mine?” see 21st century stu dents being
With Disale’s interventions, the taught by teachers of the 20th
girls of Paritewadi have discovered century, teachers who are them
a new agency. “They now say things selves using techniques that belong
like ‘I’ll think of marriage after I have to the 18th and 19th centuries. How
completed my education’. They know do you expect them to attend some
that getting married early is harmful, hasty train ing and teach online
both physically and mentally.” For overnight?” Unlike private schools,
Disale, this collective refusal is proof where performance determines pay,
of education’s transformative public schools, Disale feels, are
potential: “Only learning makes you hobbled by the premium they place
think of different solutions for the on seniority and experience.
same problem.”
There is much that Disale would
like to see overhauled in
 government
from tech and
schools—everything
infrastructure to
safe and
professionalism— secure, right?”
Inspiration
says Disale.
but he admits that the Zilla
Parishad school where he teaches exchange programmes to Paris
affords him a freedom a private and Toronto. In comparison, the
school never would. “There you 2016 Innovative Researcher of the
have to do what the prin Year prize given to him by the
cipal asks, but here you can try central government seemed like a
new things. In my classroom, I’m dead-end acknowledg
king. I can do anything and ment. “Yes, they felicitated me, but
everything I want.” just contrast this with how the world
In 2017, three years before he responds to innovation. The Global
won the Global Teacher Prize, Teacher Prize, for example, has led
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had to me doing real grassroots work
spoken about Disale when with the World Bank. I think it is
publicising his book Hit Refresh. great to celebrate individual
Not just did Microsoft then bolster achievement, but shouldn’t we
his virtual field trips, they also also try and create an in
made Disale part of their teacher frastructure that will give India
many, many more Ranjitsinh
“A girls’ education Disales?”

must also be about ReadeRsdigest.in 77

making them feel
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Twenty years ago, on Tuesday, 11

September 2001, thousands of people
were stranded when 38 planes were forced
to land at Gander, Newfoundland. The
locals rose to the challenge
78 september 2021