Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Readers Digest International - March 2017
Readers Digest International - March 2017
HOUF
O T
A
GREDING
RE A
Power of One
32 SHE TOOK ON TOBACCO
When a cancer specialist learned of the vast
P. | 46
sums of our money being invested in tobacco,
she knew she had to act. H E L E N S I G N Y
Cover Story
38 THE KING OF VINYL
Vinyl is dead? Not according to superfan
Zdenek Pelc whose precious presses
are taking full advantage of a burgeoning
vinyl revival. T I M B O U Q U E T
Science
46 WHY WE CRY
Humans are the only creatures whose tears
can be triggered by their feelings. But why?
M A N DY OA K L A N D E R F R O M T I M E
Instant Answers
52 MOSQUITOES
All the latest buzz on these tiny but dangerous
little flies. HAZEL FLYNN
P. | 52
Look Twice
54 SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY
A peek over (very distant) new horizons.
Life Lessons
60 DO THE RIGHT THING
How to stay true to your most deeply held
values and choose the right path. LUC RINALDI
March2017 1
Contents
MARCH 2017
Art of Living
P. | 74 72 13 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
ABOUT ANGER MANAGEMENT
From momentary outbursts to useful
motivators how you experience anger can
depend on how its processed. A N D R E A B E N N E T T
Nature
74 THE MOST AMAZING TREES!
A photographic look at the wonderful trees
that give us life, shade and endless enjoyment.
Life Skills
81 DONT GET TROUNCED AT SCRABBLE
When it comes to winning consistently at
Scrabble, being a top-notch speller is only
half the battle. L AU R A L E E
Health
83 UNLOCKING PARALYSIS
Meet Mr Clean, a game-changing clot retrieval
P. | 102 device invented by accident that has changed
the face of stroke treatment. L I SA F I T T E R M A N
Travel
88 THE OTHER HONOLULU
Theres much more to Hawaiis capital city
than its famous sheltered harbour. JA N I E A L L E N
Society
97 THE END OF PARKING
Could self-driving vehicles and ride-sharing
allow us to un-pave paradise? C L I V E T H O M P S O N
FROM MOTHER JONES
Bonus Read
102 JOURNEY THROUGH KOKODA
A promise is fulfilled along the physically and
emotionally gruelling 96-km track. S I M O N B O U DA
2 | March2017
THE DIGEST
Health
18 Ins and outs of insulin; managing
make-up allergies; medical news
Home
23 Dishwasher dos and donts
Food
24 Pumpkin penne; salmon fusilli
Travel
26 Southeast Asias holiday hotspots
Tech
28 Avoiding data-loss disasters
Pets
29 Pawsome tips to care for pets
Money
30 Finding the right (affordable)
insurance for older travellers
Out & About
116 All thats best in books, films, DVDs
and unexpected news
REGULARS
4 Letters
P. | 26
8 Finish This Sentence
10 My Story
14 Kindness of Strangers
16 Smart Animals
71 Quotable Quotes
96 Thats Outrageous!
114 Unbelievable
122 Puzzles, Trivia & Word Power
HUMOUR
44 Lifes Like That
58 All in a Days Work
80 Laughter, the Best Medicine
CONTESTS
5 Caption and Letter Competition SEE
PAGE 6
P. | 44
6 Submit Your Jokes and Stories
March2017 | 3
Letters
READERS COMMENTS AND OPINIONS
March2017 | 5
Vol. 192
CONTRIBUTE
No. 1142 FOR DIGITAL EXTRAS AND
March 2017 SOCIAL MEDIA INFO, SEE PAGE 31.
6 | March2017
Editors Note
Lifes Little Mystery
THIS MONTH, our cover feature, The King of Vinyl, will both delight
and frustrate anyone who built up a record collection decades ago only
to cast it along with their turntable aside to make room for CDs and
digital downloads. Lovers of music carried across the warmer tones of
medium frequencies are seeing a strong comeback of vinyl in music
stores across the world. We tracked down Zden k Pelc, an unassuming
man who kept the faith along with a trusty old black cake press,
and today heads asuccessful record business out of Prague. For his
story, and the inspiration to rebuild a record collection, turn to page 38.
It seems that the most innately human thing crying and why we
do it have split the medical science world. We know the physical
reason for tears, but what drives our need to express this
emotional response has lead to a research boom
into why tears flow when we feel sadness, pain, joy
or anger. Why We Cry (page 46) sets out all the
reasons for emotional crying, something
naturalist and evolution theorist Charles Darwin
long ago discounted as purposeless. As a soppy
sentimental from way back, Im glad our
modern-day scientists are up for the challenge.
Dont forget to share your thoughts about any
of the stories you read in Readers Digest. We
love hearing from you!
LOUISE WATERSON
Managing Editor
March2017 | 7
FINISH THIS SENTENCE
My Dearest
Possession Is
A family memento or perhaps
a formative experience? See what
other RD readers cherish most
a blue
locket,
borrowed
from my
mother for
my wedding,
which I never
my returned.
mothers DEB HARRISON,
Winnellie, NT
recipe book.
BETTY DAY, Thornlie, WA
my property,
surrounded by beautiful,
peaceful countryside.
PAUL WHEATON, Hardwicke Bay, SA
8 | March2017
my wedding
ring, symbolising
everyone I care
about: family.
ANNE BEEL, Noosa, Qld
my fluffy fur
my mother-in- baby bounding
laws daughter. with joy.
DANIEL MURPHY, JEANETTE WEST,
Toowoomba, Qld Mount Coolum, Qld
a locket given
to me by my
wisdom learned children.
the hard way. NARELLE BEEBY,
NAOMI LEAN, Coffs Harbour, NSW Scarborough, Qld
my engagement
my mothers ring.
diary. KARA FORD,
ANNA MCALPINE, Cannon Hill, Qld
Berowra Heights, NSW
my lawnmower. Its my
do-not-disturb experience.
MICHAEL BATSON, Geelong, Vic
March2017 | 9
MY STORY
Through the
Eyes of a Migrant
Was leaving our country for a new life the right decision?
BY LOR E L L A D C R U Z
Lorella DCruz enjoys A MOMENT OF WILD PANIC came over me as our aircraft
travel, classical music, prepared to descend. Our decision to migrate to
Scrabble and cryptic Australia in 1970 was a giant leap into the unknown.
crosswords. A few
My husband, Arnold, had come four months earlier,
years ago she visited
India with her family,
securing employment in his IT field, and setting up
including six grand- a home for our family. All the same, I was filled with
children, all of whom trepidation when I joined him in Melbourne on that
were captivated by cold blustery late-autumn night, our two little girls,
their vast and varied aged three and four in tow, rubbing their eyes in sleepy
Indian cultural bewilderment after a long flight from Bombay.
heritage. My concerns were momentarily set aside, of course,
in the unmitigated joy of being reunited as a family.
We had left behind a very comfortable life in India an
arguably class-ridden, inadequate system that sheltered
its middle classes from the drudgeries of everyday living,
so that I had never had to cook, clean or do a load of
washing. But, in the words of Nobel Prize winner Bob
Dylan, the times they were a-changin, and we had to
seriously weigh our options. Indias burgeoning
population threatened to limit the availability of
university placements, job openings and housing
for the next generation, our own children.
10 | March2017
Right: Lorella DCruz and her two
young daughters, Liane and Ciel,
found Melbourne a welcoming place
March2017 | 11
M Y STO RY
12 | March2017
Hours of great
reading!
SAVE
U RS
HOOF
AT
GREDING
50%
OR 12 ISSUES
FO
R A
E
VINYL
REVIVAL Th worlds
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How One Man Never
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PAGE 38
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Can Science The Doc r magazine
Explain Why Who
o
Big To cco
We Cry?
PAGE 46
PAGE 32 Dont miss out.
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.... 116
6 innspiring stories
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KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
The Fellowship
of Three Rings
Were my precious mementos gone forever?
BY KAV I TA T U T E JA
Kavita Tuteja is a THREE YEARS AGO I was rostered to work for a few weeks
42-year-old dental as a dental therapist in a new dental clinic at Victor Harbor,
hygienist and to the south of Adelaide and an hour further away than my
therapist from
usual workplace. My first day there was a rush driving to
Adelaide. She has
three teenage a new and unfamiliar clinic and getting acclimatised to the
children and different protocols and clinical environment.
enjoys reading, In my agitation, and feeling a little unfamiliar in the
sketching, cooking new setting, I removed my three rings: my wedding ring,
and going for a ring that belonged to my mother and one that was an
walks. anniversary gift from my husband. I wrapped them in
a tissue and placed them beside my computer.
During my lunch break, I noticed the crumpled-up
tissue and thought that it did not look very neat and
tossed it into the rubbish bin. I went about my duties
and my day proceeded well; I met new patients and felt
that I had been productive and efficient.
Driving home at the end of the day, just moments
PHOTO: iSTOCK
14 | March2017
I spent an hour or so making
calls, trying to trace my rings.
The first people I called were
my manager and clinical
leader and they gave me a
few contact numbers for
cleaners. I got in touch with
a lady who managed the
cleaning services for the clinic,
and she informed me that the bins
had already been collected.
Heartbroken, I knew nothing could
be done now. I had lost my wedding
ring and one of my most treasured
rings my mothers wedding ring.
After two or so hours, I was just
coming to terms with what I had lost,
when I received the most amazing
phone call. Someone had gone
through the bins and found
all three of my rings! I was so
grateful to the beautiful soul
who took the trouble to go
through the bins containing
dental waste which is not a
pleasant task to find my rings.
I was rostered to work at that
clinic the following week, so
I bought chocolates with which
to thank this wonderful person.
Unfortunately I did not get to meet
her as she was not at work that day.
Share your story about a small act of
kindness that maade a huge impact.
Turn to page 6 fo
or details on how to
contribute and eaarn cash.
March2017 | 15
Smart Animals
Some animals are much more cluey than we imagine
a chestnut mare with a flaxen mane twitch her ears and prance in place.
and tail. Aged seven, she was graceful, So, when she proceeded to sniff and
sweet-natured and well trained; the snort and give all the signals that she
only problem with Holly was her vivid believed the horse-eating monsters
imagination. I was constantly were close, I became a little worried.
surprised by Hollys ability to be At the bottom of the hill as we
spooked by rabbits, the wind or rounded a corner, Holly slowed with
even shadows sometimes her caution, and so I followed her gaze to
own shadow! the path ahead. There, sunning itself
16 | March2017
in the middle of the climbed
c up the rocky
track, was a brown snake. ledge
l and over towards
This time it was my turn me, getting as close to
to freak out; Iwas on the
t edge as quickly as
aflighty horse, leading she possibly could.
agroup of eight She stood tall, glanced
inexperienced, pre-teen b
back with her intelligent
riders. Holly was firmly b innocent eyes in
but
planted, ears forward, t direction of my
the
muscles relaxed. With camera and grinned to
the snake in her sights, she was no show her teeth and wouldnt budge
longer worried. until I took her photo!
I have heard that horses have
a better sense of smell than dogs; Golf, Anyone?
I hadnt seen it demonstrated before ARNOLD BENTLEY
that moment. Thankfully, while we Some eight years ago, a magpie that
waited in reality for just a second we named Maggie adopted my wife
ortwo but for what felt like an and me, no doubt attracted by the
eternity the snake roused itself and chunks of meat we regularly fed him.
glided calmly off into the bush. Over the course of a few weeks our
Holly then stepped forward, feathered friend would often perch
leading the horses with caution and on top of my head while I putted
care. She had been alert to danger from hole to hole in our backyard
and taken responsibility for the putting green.
safety of us all. Following in the Probably not so unusual, I hear
footsteps of their lead mare, not one you say. I agree. But how many golf-
of the other horses showed any fear. minded magpies do you know that
graduate, in just a few weeks, to
Photo-Bombing Dog climbing to the shaft of the putter for
TIN JOO YEN as long as the owner wants to putt
I have a gold-coloured, mixed-breed around? I wondered whether the
dog named Bobby who loves to be in smart bird, who eventually flew
photos. One day last summer, while away, could possibly have known
Iwas renting a house in the Sea that at the time I was a golfer as well
Home Estate in Penang, I was trying as course ranger and rules official.
to snap the sun setting on the sea
over the edge of a wall of my place. You could earn cash by telling us about the
Upon seeing me hold my camera, antics of unique pets or wildlife. Turn to
my Bobby, who is two years old, page 6 for details on how to contribute.
March2017 | 17
THE DIGEST
HEALTH
18 | March2017
a deficiency perhaps so many people so
caused by genetics or suddenly. Banting was
an immune response jointly awarded the
triggered by a virus. Nobel Prize in 1923 for
Type 2 diabetes is a his work in diabetes.
different disease, where
the body has difficulty using Insulin Injections
insulin. It often begins later in The many types of insulin can
life, and can lead to loss of insulin be divided into those that act quickly
production. Type 2 diabetes can be and for a short time (taken just before
triggered by genetics and lifestyle, a meal), and those that act slowly and
such as being overweight and having for a long time (taken once or twice
a poor diet. a day to keep glucose levels stable).
Insulin is a hormone that unlocks Many diabetics are prescribed both
cells, letting glucose in, where it is forms of insulin.
either used as energy or stored as While life-saving, injected insulin
fuel. Without insulin, glucose remains is unable to match the bodys own
in the blood and is passed through insulin for blood-glucose control.
the kidneys into the urine. Diabetics When blood-glucose levels fall too
produce a lot of urine as the glucose low, it can lead to confusion and even
draws water out of the body, leading coma, and sugar needs to be given by
to thirst. Weight loss and a lack of mouth or injection. Chronically raised
energy result when glucose cannot get blood-glucose levels can damage the
into the bodys cells. eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart.
Pumps that constantly monitor
The Discovery of Insulin blood glucose and adjust the
Canadian Dr Frederick Banting, amount of insulin injected are
together with medical student Charles available, and may better control
Best, building on the work of earlier blood-glucose levels. Pancreas
physicians, isolated insulin from the transplants are also occasionally
pancreases of dogs and cows in 1921. available. An insulin pill to replace
In 1922, the insulin was first tested needles has proved difficult for
on 14-year-old Leonard Thompson, a researchers, as insulin is destroyed
diabetic, and it restored him to health. in the stomach. For now, insulin
No other drug in the history injections are indispensable for the
of medicine changed the lives of health of diabetics across the world.
March2017 | 19
HEALTH
What Is Inflammatory
Bowel Disease?
BY SAMANTHA RIDEOUT
20 | March2017
Ways to Prevent
Make-up Allergies
Even if youve used cosmetics for airborne microorganisms have
years without problems, one or more an opportunity to rush in. Most
ingredients can still trigger an allergic cosmetics have enough preservatives
reaction. Your body may build up to kill off the bugs for about one year.
sensitivities to these ingredients,
causing your immune system to
overreact. It can help to observe
these common-sense rules.
5 Test new cosmetics. If you
tend to have allergic reactions
to cosmetics, ask for free samples
before buying. Products labelled
March2017 | 21
HEALTH
World of Medicine
High-Fat Diet Hurts Sleep
Men with high-fat diets were more
likely to suffer from daytime fatigue
and poor night-time slumber
than men with low-fat diets,
according to a University of
Adelaide study. The scientists
speculated that fat intake
affects hormones, metabolism
and the central nervous system, all
of which interact with the circadian
clock that regulates shut-eye. In turn,
the lead author noted, sleeping poorly
makes people crave rich, fatty foods, JAMA Internal Medicine suggested
thus creating a vicious cycle. people who have been taking PPIs
The Heart Foundation long-term consult their doctor to
recommends saturated fat make up determine if the drug is still useful.
only 7% of total energy intake, which
translates to around 16 grams per Families of Depression
day for the average adult. Patients Need Support, Too
A Norwegian survey suggests that
New Side Effects of Proton close relatives of severely depressed
Pump Inhibitors patients may succumb to depression
Used to treat indigestion and acid themselves if they dont get enough
reflux, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) information and support. This may
are among the most commonly used be because theyre struggling with
drugs in the world. However, they can powerlessness and the fear that their
carry risks: chronic kidney disease loved ones may commit suicide.
PHOTO: iSTOCK
22 | March2017
HOME
PASTA
Inexpensive and easy
to cook, pasta is an
invaluable pantry item.
Keep a stock of different
shapes such as spaghetti,
penne and farfalle
Creamy
Pumpkin
Penne
Preparation 10 minutes 1 Cook the pasta in a saucepan of salted
Cooking 15 minutes boiling water, according to the packet
Serves 2 instructions. Add the pumpkin during the
last 5 minutes.
200 g penne pasta 2 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over
200 g butternut pumpkin, peeled medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook
24 | March2017
S
Salmon and
V
Vegetable Fusilli
400 g fusilli (spiral pasta)
4
Preparation
6 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 15 minutes
sshort lengths
Cooking
Gluten-free
f 2 g shelled broad beans (500 g pods),
250
outer skin removed, if wished
o
15 minutes
ooking ips Serves
Gluten-free pasta 400 g boneless, skinless salmon fillets 4
tends to form into 3 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
clumps if not cooked 1 tablespoon lemon juice PER SERVING
correctly. Start stirring 2112 kJ,
1 tablespoon olive oil
as soon as you have 505 kcal, 36 g
dropped the pasta Handful chopped fresh parsley protein, 16 g fat
(2 g saturated
into salted, boiling 1 Cook pasta in a large saucepan fat), 55 g
water, and continue of boiling water, according to the carbohydrate
for 30 seconds. (The packet instructions, until just cooked (1 g sugars),
salt is important as it 14 g bre,
(al dente). Add the asparagus and 72 mg sodium
provides avour.) broad beans for the last 2 minutes.
Then stir occasionally, Drain the mixture and return to the pan.
at least for the rst
2 Meanwhile, half-ll a deep frying pan with water
3-5 minutes, as this
and bring to a simmer. Add salmon and return to
iswhen the pasta is
a simmer. Cover and gently poach for 10 minutes,
most likely to stick
until the salmon is just cooked through. Use a slotted
together. To prevent
spoon to transfer to a plate. Let cool slightly, then
overcooking, start
break into large akes with a fork.
tasting a few minutes
before the cooking 3 Stir lemon zest, juice and olive oil through the pasta
time suggested on and vegetables. Toss to combine. Add salmon and
thepacket. Drain the parsley, season with freshly ground pepper and toss
pasta, place in a bowl again gently.
and stir in the sauce of
your choice. Leave to
rest for a few minutes
before serving so that
the starches that are
released by the pasta
are fully absorbed
into the sauce.
TRAVEL
26 | March2017
the Ifugao region in the Philippines
are irrigated by mountain streams
and springs. During harvest season,
when the rice plants are bright green,
the valleys practically glow in the
sunshine, and trekking around the
hillsides is a surreal experience.
March2017 | 27
TECH
P HOTO: iSTOCK
your computer to turn back on). drives and software programs that
back up everything automatically.
SAVE IT YOURSELF If youre writing Plugging an external hard
an important report, a thesis or a love drive into a computers
letter, take the extra step of saving USB port is a quick
the document manually as you go. way to make another
Though this can save you ninety-nine copyofyour data.
per cent of the time, it wont ward
FROM DONT SCREW IT UP!
off all data disasters. There are many 2013. BY LAURA LEE.
PUBLISHED BY
ways you could accidentally lose READERS DIGEST.
28 | March2017
PETS
Pawsome Tips
to Care for Pets
Here are some do-it-yourself
grooming and care tips, from
recycling a belt to using household
products to freshen pet bedding, thaat
will make your life much easier and
your pet happier.
your pets neck to make sure it fits dog or cat. Your fingernails will do
comfortably. For a cat, split the collar the job, too, but pets seem to love
and add in a piece of elastic so that it the feel of a fine-toothed comb
can slip off if she gets it caught. digging into their fur.
March2017 | 29
MONEY
O i STOCK
a healthy traveller aged 85 are five
times more costly than those aged 65.
OT O:
Regardless of where your home
PHO
base is, the US and Singapore are e
most expensive countries in which to o
fall ill with medical bills in the US
averaging more tha han US$5800. The
global average forr med di al claims
on travel cover is app prooxi tely
US$1600.
Very large clla ms
excess of US$$11322,000 ree
becoming more re r quu e nt.
Few people can ann affor
o d to finnd
such amountss, ther fo ore it is
essential to haavee hee co orree t
travel insuran nce prroteectio
on
30 | March2017
7
JOIN THE
CONVERSATION
Four great reasons why you should
join us online
We give
great advice
Get regular home,
health and food tips
from The Digest
She
Took on
Tobacco BY HELEN SIGNY
When this
cancer specialist
realised that pension
funds were investing
in the growth of the
tobacco industry,
she felt it was time to
challenge the status quo
A tobacco-free
world is the way of
the future:
Melbourne
oncologist
Dr Bronwyn King
Ma
a h2 1 3
33
S H E TO O K O N TO B ACCO
Singling him out, Bronwyn ap- year in the tobacco industry usually
proached him and asked whether he without our knowledge. In the past
still believed the tobacco industry an five years, shes persuaded more than
industry that kills six million people a 35 superannuation (retirement) funds
year was acceptable in todays world. to unload their tobacco stocks. She
As she spoke, her mind flicked back to encouraged AXA, the worlds second-
the patient shed seen earlier, a gentle, largest insurer, to divest AU$2.6 billion
brave, 53-year-old woman with teen- of tobacco industry assets. Medibank,
age kids whose lung cancer was Australias largest private health in-
quickly spreading through her bones. surer; AP4, a large Swedish pension
It quickly became apparent that the fund; and Fonds de Rserve pour les
34 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
These patients
would miss
graduations,
weddings, births
all because
they had
P HOTO: iSTOCK
smoked
cigarettes
March2017 | 35
S H E TO O K O N TO B ACCO
36 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
March2017 | 37
COVER STORY
of
Vnyl
They said vinyl was dead.
But nobody told Zdenk Pelc
BY TIM BO UQU ET
March2017 | 39
THE KING OF VINYL
40 | March2017
GZ presses
20 million discs
every year
for a colder, harder sound. As Prague- biggest market, Billboard also has a
based critic and vinyl enthusiast Petr vinyl chart for albums.
Vacha puts it, With digital music you Gramofonov Zvody (Gramo-
get everything except soul. phone Record Factory) was founded
back in 1948 and pressed its first
IT IS THAT SEARCH FOR SOUL THAT record in 1951. The then state-con-
has driven the vinyl revival among a trolled GZ produced state-approved
new generation of music fans. Global classical music, folk tunes and music
vinyl sales dropped to their all-time for weddings, funerals and patriotic
low point of $35 million in 2005. But celebrations.
since then they have steadily risen, Come the 1960s and 70s, GZ was
reaching $416 million in 2015. pressing albums for Western record
Vinyl sales may have increased, companies, but most of these were
but they still represent a tiny percent- not available at home. The Rolling
age of global music revenues, which Stones were partly banned, Pelc ex-
totalled $15 billion in 2014. That said, plains with a wry smile. Just a cou-
almost no major artist today will re- ple of their albums were allowed. The
lease an album without offering it in Beatles were more politically accept-
vinyl as well as CD format. able and were banned less.
In 2015, the UK launched its first However, banned albums did find
Vinyl Charts after record sales reached their way out of the GZ factory and cir-
a 20-year high. In the US, the worlds culated widely, as Lodenices mayor,
March2017 | 41
THE KING OF VINYL
Vclav Bauer, recalls. You would buy at Goldman Sachs. Pelc convinced
a record on the black market, bring it Brody to buy into GZ. Within two
home and invite all your friends over. years Brody had bought them out and
It was an occasion. owned the company outright.
42 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
the coma was, Are my machines OK?. collection was not long ago selling for
He loves his machines. just under US$3000 on eBay.
Its true, Lada admits modestly. Today, GZ Media has 1940 staff and
It was the longest I had been away is the biggest employer in this part
from them. of Bohemia. Sixty per cent of GZs
These days, GZ can pro- workforce are women. They
duce vinyl records in all work harder, are more
sorts of shapes and ocused and are better
colours: elaborate GZ produces with their hands,
picture discs, discs vinyl records in he says. GZ now
of many colours, a all forms including has sales teams
Bob Dylan album in London, Paris,
in the shape of a
a Bob Dylan album New York and Cal-
blue guitar pick. in the shape of a ifornia pitching for
Everything is pos- blue guitar pick contracts. This year,
sible, says Pelc. it opens a plant out-
From The Beatless side Toronto.
Magical Mystery Tour to And GZs fastest-grow-
Monty Pythons Total Rubbish, ing product line is its first. Its
Pelc takes pride in his products, but it vinyl records account for 45 per cent
is the lavish double-box set of Rolling of its business and it is now making
Stones albums, EPs and hits compila- new presses from the original designs
tions from 1964 to 2005, produced in 18 so far to satisfy demand, which
2010, that is top of his personal charts. Pelc predicts will hit 28 million units
Each individually numbered lim- in the next year.
ited edition ran to 27 separate pieces Can the boom continue? I am no
of vinyl in original sleeves. Fifteen astrologer, he smiles. All I can tell
thousand double boxed sets, hun- you is that were seeing 50 per cent
dreds of thousands of pieces of vinyl growth now and its a long way from
a very big project. This sought-after 50 down to zero.
AL DENTE
March2017 | 43
Lifes Like That
SEEING THE FUNNY SIDE
MAR
1947
From the Archives
Cast your mind back 70 long years to March 1947,
a more innocent time when bubble gum was not yet
known throughout the world
Shortly before sailing for the Netherlands I stopped in
a store on Broadway in New York to buy some bubble
gum. It was still scarce at that time and I bought all their
small stock.
Going to have a party? inquired the shop assistant.
No, I said, Im taking it to the children of my friends
in Holland. Its still unknown there.
As I turned to leave I overheard my shop assistant
remark to another, See that guy? Hes taking bubble gum to
Holland; hes going to civilise Europe! SUBMITTED BY F.K. WILLEKES-MACDONALD
44 | March2017
and never got sick. But her family did
not approve. It wasnt how the Lord The Great Tweet-off:
meant folks to eat. At a ripe old age, Office Edition
this aunt went into a coma.
People spend the majority of their
See? said her family. When her
adult lives at work and apparently
natural time came, her mind passed a hefty chunk of that time tweeting
but her body was too healthy to go. about it.
ROY BLOUNT JNR., in Garden and Gun
I want to hate my life in a different
building person looking for a
PICKY PICKY new job. @INTERNETHIPPO
Over dinner, I explained the health
benefits of a colourful meal to my Adorable idea. Colleagues have
been writing names on their food
family. The more colours, the greater
inthe office fridge. I am currently
the variety of nutrients, I said. eating a yoghurt called Debbie.
Pointing to our food, I asked, How @FUSSYSAFFA
many colours do you see?
Interviewer: Whats your greatest
Six, volunteered my daughter.
strength?
Seven if you count the burned parts. *45 minutes later*
Source: Facebook
Me: Im very comfortable with
silence. @ROLLININTHESEAT
GOLDEN OLDIE
Office fun. Replace your coworkers
My daughter
mouse with a larger mouse so he
Sophie is thinks his hands are shrinking. Then
34 years old call him baby hands until he quits.
and my @VINEYILLE
grandson Tim is
The problem with teaching a man
seven. Recently
to fish is that eventually someone
Tim was very will microwave that fish in the work
upset because his break room. @THECATWHISPRER
goldfish, Pinkie,
St. Peter: Why should I let you into
St
had died.
heaven?
Next time just Me: Once a colleague said
buy Tim another goldfish and saay supposably seven times in
Pinkie woke up, I said after listeening
i a meeting and I just
to Sophies story. let her.
P HOTOS: iSTOCK
Why
We
Cry BY M ANDY OAK LAND E R
FR O M T I ME
48 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
social bonding and human connec- Scientists have found some evidence
tion. We cry from a very early age in that emotional tears are chemically
order to bring about a connection different from the ones people shed
with others. Humans come into the while chopping onions. In addition to
world physically unequipped to deal the enzymes, lipids, metabolites and
with anything on their own. Even electrolytes that make up any tears,
though we get more capable, grown- emotional tears contain more protein.
ups never quite grow out of the occa- One hypothesis is that this higher pro-
sional bout of helplessness. tein content makes emotional tears
Crying signals to yourself and more viscous, so they stick to the skin
other people that theres some im- more strongly and run down the face
portant problem that is at least tem- more slowly, making them more likely
porarily beyond your ability to cope, to be seen by others.
says Jonathan Rottenberg, an emotion Tears show others that were vul-
researcher and professor of psychol- nerable, and vulnerability is critical
ogy at the University of South Florida. to human connection. The same
neuronal areas of the brain are acti-
NEW RESEARCH is also showing that vated by seeing someone emotionally
tears appear to elicit a response in aroused as being emotionally aroused
other people that mere distress does oneself, says Michael Trimble, a
not. In a study published in February behavioural neurologist at University
2016, researchers found that tears College London. There must have
activate compassion. When test sub- been some point in time, evolutionar-
jects were shown a photograph of ily, when the tear became something
someone visibly crying, compared that automatically set off empathy and
with the same photo with the tears compassion in another.
digitally removed, they were much A less heartwarming theory fo-
more likely to want to reach out and cuses on cryings ability to manipu-
reported feeling more connected to late others. Researchers believe that
that person. just as babies use tears as a tool for
March2017 | 49
WHY WE CRY
getting what they need, so do adults plus molecules in tears to see if theres
whether theyre aware of it or not. one responsible.
We learn early on that crying can But what does all of this mean?
neutralise anger very powerfully, says It is a question researchers are now
Rottenberg, which is part of the rea- turning to.
son he thinks tears are so integral to Michael Trimble, one of the worlds
fights between lovers particularly leading experts on crying, says, We
when someone feels guilty and wants dont know anything about people
the other persons forgiveness. who dont cry.
A small study in the journal Science
that was widely cited and widely SO, THE QUESTION ARISES, if tears
hyped by the media suggested are so important for human bond-
that tears from women contained a ing, are people who never cry per-
substance that inhibited the sexual haps less socially connected? Thats
arousal of men. When 24 men sniffed exactly what preliminary research
real tears, they felt less aroused by is finding, according to clinical psy-
photos of womens faces, and when chologist Cord Benecke, a professor at
another 50 men sniffed them, they the University of Kassel in Germany.
had measurably reduced testoster- He conducted intimate, therapy-style
one levels in their saliva than they did interviews with 120 individuals and
when they sniffed the control saline. looked to see if people who didnt cry
The bigger story, believes Noam were different from those who did. He
Sobel, one of the studys authors and a found that they were. The non-crying
professor of neurobiology at the Weiz- people had a tendency to withdraw
mann Institute of Science in Israel, is and described their relationship ex-
that tears might be reducing aggres- periences as less connected, he says.
sion, which the study didnt look at. Tearless people also experienced
Mens tears may well have the same more negative aggressive feelings, such
effect. Sobel and his research group as rage, anger and disgust, than people
are currently wading through the 160- who cried. More research is needed to
50 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
determine whether people who dont BUT OTHER EVIDENCE does back the
cry really are different from the rest of notion of the so-called good cry that
us, and some is soon to come: Trimble leads to catharsis. One of the most im-
is now conducting the first scientific portant factors, it seems, is giving the
study of people with such a tendency. positive effects of crying the release
So far, though crying appears to enough time to sink in.
have interpersonal benefits, its not When Ad Vingerhoets and his col-
necessarily unhealthy not to do it. leagues showed people a tearjerker
Virtually no evidence exists that cry- and measured their mood 90 minutes
ing comes with any positive effects later instead of right after the movie,
on health. Yet the myth persists that people who had cried reported being
its an emotional and physical de- in a better mood than they had been
tox, like its some kind of workout before the film. Once the benefits of
for your body, Rottenberg says. One crying set in, he explains, it can be an
analysis looked at articles about cry- effective way to recover from a strong
ing in the media 140 years worth bout of emotion.
and found that 94 per cent described Modern crying research is still in
it as good for the mind and body and its infancy, but the mysteries of tears
said holding back tears would result and the recent evidence that theyre
in the opposite. Its kind of a fable, far more important than scientists
says Rottenberg. once believed drive Vingerhoets and
Also overblown is the idea that cry- the small cadre of tear researchers to
ing is always followed by relief. When keep at it.
researchers show people a sad movie Tears are of extreme relevance for
in a laboratory and then measure human nature, says Vingerhoets. We
their mood immediately afterwards, cry because we need other people. So
those who cry are in worse moods Darwin, he says with a laugh, was
than those who dont. totally wrong.
FROM WHY WE CRY IN TIME, JULY 2016 2016 BY MANDY OAKLANDER. PUBLISHED BY TIME INC.
ISNT IT IRONIC
crosswalk, traffic circle, one-way street and taxi stand but never
learned how to drive.
INDEPENDENT.CO.UK, WASHINGTON POST
March2017 | 51
INSTANT ANSWERS
Tiny but
dangerous:
mosquitoes
transmit
deadly diseases
Mosquitoes
BY H A Z E L FLYNN
52 | March2017
WHAT THREATS DO chikungunya; and various
THEY POSE? forms of encephalitis.
Few things are less condu-
cive to sleep than the whine DO THEY AFFECT
produced by a mosquitos ANIMALS, TOO?
wingbeats, but these crea- Yes, in a few different ways.
tures arent just annoying, They transmit encephalitis
most species are dangerous. to horses, heartworm to
The females, which feed on dogs and Rift Valley fever
blood to nurture their eggs, When it to livestock, and in Alaska
are vectors for disease, they gather in such mas-
meaning they carry the dis- comes to sive numbers the swarms
ease from one infected or- killing can asphyxiate caribou.
ganism to another without
being affected themselves.
humans, no DOES THE PLANET NEED
PHOTOS: (MOSQUITO) iSTOCK; (GATES) RUSSELL WATKINS/DFID; ILLUSTRATIONS: iSTOCK
March2017 | 53
SEE
THE WORLD ...
Turn the page
FAT CAT
A client recently brought her two cats to my
husbands veterinary clinic for their annual
check-up. One was a small-framed, round
tiger-striped tabby, while the other was a
long, sleek black cat.
She watched closely as I put each on the
scale. They weigh about the same, I told her.
That proves it! she exclaimed. Black does
make you look slimmer. And stripes make you
look fat. SUBMITTED BY SUSAN DANIEL
58 | March2017
home. One night I was up late
studying for my clinical exam.
Because my father woke me every
morning at seven, I put a big note
on my door: DO NOT DISTURB.
Studying until 3am.
This got me no sympathy from my
father, who is himself a doctor. He left
a note attached to mine: The hotel
management hopes youre enjoying
your stay. Wed like to remind you
that checkout was at noon
approximately six years ago.
SUBMITTED BY VARGHESE ABRAHAM
ZZ
straight away. I know what it honey. I just paid someone
means, he said. Its when you $400 to tell me whats wrong
sing in a church! PLEASE with me, he said. And
SUBMITTED BY LOIS JONES
NOT
LATE CHECKOUT 23 years, shed hand me
After my second year of a bill for $798,000.
medical school, I moved back DISTURB SUBMITTED BY RON JAMES
March2017 | 59
LIFE LESSONS
Do the
Right How to make
Thing
BY LU C R I N A LD I
choices that
reflect your
values
ASTRID BAUMGARDNER HAD grown Today, as a lecturer and coordinator
accustomed to her morning routine. of career strategies at the Yale Univer-
Her husband, a securities lawyer, sity School of Music (a position she
woke up excited to head to the office; loves), Baumgardner helps students
Baumgardner, however, felt more in- make decisions as tough as her own.
clined to stay in bed. She should have Through her story and theirs, shes dis-
loved her job as a partner at a law firm covered that people feel most fulfilled
in New York that brought in a hefty when they choose options that align
ILLUSTRATION: ANJA JAVELONA
salary. But she couldnt muster the en- with their most deeply held values.
thusiasm the position didnt fulfil her Heres how to stay true to yours.
need to help people or give her a sense
of purpose. So, in 2000, she left the KNOW YOUR VALUES
legal profession after 25 years, swap- If you hope to shape your life accord-
ping prestige for passion. After a series ing to your ideals, you have to know
of different positions, she earned her what those ideals are. Baumgardner
certificate as a life coach in 2008 and begins her sessions by having partici-
started her own business. pants identify the concepts that are
March2017 | 61
DO THE RIGHT THING
62 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
much that people dont know what them to reclaim that inspiration. A
they want; its that there are many pianist might benefit from listening to
things we desire, and we dont always the composer who sparked her interest
know how to make the trade-off. A in the instrument or from watching a
retired couple, for example, might be heartfelt live performance. Following
torn between yearning to be actively that, surrounding yourself with people
involved in their grandchildrens lives who share your passion can also pre-
and using their free time to travel. vent you from faltering. A group can
While a single decision can seem remind you, Hey, were doing this
like a tug-of-war between competing because we love it, she says.
impulses, broader life choices dont If youre still struggling, even after
need to be a definitive either/or. The revisiting your inspirations or seek-
retired couple might delay an over- ing out community support, theres
seas trip to explore locations closer to no shame in revising your core values.
home, or commit to setting aside time If youre determined to pitch in at a
for a holiday with their family every homeless shelter meal programme
summer. An omnivore yearning to cut but spend the evening with friends
out animal products may find it easiest instead, it may be time to accept that
to make small-scale adjustments that camaraderie is more important to
support the principles that prompted you than volunteering. Better yet, find
his dietary shift. If he opposes factory opportunities to give back to the com-
farming, he could consider eating ethi- munity with your friends.
cally raised meat. You may also learn that what you
believed was a core priority actually
STAY THE COURSE has much more to do with living up
Students often stumble into Baum- to the expectations of your parents,
gardners office when theyre grap- co-workers or culture. If your values
pling with major decisions or life align with who you really are, no-one
changes. Baumgardner typically starts will have to ask you to make those
by examining what led her client down choices, Baumgardner says. Itll just
a path, then brainstorming ways for feel right.
FULL MARKS
March2017 | 63
DRAMA IN REAL LIFE
11 Hours
in Room ...
BY TI M B OTOS F R OM C A N TO N R E P.CO M
P HOTOGRAP HED BY SHANN ON TAGGA RT
Tears slid down Keri Gerstenslagers decided to try for number 3. But preg-
cheeks. It was 14 weeks before her nancy didnt happen as easily for the
due date. Even worse, her waters couple this time. They ultimately tried
had broken six weeks earlier and had in vitro, and it was successful. In Feb-
slowed the development of the foetus. ruary 2012, Keri began her pregnancy
Medical staff converged on Austin with three embryos growing inside her.
after his birth. They threw everything After a few months, though, she lost
that technology and medicine could two. At 20 weeks, with one baby left,
offer at the tiny baby. Nothing seemed her waters broke.
to help. Everyone concluded that his Keri prepared to go into labour, but
lungs were not mature enough to keep it didnt progress. Doctors put her on
him alive. bed rest to save the third and final
Dr Roger Vazquez, the neonatolo- foetus. She took leave from her job as
gist who treated Austin, said he had an occupational therapist at Mercy
zero chance of survival. Medical Center. She drank litres of
The Gerstenslager family had fluids to boost her amniotic fluid.
prepared for this moment. Theyd Why me?! she yelled at God, while
memorised survival rates of prema- cooped up in bed.
ture babies born at various intervals
of gestation. Theyd examined their KERI READ UP ON SURVIVAL rates of
faith. Theyd thought long and hard premature babies. But those statistics
about the fine line between selfish were for ideal situations in which the
and selfless decisions. mothers waters had not broken. On
So after much soul-searching by a calendar, Keri marked off each day
his parents, baby Austin was removed that she remained pregnant. Her goal:
from life support. He was taken back make it to the 26th week August 18,
to Room 407. Together there, Keri and to be exact. If she got that far, the
her husband, Chip, held their baby Gerstenslagers would try everything
and waited for him to slowly die. within reason to save their babys life.
And thats when this story actually They would name him Austin and
begins. had selected the middle name of
Luke, from the Bible. St Luke is the
CHIP, 43, AND KERI GERSTENSLAGER, patron saint of doctors and surgeons.
34, already had two children. Keri had We felt he was going to need that.
had no trouble conceiving either of He was probably going to have a lot
her blonde daughters, Kendra, six, of physicians involved in his life, Keri
and Erika, three. said.
We just felt we were supposed to With all but one day crossed off her
have another baby, Keri said. They calendar, Keri went into labour on
66 | March2017
Only Keri held
Austin in the
hours after his
birth. She didnt
want him to
die in anyone
elses arms.
August 17, a Friday. Her contractions Labour and delivery nurse Jodi
were four minutes apart. Johnson, who has sons of her own,
The couple arrived at Aultman tried to reassure Keri. So did Chip.
Hospital at noon that Friday. Keri Then Keris obstetrician, Dr Steven
landed in Room 407, an antepartum Willard, entered the room. He told her
suite for expectant mums with preg- she had to deliver immediately.
nancy complications. An ultrasound
revealed that Austins measurements AUSTIN LUKE GERSTENSLAGER was
were more in line with a 23-week-old, born at 12.17pm. His left eye was
not a 26-weeker. The lack of amniotic fused shut. The length of a school
fluid had stunted him. ruler, he weighed just over 700 grams.
Keri tried to keep that baby inside He doesnt look that bad, thought
her. A foetus develops exponentially Vazquez.
PHOTO COURTESY KERI GERSTEN SLAGER
with each week its inside a womb. The babys colour was good. Chip
The next day, no matter how it turned swore he heard him cry.
out, she would reach her self-imposed Placed in an Isolette a mobile in-
minimum of 26 weeks. cubator of sorts Austin was wheeled
She made it barely. to the neonatal intensive care unit
With a foetal heart-rate monitor con- (NICU). Then Vazquez and a medical
nected to Keris stomach, doctors and team went to work. They slid a tube
nurses watched Austins heartbeat. At down his throat. They coated his lungs
about 10.30 the next morning, his rate with surfactant (a chemical many pre-
dipped. Its called a decelerating heart- mature babies lack) to prevent them
beat a sign that the baby is in distress. from collapsing. They placed him on
March2017 | 67
ELEVEN HOURS IN ROOM 407
68 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
their decision, even five years She could barely hear it because he
down the road, Vazquez told the was sucking on that pacifier so hard.
Gerstenslagers they could call him. Hes beautiful, Kessler told Chip
Chip thought about making funeral and Keri. His heart is strong hes
arrangements. Theyd have Austin moving air. He even has a little bit of
cremated. Giannini placed a stetho- an attitude about him. Do you mind
scope on Austins chest. He tried to if we run a few tests? Im not trying to
swat it away. Four hours became five, change your mind. We just want to see
then six. Still 120 beats per minute. where we are.
What the hell is going on? Chip Austins blood oxygen saturation
thought. registered 88 per cent, normal. A
blood gas reading showed an accept-
NURSE ERICA BUCKLEW began her able level of carbon dioxide in his
shift in the NICU at 7pm. Austin and blood. His blood was not acidotic,
his parents remained in Room 407, which meant he was getting sufficient
still waiting for the end. Word about oxygen into his body.
this baby had spread throughout the The clock passed midnight. Aus-
unit. This baby who wasnt acting like tin had lived into the next day. It was
a baby on the verge of death. a milestone for Keri, although she
Everyone was talking about him, couldnt explain why.
Bucklew recalled. We all waited for Kessler, whod phoned Vazquez be-
updates. fore running the extra tests, phoned
Back in Room 407, the minutes him again. He digested what she
and hours ticked away. Vazquez was was telling him. Why is this not going
at home reading. Nurse practitioner according to plan? he wondered.
Fran Kessler had taken over the NICU Kessler put Chip on the phone.
for the night. Giannini kept checking Chip, the game has changed,
on Austin. He was going strong. Vazquez told him. Chip Gerstenslager
Would you come with me next said he will remember that sentence
time, to meet him and his parents? for the rest of his life.
Giannini asked Kessler. It was 12.20am, about 11 hours since
It was about 11pm. Kessler intro- theyd entered Room 407 to allow their
duced herself to the Gerstenslagers. baby to die. Giannini, the nurse, put
Do you mind if I peek? she asked Austin back into the Isolette and away
Keri. she went with him to the NICU. They
Austin was snuggled in so tight that were going to try to save him.
Kessler could barely see him. She Keri and Chip looked at each other.
lifted the blanket. Austin sucked on What just happened? Chip asked his
a pacifier. She checked his heartbeat. wife.
March2017 | 69
He still cant make sense of it.
He has shared the story with
other neonatologists, and
they couldnt come up with a
good explanation for Austins
survival either.
By all rights, he should
not have had developed lung
tissue, Vazquez said. Most
babies do what you expect,
and they tend to get worse
before they get better. This
baby, not only was he breath-
ing on his own for 12 hours,
he was able to make sugar for
himself. He did better with-
out the technology than he
did with it.
In all, Austin spent 100
days in the hospital. His time
was filled with some ups and
downs, just like most of the
Austin continues to be a fighter, says Keri. 400 babies who come through
Weekly therapy keeps him on track with the NICU annually. Like all of
milestones. In this photo from 2013, hes them, hell be prone to physi-
on supplemental oxygen to help his lungs
cal or mental developmental
problems. But his family will
AN IV LINE WAS INSERTED into Aus- worry about them then.
tins umbilical-cord vessels. The NICU On the night before his release from
team tried the oscillator again to help the unit, Keri wrote this on her Face-
him breathe. They settled on a CPAP, book page: As I sit holding my son in
which blows a continuous stream of this NICU room for the last night, I
air into the nostrils. Austin made it worry about the next mum who will
through the morning and then the day. sit in this chair. A mum who this very
Vazquez said hed never been so moment probably has no idea that she
glad to be so wrong. In his 18 years will be sitting in a chair like this I
at Aultman Hospital, the doctor said, pray for her, that her outcome will be
nothing like this had ever happened. as good as ours.
CANTONREP.COM (MARCH 11, 2013) 2013 BY GATEHOUSE OHIO NEWSPAPERS, CANTON, OHIO
70 | March2017
Quotable Quotes
A LACK OF PLAY Curiosity is the gateway
SHOULD BE TREATED
LIKE MALNUTRITION: to everything you know
ITS A HEALTH RISK TO you want, and comfort is
YOUR BODY AND MIND.
S T UA R T B R OW N ,
like a beautiful prison.
psychiatrist SAR AH J E SSICA PAR K E R , a c t r e s s
March2017 | 71
ART OF LIVING
13 Things
You Should
Know About
Anger
Management
BY A N DR E A B E N N E T T
72 | March2017
tactic could potentially undermine He suggests listening when you feel
collaborative work. agitated in order to curb anger.
March2017 | 73
NATURE
The Most
Amazing
Trees! They give us life, shade and
endless enjoyment. Where
would we be without our
wonderful trees?
74 | March2017
Magnificent Adansonia
grandidieri trees, endemic to
Madagascar and reaching
30m in height, line the much-
visited Avenue of the Baobabs
THE MOST AMAZING TREES!
P HOTOS : (PREVI OUS SPREAD) PATRI CK EOCH E; (ADONI S) OLIVER KONTER; (RAINBOW ) M. M. SW E E T;
Clockwise from above: at 1075 years,
(AUTUMN COLOURS) NICK BRUNDLE; (CHERRY BLOSSOMS) ANDRE DISTEL / ALL GETTY IMAGES
this Bosnian pine in northern Greece
named Adonis is likely Europes oldest
tree; a rainbow eucalyptus in Hawaii;
a cherry-tree lined street in Bonn,
Germany; autumn hues in a mixed
forestnear Skanderborg, Denmark
March2017 | 77
78
|
March2017
PHOTO: (JACA RAN DA ) DEN DENAL81 / GETTY I M AGES
READERS DIGEST
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
Four rabbits are out hopping around
a forest, when out of nowhere a gang
of vicious wolves begins to chase
them. The rabbits cower under a thick
bush for refuge.
After the hungry wolves quickly
surround the bush, one rabbit says to
another, OK, should we make a run
for it, or wait until we outnumber Im commander of data security.
them? SUBMITTED BY BENITO F. JUAREZ
80 | March2017
LIFE SKILLS
Dont Get
March2017 | 81
D O N T G E T T R O U N C E D AT S C R A B B L E
Scrabble As Sport
The champs make an when one accused his consider the probability
almost full-time job of opponent of stealing a that the symbolswill
memorising tricky and G tile and asked the come together in a
useful words. Players judges to strip-search waythat will allow
atthis level take their him. They did not. them to create high-
game seriously; in 2011, Topplayers are often scoring combinations,
at the World Scrabble computer programmers preferably over
Championships in or mathematicians. thecoveted triple
Poland, two entrants They look at the board word spots.
nearly came to blows and the tiles and
FROM DONT SCREW IT UP! 2013 BY LAURA LEE. PUBLISHED BY READERS DIGEST
82 | March2017
HEALTH
Marrch2017 | 83
U N L O C K I N G P A R A LY S I S
and numb along her left side, instinct her vascular system to the artery that
helped her lurch the car into a park- feeds her brain.
ing space and, after her mobile phone At the opening of the artery, the
dropped to the floor, lean on the horn catheter is retracted and Macy feels
for help. some pressure, as if someone is pinch-
Now, no more than an hour later, ing her brain. Its the stent, which has
a CT scan has shown that, like the opened to envelop and trap the clot
majority of strokes, hers was ischae- within the mesh.
mic: a clot is blocking the arterial flow When is this going to be over? she
of blood to her brain. In her case, it is asks.
a large one on the right side, which is But it already is. Farb gently pulls
why the left side of her body is affected. the stent containing the clot out the
Dr Richard Farb, a neuroradiologist same way it went in. From start to fin-
at Toronto Western Hospital, asks her ish, the entire operation has lasted
husband to sign consent forms for a less than two hours.
procedure that has not yet been tested Try to move, he says.
in Canada. Macy will be the first She lightly flexes the fingers of her
Canadian to undergo it. left hand, which three hours ago could
This groundbreaking procedure not hold on to her mobile phone.
is officially called an endovascular Soon Macy is pumping breast milk
thrombectomy with a stent retriever in the intensive care unit, griping about
a tiny wire mesh tube with an open- the lack of a television set and feeling
ing on one end. It was first tested in very, very lucky.
the Netherlands, while its first trials
in Germany and Switzerland have IT IS JUNE 15, 2011. Three years and
proved promising, too. Its nickname, five months later, the Canadian trial
Mr Clean, reflects its ability to clean of the Mr Clean procedure, which
an artery out in 40 minutes or less. involved 316 patients, ends early
P HOTO (P REVIOUS PAGE): JAS ON GORDON
What choice do I have? Macy thinks. because its clear its already a success.
She tries to nod and say, Do what you Dr Timo Krings, the head of neu-
have to. The words come out muffled, roradiology at Toronto Western Hos-
as if she is speaking under water. pital, explains it this way: Before,
Within minutes of a local anaes- surgical stroke treatment was a
thetic taking effect, she feels Farb gamble. Anything we tried took at
puncturing a tiny hole in the femoral least two hours. Now, on the operat-
artery near her groin. He then uses ing room table, we can see patients
radiographic imaging on a nearby starting to speak again and move
screen to carefully thread a catheter their limbs. And its fast. Weve done
that contains the stent up through one surgery in 14 minutes.
84 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
I dont say this lightly, he contin- But consider the number of stroke
ues. Mr Clean is a game changer. victims left paralysed or unable to
Today clot retrieval is viewed as the speak. Of the estimated 15 million
choice procedure in Australia, New people worldwide who suffer a stroke
Zealand, Singapore, North America each year, about six million die and
and Europe. five million are left permanently dis-
For every five people you treat with abled. The number of deaths from
clot retrieval, one more will go home AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria com-
able to function as an independent bined is about 3.5 million, much less
person, and there is one less person than the stroke death rate.
left severely dependent, says Professor Its no surprise, then, that the man-
Alan Barber, director of the Auckland tra in the stroke universe is Time is
Hospital Stroke Service. Survivors are, brain neuro shorthand to remind
essentially, picking up their lives where specialists that in each minute after
they left off. a stroke occurs, the
The procedure re- brain will lose 1.9 mil-
q u i re s a s p e c i a l i s t lion neurons, 14 bil-
team, and for this rea- Every two lion synapses and 12
son, is not available in seconds kilometres worth of ax-
all hospital emergency someone, onal fibres if they were
depar tments. C lot- strung out in a line.
somewhere, is
retrieval centres are Associate Professor
located in 19 hospitals having a stroke Bruce Campbell, chair
across Australia, in of the Australia-based
Auckland, Wellington St ro k e Fo u n d at i o n
and Christchurch in New Zealand, Clinical Council, stresses that people
while in Singapore there are currently need to recognise the sign of stroke
three dedicated stroke centres. Barber and get to hospital quickly.
says he would like to see more clot- Ever since the drug tPA, or tissue
retrieval centres established in tertiary plasminogen activator, was introduced
hospitals. Its not the sort of thing you in the mid-1990s as a clot-buster, it has
can do in a suburban hospital. been the stroke treatment of choice, al-
beit in a limited number of cases be-
STATISTICS show that every two sec- cause it must be administered within
onds someone, somewhere, is having 3 to 4.5 hours of a stroke occurring and
a stroke. Many may not realise it. They can take hours to work.
may feel dizzy for a few seconds or lose Surgeons have tried other devices
track of what they were saying but then as alternatives or complements any-
they feel better. thing that could open a vessel more
March2017 | 85
U N L O C K I N G P A R A LY S I S
quickly and get rid of the blockage. the blood to flow. It can last minutes,
They looked familiar, too, such as a or hours, or possibly even a day.
chimney sweep brush in miniature or
a tiny butterfly net. WOLFGANG KAHNKE, a retired tool-
It got to the point that at an maker, recalls being cranky as he
international conference seven years drove to his appointment with the
ago, a new catch device was presented surgeon whod replaced his knee
at every lecture in the stroke session, two years earlier. For the 72-year-old
says Krings. At the end, I said, If any grandfather of two, it was a check-up,
of you were right, wed have only one. nothing more, and he arrived early,
At around that same time, Ger- hoping he could somehow be fitted
man neuroradiologist Professor Hans in. After all, he had a dinner date with
Henkes was working on a patient who his wife, Karin, that night.
had had a stroke that left a clot in her As he waited for the surgeon in the
middle cerebral artery. He decided to examination room, he felt something
use a device hed co-developed for the humming in his head, not painful, ex-
stent-assisted coil treatment of an an- actly, but uncomfortable.
eurysm. When he pulled out the stent Walk it off, he told himself.
that was keeping the artery open as he But he couldnt move.
operated, the clot came with it, intact.
At a conference soon after, Henkes
mentioned it to some colleagues, who SIGNS OF STROKE
agreed it was promising. So began tri- MAY INCLUDE
als in Europe, with Dr Vitor Mendes
Pereira, then the head of interven- Sudden weakness and/or
tional radiology at the University of numbness of the face, arm or leg,
Geneva, as one of the principal inves- especially on one side of the body
tigators. They learned they needed a Sudden confusion or trouble
vessel that was at least two millime- speaking and understanding
tres wide within which to work and Sudden vision problems
that it was not effective on haemor-
Sudden severe or unusual
rhagic strokes, or bleeders. headaches
And while they initially thought they
had a short window of time to clean a Sudden dizziness, loss of balance
or coordination, or trouble walking
vessel out, they have since learned that
each case depends on the quality and Sudden droopiness in the face
duration of the collaterals, where the If you have any of these signs, call
brain temporarily compensates for a emergency services right away.
blocked vessel by finding a detour for
86 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
NOT FITTING IN
I do five sit-ups every day. It doesnt sound like much, but theres
only so many times you can hit the alarm snooze button.
March2017 | 87
The
Other
BY JANIE ALLEN
Theres much
more to Hawaiis
capital city than
its famous beach
TRAVEL
D
owntown Honolulu is a But as delightful as Waikiki is, its
glut of high-rises, their just one district of Honolulu. Id read
balconies and picture articles lauding the city for its multi-
windows competing for a cultural diversity, innovative new res-
view of the huge harbour taurants, emerging neighbourhoods,
glorious on this warm, sunny Feb- and live-and-let-live vibe. Honolulu
ruary day. Fishing boats, freighters, appears on lists of top US cities.
cruise ships and tugboats wait at nu- Clearly, there is more to this place
merous piers. Flights are coming and than its famous beach resort. Glen
going at the airport to the west. Im and I want to know more. So, for a
reminded of Hong Kong, a workaday week, we put away our beach towels
city going about its business. Yet, one and swimming costumes, turn our
PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JANI E ALLEN ; SUSAN SEUBERT; JANIE AL L E N; SU SAN SE U BE RT
of the worlds most famous beaches is backs on the beach, and head off.
just a 15-minute drive away.
My husband, Glen, and I are on WED HE ARD THE BUZ Z about the
the tenth-floor observation deck of up-and-coming Kakaako (ka-ka-
the Aloha Tower, located on Pier 9 in ah-ko) district between Waikiki and
Honolulu Harbor. The tower, built in a downtown. The city is redeveloping
style known as Hawaiian Gothic, was this light-industrial area, and has set
once the tallest building in Honolulu; aside some warehouses and garages
the large A-L-O-H-A letters at the top for the arts and for entrepreneurs. We
greeted visitors arriving by steamship drive there early one morning.
in an earlier era. The family-owned Highway Inn,
Nowadays, the Aloha Tower is known for its traditional Hawaiian
eclipsed by downtown skyscrapers food, isnt yet open for breakfast so we
but still offers incredible 360-degree take a walk in the quiet back streets.
views of city and harbour. On Coral Street, we pass Hanks
John and Evelyn Fisher of Honolulu Haute Dogs, a little eatery that ele-
are also on the deck, pointing out city vates the humble hotdog to gourmet
landmarks to a visiting friend. We join status. On and around Auahi Street,
them in looking out at the Capitol Dis- we marvel at dozens of large, extrava-
trict, Chinatown, Punchbowl Crater, gant murals painted on warehouses.
Pearl Harbor and Waikiki. Amazing, isnt it? says a bicyclist
We love Waikiki. The iconic cres- who stops to admire a chiaroscuro
cent beach, framed by Diamond Head of a face covering a wall, created by
promontory and lined with myriad chipping bits of concrete from white
shops, restaurants and nightclubs, is masonry.
the go-to resort for more than four Further along, we come across
million visitors a year. Na Mea Hawaii (Things of Place),
90 | March2017
Clockwise from top left: An artist at work at Na Mea Hawaii; a wall mural in Kakaako
district; a bronze of Kamehameha the Great, Hawaiian conqueror and king, at Iolani
Palace; Paiko, a botanical boutique on Auahi Street
March2017 | 91
T H E OT H E R H O N O LU LU
ment. Their methods of navigating by hameha the Great, Hawaiis first king,
the stars and patterns of nature were who united the islands in 1810. But
not well understood until the 1970s. now, he adds, the museum is in the
The Bishop Museum planetarium in process of receiving from Te Papa
Honolulu played a role in recovering Museum in New Zealand the feather
the lost art of Pacific navigation, called cloak of King Kalaniopuu, Kame-
way-finding, says Mike Shanahan, hamehas uncle, who presented it to
92 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
British explorer Captain James Cook The kingdom was overthrown just
in 1779. It has been missing from 11 years later in a plot by sugar plan-
Hawaii for more than 200 years, he tation owners to bring the islands
says. Its very special. under US control.
Culture educator Iasona Ellinwood Nearby is the Hawaiian Mission
takes me to see Kamahamehas Houses Historic Site, set in lovely shady
full-length cloak, on display in a grounds where we linger a while. The
glass case. The yellow feathers were oldest house, from 1821, is a two-storey
plucked from some 60,000 mamo frame house shipped from Boston in
birds. The extinct mamo was mostly 1820, which displays artefacts of mis-
black. It had just six to eight yellow sionary life. The first missionaries cre-
feathers, he says. ated a 12-letter Hawaiian alphabet and
An expert guide to Hawaiis history printed a Bible on a hand-operated
and native culture, Ellinwood has a press replicas are on display.
masters degree in Hawaiian language. Next, we decide to follow the rec-
Are you native Hawaiian? I ask. No, ommendations of Mark Noguchi, a
he says. His birth name is Jason. One local chef we meet, and visit China-
of my Hawaiian language teachers town, a gritty downtown district that
called me Iasona and it stuck. is reinventing itself as a destination
Close to ten per cent of Hawaiis for art-lovers, foodies and club-goers.
1.4 million people claim Native Ha- We drive there late one weekday.
waiian heritage, while Asians make Chinatown grew up in the late
up 37 per cent and Caucasians 27 nineteenth century to serve Chinese
per cent. In fact, many people (23 per plantation workers. Decades later it
cent) are of mixed ethnicity, like the became known for prostitution and
shopkeeper I met earlier who told the drug trade. For a few years in the
me his father was Japanese and his 1990s, a Chinatown revival flourished,
mother Filipina, then added, but associated with a new generation of
were all Hawaiians. chefs who developed Hawaiian Re-
Live here long enough and well gional Cuisine, also called Asian
call you Hawaiian, too, said another Fusion. Today Chinatown is gentrify-
local. ing. Art galleries, high-end restaurants
and bars are starting to move in.
THE DOWNTOWN Capitol District is There are still places I wouldnt
pleasantly walkable, with tree-lined walk late at night, but things are
streets and small parks. The state changing, Noguchi had told us.
executive offices are here, as well as Lucky Belly restaurant, located on
the Iolani Palace, built in 1882 by the Hotel Street, which was once famous
last king of Hawaii, David Kalakaua. for its brothels, is one of the most
March2017 | 93
T H E OT H E R H O N O LU LU
popular new eateries. We get there up on the block at the Honolulu Fish
just as it opens for dinner and are Auction the next morning. Tours
seated near the large windows. Wood, are offered a few times a month. We
exposed brick, mahogany-stained leave Waikiki at 5.30am and within
cement floor and Japanese pop art on 20 minutes are standing outside a
the walls lend the room a cool, con- refrigerated warehouse on Pier 38.
temporary ambience. Brooks Takenaka, general manager
We order the intensely flavourful of United Fishing Agency, which runs
oxtail dumplings and the Belly Bowl. the auction, leads us in. Big-eye tuna,
The ramen-noodle speciality arrives mahimahi, swordfish, snapper, many
in a king-sized dish with generous weighing well over 45 kilograms, wait
portions of pork belly, bacon and sau- on iced-down pallets.
sage steeping in a rich broth. Wholesale buyers huddle around
We leave the restaurant at dusk. the auctioneer, who fires off numbers
Darkness comes quickly at this lati- as bidding starts on a tuna at his feet.
tude. With the old markets and shops Seconds later its over. The auctioneer
shuttered and our footsteps echoing jots a note and drops it on the fish,
on the near-empty sidewalks, we head and the group shuffles to the next one.
back to our hotel. Up to 45,000 kilograms of open-
ocean fish are sold this way six days a
O N O U R S E C O N D - L A S T afternoon week. Its the only fresh tuna auction
in Honolulu, we return to Kakaako to of its kind in the US, Takenaka says.
stroll the Kewalo Basin wharf. We chat Most fish sold here is consumed in the
with a man at a counter selling tickets islands, he says, adding that Hawaiis
for deep-sea fishing trips. fishery operates within sustainable
Weve got a boat coming in with a limits and under stringent regulation.
180-kilogram marlin, he tells us. We Do you eat much fish? I ask him.
watch two sea turtles chasing each Almost every day, he replies.
other in the water as he banters with On our last afternoon the trade wind
a nearby boat owner. Wait and see, that had been with us all week disap-
itll weigh in at 110. pears and temperatures rise. Seek-
Maybe 130, comes the reply. ing respite, we head to Punchbowl
When the boat docks, the crew se- Crater, on the citys outskirts, site of the
PHOTO: JA NIE ALLEN
cures a chain around the marlins tail National Memorial Cemetery of the
and hauls up an astonishingly large Pacific. We drive down to a shady
fish at least three metres long. On the lane in a vast lawn, where flat mark-
scale, it weighs in at a whopping 184 ers denote graves. The city sounds
kilograms. have disappeared and were enjoy-
The marlin may well have ended ing the peace and quiet; we hear only
94 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
TECH SUPPORT?
March2017 | 95
Thats Outrageous!
ON THE ROAD
96 | March2017
SOCIETY
The
End of
Parking
Could ride-sharing
and robocars
make our cities
greener and our
lives less chaotic?
BY C L I V E T H O M P S O N
FR OM M OTHER J O N E S
ILLUSTRATION BY
RAYMOND BIESINGER
March2017 | 97
T H E E N D O F PA R K I N G
expansive approach. Parking is, after picking people up and dropping them
all, most of what cars do: the aver- off with robotic efficiency. That could
age automobile spends 95 per cent result in many choosing not to own
of its time sitting in place. A 2010 cars, causing the amount of parking
study from the University of Califor- needed to drop as well.
nia, Berkeley, found that the US has Gabe Klein, who has headed the
between 105 million and 2 billion transportation departments in Chi-
parking spots, for roughly 300 million cago and Washington, D.C., sees
vehicles. enormous potential. All that parking
The metastasising of parking has could go away, and then what hap-
had profound effects. On an aesthetic pens? he asks. Klein imagines much
level, it makes cities grimly ugly. Its of this paved-over space suddenly
expensive to build. And the emissions being freed up for houses, schools,
it causes may be worst of all. playgrounds just about anything.
When Donald Shoup, an urban-
planning professor at the University of NORTH AMERICAS OBSESSION with
California, Los Angeles, looked at West- parking began in the 1940s and 50s,
wood Village, a small neighbourhood when car use exploded. Panicked
near his university, he calculated that cities realised they would soon run out
cars circling around in search of open of kerb space. In an effort to ward off
spaces burn 178,000 litres of petrol and that possibility, they passed minimum
generate 662 tonnes of carbon dioxide parking requirements: if a developer
a year. Those numbers, Shoup says, are wanted to erect an office or apartment
reflective of the situation in most cities building, it also had to build parking.
congested cores. Decades of perverse incentives
But for the first time, urban experts served to cement the car as North
see an end in sight. We are, they say, Americas main mode of transporta-
on the cusp of an era when cities tion. According to the 2011 National
can begin dramatically reducing the Household Survey, roughly 15.4 mil-
number of parking spaces they offer. lion Canadians travel to work, and
Why? For starters, more and more four out of every five do so in a private
people are opting to live in city centres, vehicle. Based on these statistics, about
where they dont need or want to 11.4 million workers drive to their jobs
own a car. Were also seeing the rapid in cars, bringing along an additional
emergence of self-driving technology, 867,100 passengers.
which could have huge benefits for Numbers like these make parking
urban design and the environment. seem like an intractable problem. But
After all, if cars can drive themselves, something strange is happening to
fleets of them could scurry around our relationship with cars.
98 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
March2017 | 99
T H E E N D O F PA R K I N G
100 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
In 1919, Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because
he lacked imagination and didnt have any good ideas.
March2017 | 101
BONUS READ
JOURNEY THROUGH
102 | March2017
J O U R N E Y T H R O U G H KO KO DA
T
o walk the Kokoda Track is a rite
ians, who were on their way to the of passage, especially for infan-
Kokoda Track, had been killed when trymen. In 2015 alone, 3581
their Twin Otter crashed as it was ap- people travelled to Papua New Guinea
proaching the Kokoda airstrip. Beno to pay homage to this extraordinary
was a Royal Australian Air Force pilot World War II battlefield. For Beno, it
and was assisting in the recovery also meant showing himself and the
mission. world that Parkinsons would not stop
Beno was one of Australias best him enjoying an active life and facing
military pilots. As a squadron leader physical challenges.
with 38 Squadron, it meant that he For me, too, returning to Papua
often piloted the prime ministers New Guinea would mean confront-
aircraft. But, out of uniform, he was ing some personal demons. Both my
a loving husband and father of three grandfather and my father died there.
with a passion for fast cars, adventure My grandfather, George Heads, was
P HOTO: M ICHA EL BURGESS-ORTON
and laughs. Flying was his life. His a pilot who was killed during WWII
shock and heartache were profound in a plane crash near Milne Bay. My
when he learned he was suffering father died from a heart attack while
from Parkinsons. managing a hotel in Mount Hagen
It began with a tremor in his hand. in 1976.
Hed never forget that day. Beno was After Id finished covering the plane
the Parade Commander for the Free- crash story in 2009, Id set off to find
dom of Entry to the City parade in the graves of both men. My grand-
Townsville on June 4, 2011. His left fathers had been relatively easy to
104 | March2017
Nine men, nine days and 96 kilometres of some of the toughest terrain Papua New
Guinea has to offer. Ross Beno Benson is on the extreme left
locate; he was buried at the Bomana So now my son, Max, and I were
War Cemetery on the outskirts of Port planning to tackle the arduous and
Moresby. But finding my fathers grave treacherous Kokoda Track. We, too,
had proved much more difficult. would be flying in a Twin Otter in the
I knew he was buried in Mount Kokoda Valley. It also wasnt lost on
Hagen in the Highlands but exactly me that two previous generations of
where was a mystery. That was until a men in my family had died in Papua
local, Solomon Wokolon, manager of New Guinea and now two more were
the Avis car rentals in Mount Hagen, heading there. Max would celebrate
offered to help. After a days search- his twenty-first birthday on the track.
ing, Solomons enquiries lead me to a
man named Roy Kumbi. It turned out
I
n the end, Beno convinced eight
that Roy had worked with my father mates to join him on the adven-
and cradled him in his arms as he ture. There were his RAAF mates,
died. Roy had buried my dad, and it Tony Thorpie Thorpe, Mike BO
was he who, some 33 years later, led Burgess-Orton, Justin JD Dickie and
me to the gravesite, where I was able Richard Penners Penman. Theyd
to pay my respects. flown together, studied together and
March2017 | 105
J O U R N E Y T H R O U G H KO KO DA
lived together for them, supporting trainee guide, Craig Thomson, a big,
a mate to tick the Kokoda Track off his burly, no-nonsense New Zealander
bucket list was a natural thing to do. who was also a former infantry soldier
Then there was Benos best man, who had served in Afghanistan.
Tony Timor Moore. Over the years, This is as much mental as it is
rearing families, geography and busy physical, Cameron warned us. The
lifestyles had meant they had drifted tears will flow.
apart. But, like me, Tony jumped at I confess in my case those tears
the opportunity to take part in the flowed freely and often. Thoughts of
stroll in the jungle. my father and grand-
Tony was joined by father were never far
his 25-year-old son, The tears owed away. And that I was
former Australian infan- undertaking this trek
tryman Brodie Tulip
freely and often. with my son.
Moore, who had served Thoughts of my
o n M e n t o r i n g Ta s k father and
A
s we filed under
Force 1 in Afghanistan. grandfather the famous
He had been a pageboy arches at Owers
at Benos wedding.
were never far Corner marking the
And then there were away. And I was start of the southern
Max and I. On the track with my son end of the track, we
Max earned the nick- realised there was no
name Donuts, while going back. We were all
my childhood nickname of Bouds nervous, with thoughts of our own
sufficed. families and comrades who had ex-
Basically, we were a bunch of stran- perienced the track.
gers brought together by the linchpin, But underlying that, I suspect, was
Beno. From the moment we met it that we were also nervous about Beno.
was as if we had been lifelong mates. Hed been gradually deteriorating
We soon began referring to ourselves over the last couple of years. He still
P HOTO: M ICHA EL BURGESS-ORTON
as members of the 1st RBR the First had more good days than bad but
Royal Benson Regiment. everyone was worried about how he
We were to be accompanied by would manage the track.
a team from the trekking company My local porter was, co-inciden-
Kokoda Spirit. Our Australian guide tally, named Max. While on my feet I
and former soldier, Cameron James, sported $400 Salomon boots, he wore
had encyclopaedic military knowl- a pair of rubber thongs. I was soon to
edge. Hed walked the track ten times
before. Accompanying him was a Beno setting a cracking pace on the track
106 | March2017
March2017 | 107
learn that this wiry little man had the Camerons dulcet tones of: GOOD
strength of an ox as he dragged me MORNING EVERYBODY!to be heard
back from tumbling down steep in- bellowing from his tent.
P HOTO: M ICHA EL BURGESS-ORTON
108 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
A
t the start of the trek, Cameron
had handed out small laminated in the canopy above us. At just over
cards. On each was the photo 2100 metres above sea level, there are
and details of a soldier who had died. few mosquitos, and only occasionally
There were brothers Harold Butch would one play host to a leech.
and Stan Bissett, Bruce Kingsbury, As we walked through small villages
John Metson, Sam Templeton, Charlie wed occasionally stop for morning
McCallum, William Owen, Claude Nye, tea. The locals would be there selling
Breton Langridge and Henry Lambert cans of Coke and packets of Twisties
March2017 | 109
J O U R N E Y T H R O U G H KO KO DA
110 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
to all he was struggling. But this was But there were highs, too. The cooks
a man with a stubborn determina- whipped up tremendous meals, seem-
tion. The track was not going to beat ingly out of nothing: rice, noodles,
him. We all, at different times, offered pasta and even a baked bean and
words of encouragement, only to be onion pizza were on the menu. For
met with Benos blunt and stubborn one lunch they somehow managed
reply: Ill be right. He didnt look like
iced donuts when my son Max con-
hed be right. fessed to taking two, earning him the
Our tea break that day was longer nickname Donuts.
than usual to give Beno On the day Max s
the chance to recharge. birthday fell, to our sur-
My lows were prise, our cooks were
able to bake a cake in
T
he legend of
Kokoda seeped
no longer about a pot over an open fire.
into our veins like the basic toilet They even iced it and
the moisture in our facilities the decorated it with Maxs
sleeping bags. As we never-ending name. I have to say it
rested at the top of a par- was close to the best
ticularly arduous climb,
hills they were cake I have ever tasted
we all chipped in. Sud- that the trek in my whole life.
denly Benos pack was was nearly over Sparklers lit the air as
on someone elses back. we sang a hearty Happy
Packs were swapped to Birthday. The smile on
share the load so Beno could continue Maxs face said it all. I suspect he didnt
without the burden of weight. want to be anywhere else in this world
That day Benos body began shut- at that moment but on the track as part
ting down, but there was nothing of the 1st RBR.
hecould do about it but grit his teeth
and keep going. And so he continued
T
he nine days merged together,
walking. Cameron later revealed he and started to pass too quickly.
had already been formulating a plan My lows were no longer about
to organise an emergency airlift. the humidity, basic toilet facilities, a
Giving up went through my mind damp sleeping bag, the smelly socks,
initially, for about a second. But I or the never-ending hills they were
could never give up. It hurt. It was the that the trek was nearly over.
hardest thing I have ever done I was It was Day 7. We woke to rain, and
in a world of hurt. The only reason I it rained all day. Everything was wet.
kept going was because of the other It was impossible to get dry, and we
eight guys, Beno said. all just wanted to give up. But our
March2017 | 111
J O U R N E Y T H R O U G H KO KO DA
discomfort paled into insignificance the site of the plane crash that first
as we thought of our forefathers in drew me to Papua New Guinea seven
the atrocious conditions they faced. years earlier. I could still make out the
We doggedly ploughed on, the rain scar in the jungle.
dampening any conversation. After setting up our campsite Cam-
By mid-afternoon we arrived at eron gave us another military history
the Isurava Battlefield and as we ap- lesson. He told the story of Bruce
proached the famous four pillars, Kingsbury, who earned a Victoria
which are engraved with the words Cross after bravely weighing into the
Courage, Endurance, Mateship, advancing Japanese forces, only to be
Sacrifice, the rain eased. The misty shot by a sniper.
clouds lifted and we got our first We then quietly moved to the Aus-
glimpse of the valley below. tralian-built memorial for a sombre
Just across the adjoining valley was service. More poems, more readings.
112 | March2017
READERS DIGEST
March2017 | 113
Unbelievable
TRUE TALES TOLD TALL
114 | March2017
armour, appeared before dinosaurs recent fashion in superhero literature
and have outlived them, and will is to have regular human characters
likely inherit the Earth, possibly some inside large machines, as seen in
time this year, if trends in global Gundam and Transformers. It frankly
politics are anything to go by. astonishes me that science today
Superhero fans of either sex is focused on useless things such
struggling with this crucial issue will as travelling to the stars instead of
be interested to hear that theres a making the world a better place
new candidate for best new origin by developing cool machines that
concept: Tardigrade Man or Woman. we can climb inside and use to hit
I learned about this from a writer each other with.
friend who reads When I mentioned
incredibly boring this, a friend told me
scientific papers as a It frankly about two machine-using
source of inspiration.
astonishes me brothers in the United
A tardigrade is a States who recently had
very small bug with that science an argument. Stanley
astonishing superpowers, today is focused Emanuel was in a crane
such as these three. on useless things and his brother Peter was
1) It can survive at in a front-end loader
such as
minus 272 Kelvin, when the row escalated
an unbelievably cold travelling to and turned into a battle.
temperature found only the stars Who won? Peters
in deep-space ice planets front-end loader
and the heart cavities of inner-city eventually tipped the crane over,
residential landlords. but Stanley jumped out and had
2) You can more or less kill a his brother arrested, according to
tardigrade and dry it out and then news reports.
bring it back to life, months later The wives thought having fisticuffs
an ability hitherto seen only in this from inside machines was dangerous
writers hard-drinking great-uncles. and irresponsible, but the image
3) Tardigrades can stay alive on food- prompted one of the guys to raise a
free diets for up to 30 years, a trait new philosophical question What
that reminds me of my wife and her Construction Vehicle Would You Be?
friends, many of whom have forsworn Oh, thats deep. Well get back to
food, living for decades only on you in a couple of years, maybe.
herbal tea and frosted lipstick.
Using bugs as a source of power Nury Vittachi is a Hong Kong-based
isa classic tradition, although the author. Read his blog at Mrjam.org
March2017 | 115
out about
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A young prince,
imprisoned in the form of
a hideous and scary beast
in his castle, takes Belle,
an independent and
intelligent young lady,
captive. Despite her
fearsshe befriends the
bewitched servants and
looks beyond the Beasts
exterior to fall in love with
the kind-hearted prince
within. The plot may be
familiar but the movies
elaborate sets, the score
(featuring new and original
songs) and the all-star
cast, including Luke Evans
as Gaston; Kevin Kline as
Maurice, Belles father;
Ewan McGregor as
Lumire, the candelabra;
and Emma Thompson as
Mrs Potts, the teapot,
ensure this adaptation will
be a hit with adults and
children alike.
116 | March2017
GEORGE LUCA AS
A life
Brian Jay Jones
Headline Publisshing
Group
In 1977, from a sever
over-schedule ed and under-
nanced period of lming
in the storm-
desert emerged Star Wars,
George Luc cass most famous
movie. It was a game-changer,
game
triggering a trio of events i cinematic hist ALONE IN
science ction is now a mega business i BERLIN Drama
world of entertainment; computer-generated Based on the 1947 novel
imagery has made the unreal real; and lmmaking, Every Man Dies Alone by
marketing and merchandising have been Hans Fallada and directed
revolutionised. For trailblazer Lucas, the path to by Vincent Prez, this
fame was strewn with nancial, professional and true story of courage
personal obstacles. This chronicle of his travails unfolds against the
and triumphs is a blockbuster in itself, which is volatile backdrop of
tting given the size, scope and impact of his 1940s Berlin. Otto and
career. It includes the insights of colleagues and Anna Quangel (Brendan
competitors all touched by the vision of a Gleeson and Emma
tenacious, somewhat solitary man who Thompson) are an
dug in and stuck to his goals and ideals. ordinary working-class
couple doing their best to
This chronicle
get through the war. But
is a blockbuster
when their only son
in itself
is killed in battle, this all
changes and Otto and
Anna, in their own way,
become part of the
PHOTO: (LUCAS ) GETTY IMAGES
March2017 | 117
DOCTOR STRANGE Science Fiction/Fantasy
Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), an arrogant but skilful
surgeon, suffers a career-ending injury to his hands in a brutal car crash.
Desperate for a cure at any cost, Dr Strange travels to Nepal, home of the
Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), a mystic who teaches him that the world is
made up of more than what science can explain.
Strange, newly humbled, discovers mystical power, magic and a series of
innite dimensions that reach beyond the known world to the Multiverse.
With a new skill set, Dr Strange nds himself defending the world against
theforces of evil.
lp Fiction
ibrarian at the ringbah Library in Sydney
surprised t iscover that the book she was
cking back i Apple to the Core: The Unmaking
the Beatl was a whopping 14,934 days overdue.
No one kn how it found its way to a garage sale in
Ballina s 900 km north, where it was bought by a
ecided it needed to be returned, 41 years
stimated late fees on this book? Just under
iginally purchased by the library for $3.82 in
4, it now worth around $250 to collectors. Rather,
it was soon after it was returned to the library, it was
another adventure, this time to be pulped.
Marc
READERS DIGEST
JASPER JONES
Drama, Thriller,
Mystery
Based on Craig
Silveys classic
coming-of-age novel,
Jasper Jones is set in
a small country town
in Western Australia in
the summer of 1965.
The story is told
through the eyes of
The Secret of Eternal Youth? 13-year-old Charlie
Some deep-sea sponges have been recorded at Bucktin (Levi Miller),
around 11,000 years of age but there may be a whose quiet life is
creature that tops even that. The Turritopsis turned upside down
dohrnii, the immortal jellysh, appears to be able when outcast
to reverse its own life cycle: in adverse conditions, Indigenous boy
it can transform back to its youthful polyp state, Jasper Jones (Aaron
effectively becoming biologically immortal. L. McGrath)comes to
Studies are under way to determine if this simple him for help. Jasper
marine creature may be the key to defeating has found the body of
cancer, old age and even death. a local girl beaten and
hanging from a tree.
Convinced he will be
PETS ON HOLIDAY blamed for her death,
The best pet-friendly accommodation, Jasper assures Charlie
activities and cafes all over Australia of his innocence and
Gareth Brock secures his help to
nd the killer.
Explore Australia, an imprint of
Hardie Grant Travel
We go on holiday with our two-
legged loved ones, so why not our
four-legged ones? Trouble is, many hotels and
restaurants dont let animals past the reception desk,
so Gareth Brock set out to nd those places where he
and his beloved dog Ebony would be welcome. The
more than 650 pet-friendly holiday venues cover
everything from luxury cottages to caravan parks and
campsites. It traverses Australia, taking in eateries,
walks, parks and beaches, too. Handy icons let owners
see whats on offer and what restrictions apply.
March2017 | 119
Photojournalist
OUT & ABOUT Don McCullin,
who risked his
life to capture
MISS SLOANE the grim reality
Thriller of war
Jessica Chastain stars
inthis fast-paced
political thriller as
Elizabeth Sloane, one
ofWashington DCs
successful, yet
controversial, lobbyists.
The movie switches
back and forth between
US Senate hearings
investigating Miss
Sloanes unorthodox WE CHOSE TO SPEAK
dealings and the events, OF WAR AND STRIFE
seven months prior, that The world of the foreign correspondent
have led her to this John Simpson
point. It was in the wake
of several mass Bloomsbury
shootings that Miss To witness and report on the
Sloane agreed to take worlds dening and often
on the most powerful darkest moments wars,
opponent of her career; insurrections, famine, political
the gun lobby, only to intrigue takes a special
nd that this time commitment and resolve. John
winning may come at Simpson, a respected gure
too high a price. from the frontlines, has written a history of the
perilous profession of foreign correspondent
that introduces us to men and women driven in
the pursuit of stories that need to be told. Their
skill lies in their ability to seek out a story and
distil and communicate what they have
witnessed, often at great personal risk. Among
PHOTO: (M C CULLIN ) GETTY IM AGES
120 | March2017
Acid Pollution
on the Decline
Danish
researchers at
theUniversity of
Copenhagen have
discovered that man-
made acid pollution of
the atmosphere is
almost back to pre-
industrial levels. For THE LONELY PLANET TRAVEL
the rst time, they ANTHOLOGY
were able to distinguish True stories from the worlds best writers
between man-made
Edited by Don George
acids, caused mainly by
fossil fuel consumption, Lonely Planet
and those produced by Transport, transform, test, teach.
volcanic eruptions or Travel can do that to us, as this
forest res. Production latest edition in a long-running
of the former reached anthology series conrms. Here,
its peak in the 1970s, 34 noted novelists, journalists
but following clean and travel-writers each recount
airlegislation in Europe avery different story. Among
and the United States, thesparkling gems, Alexander
and the implementation McCall Smith is forever changed
of more effective by the Troubles in Ireland in the 1970s, Elizabeth
industrial ltering George explores her affinity with England, Jan
methods, man-made Morris evokes Americas Midwest on a morning
acid pollution has 70years ago, and Jessica Silber visits endangered
nowfallen to 1930s gorillas inthe Congo, and experiences a great deal
levels. more. The themes, styles and settings encompass
the gritty, exotic, romantic, melancholy and
amusing. These are multi-layered journeys of
aliteral and metaphorical kind that sharpen the
P HOTO: (GORILLAS) iSTOC K
March2017 | 121
BRAIN POWER
TEST YOUR MENTAL PROWESS
Puzzles
Challenge yourself by solving these puzzles and mind stretchers,
then check your answers on page 113.
BY MARCEL DANESI
G H I 2 8 10 13 5
GOT YOUR NUMBER 11 3 23 6 7
What number belongs on the
blank card?
16 21 20 19 30
18 25 27 28 29
1 9 4 14 17
122 | March2017
7 9 1 4
4 5
8 5 1 9
5 3
5 8 2 3 1
6 4
2 7 8 5
1 2
5 3 7 1
TO SOLVE THIS SUDOKU
You have to put a number from 1 to 9 in each
square so that:
Q every horizontal row and vertical column
contains all nine numerals (1-9) without
repeating any of them;
Q each of the 3 x 3 boxes has all nine numerals,
none repeated.
HIDDEN MEANING
Identify the common words or phrases below.
A
ORDER
B
March2017 | 123
BRAIN POWER
Trivia
1. Was the original good 8. Tom Cruise is a
Samaritan a man or a member of which
woman? religion? 1 point
1 point 9. What sports game
2. King George III was the first to be
of Great Britain was played on the moon?
deemed unfit to rule 1 point
in 1810 for what reason? 10. The earliest-known
1 point fashion magazine was
3. What is unique about published in which
12. To the nearest hundred,
birthdays in Vietnam? how many Pokmon are century: the 16th, 17th,
1 point there to date? 2 points 18th or 19th? 1 point
4. What bird proposes 11. Four well-known
to a mate with a pebble? insects taste with their
2 points feet. Can you name one? 1 point
5. Which is the only country in the 13. Which company, now one of the
world to ban the sale of tobacco and worlds largest manufacturers of
tobacco products? 2 points video games, started business in 1889
6. The ancient continent of selling playing cards? 1 point
Gondwana was named after a region 14. What fruit has the highest number
in which modern-day country? of kilojoules? 1 point
2 points 15. Vanilla flavouring comes from
7. Do mens shirts button on the left the seed pod of what types of flowers?
or the right? 1 point 2 points
I LLUSTRATI ON: iSTOCK
16-20 Gold medal 11-15 Silver medal 6-10 Bronze medal 0-5 Wooden spoon
14. Avocado, at approximately 862 kilojoules per 100 g. 15. Orchids of the genus Vanilla.
published in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1586. 11. Buttery, y, mosquito, cockroach. 12. Seven hundred. 13. Nintendo.
shirts button on the left. 8. Scientology. 9. Golf, by Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard in 1971. 10. The 16th. It was
lunar New Year (Tt). 4. The Gentoo penguin. 5. Bhutan. 6. Gondwana region in India. 7. On the right. Womens
ANSWERS: 1. A man. 2. Mental illness. 3. Everyone shares the same birthday, on the rst day of the Vietnamese
124 | March2017
BRAIN POWER
Word Power
Not So Dead Language
Latin is not the official language of any country today, but far from being
defunct, its thriving in hundreds of our common English expressions.
Whether its alias (assumed name) or veto (I forbid), Caesars language
is entwined with ours. Pro bono (free) answers on next page.
March2017 | 125
WORD POWER
Answers
1. verbatim [C] word for word. 9. ergo [B] therefore. The groom
If you dont repeat the magic spell was late; ergo, the crowd and the
verbatim, the cave door wont open. bride appeared unsettled.
2. mea culpa [B] acknowledgment 10. circa [A] about or around. It was
of fault. Whenever Ryan misses a circa 1978 that Juliana first started
crucial catch, he says, Mea culpa! collecting Peanuts memorabilia.
3. bona fide [A] genuine. I was 11. persona non grata [C]
waiting for a bona fide apology after unwelcome. After I dropped the ball
my argument with customer service. and didnt call my friend for years,
4. non sequitur [B] comment that he declared me persona non grata.
doesnt follow logically. We were 12. semper fidelis [C] always loyal.
discussing the film when Taylor threw Jack typically shortens the US Marines
in a non sequitur about her new cat. motto to a yell of Semper fi!
5. ad infinitum [B] without end. 13. carpe diem [B] seize the day!
Dont get my sister started on Dont sit around procrastinating, you
politics, or shell start hurling her sluggard carpe diem!
opinions ad infinitum. 14. quasi [B] having some
6. status quo [B] current state resemblance. With a broom handle
of affairs. The new CEOs structural and three wires, I invented a
moves have really quasi guitar.
changed the status 15. quid pro quo
quo for the better.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT [A] something given
7. magnum opus The word trivia comes from or received for
[A] masterpiece. the Latin trivium, a place something else.
I think of Good where three roads meet, Offer me trading
Vibrations as from tri (three) and via advice, and Ill chip
Brian Wilsons (way). In ancient times, at a in some tech help;
major crossroads, you might
magnum opus. its a quid pro quo.
nd a group of gossipers
8. per capita gathered there. Locals and
[C] for each person. travellers could exchange
VOCABULARY RATINGS
Ever the economist, news at these intersections 9 & below: cum laude
Mum said, Just one but the information might 1012: magna
lollipop per capita, have been commonplace, cum laude
and of little value. 1315: summa
kids.
cumlaude
126 | March2017
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