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Reader's Digest USA - November 2021
Reader's Digest USA - November 2021
What a
(ROAD)
The
TRIP! NICEST
By RD READERS
PLACES IN
AMERICA
HOPE. HELP. HEART.
About the
Why Dark Web
Winter Skin
Is So Dry Friends,
INDEED
Inside the
Florida Condo
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Features
80 98
coveR StoRy
DELETE YOUR
INTERNET
FOOTPRINT*
With spies everywhere,
keep yourself safe with
these 25 smart steps.
By ChRis hoffman
65
Special RepoRt
tenants slept, much of a
The Nicest Places 92 12-story Florida condo-
in America* tRavel
minium collapsed, kill-
Take a trip with us to My Most Unforgettable
ing scores and sending
places where good Road Trip* survivors fleeing for
fRom toP: gERalD hERBERt/shuttERstoCK. alEx gREEn
people are making There’s lots to remem- their lives. But amid the
good things happen. ber while driving cross- rubble and dust, heroes
By RD EDitoRs country: buckle up, use appeared as neighbor
your blinker, check reached out to
92 your mirrors. But as our
readers will tell you, the
number one rule of the
neighbor
By KElli KEnnEDy fRom aP
Departments
4 Dear Reader 40
6 Letters
EvEryday HEroEs
8 Screen Saver
By Sydney Page from
the WaShington PoSt
12 The Book Lady
By andy SimmonS
your truE storiEs EvEryday miraclEs The Healthy
20 Penny for Your 46 Banding Together
55 More Than
Thoughts, and More By emma tauBenfeld
Winter-Dry Skin*
How to wE found a fix By liSa marie conKlin
22 Work Out Your 50 “Request” 59 Coping with
Worries by Writing Facebook Take You Dry-Eye Syndrome
By elizaBeth to Your Leaders, 60 News from the
BernStein from the and More World of Medicine
Wall Street Journal
QuotaBlE QuotEs
BEst PEt Pals
62 Giannis
Brain Games
30 Kid Being Kids 113 Fact or Fiction,
Antetokounmpo,
tHE food on Dan Levy, and More
your PlatE
Anne Sexton 117 Word Power
34 I Am Olive Oil
120 Photo Finish
By Kate loWenStein
and daniel gritzer
13 tHings Humor
40 The Dark Web
Demystified* Life in These United States ������������������������������������� 14
By michelle crouch Laugh Lines���������������������������������������������������������������� 29 from toP: Serge Bloch. Wragg/getty imageS
wHErE, oH wHErE? All in a Day’s Work ���������������������������������������������������� 38
44 All Aboard! Laughter, the Best Medicine ���������������������������������� 52
Humor in Uniform �������������������������������������������������� 107
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RESULTS
START IN
14 DAYS* HELPS
YOU
FALL
ASLEEP*
DEAR READER
Getting in
the Spirit
here I come from, “nice” is
© 2021 POM Wonderful LLC. All Rights Reserved. POM, POM WONDERFUL, ANTIOXIDANT SUPERPOWER, the
accompanying logos, and the Bubble Bottle Design are trademarks of POM Wonderful LLC or its affiliates. PJ210728-24
in life, at age 51. I had
spent years unable to
LETTERS
Notes on the
“fit in” at school and
work. Adults with au-
September issue tism can be excellent
employees. Early diag-
nosis can make a pro-
found difference in
Brain Games That Really Work many people’s lives.
Thank you for spread-
Years ago, I began forgetting things after re-
ing the word.
turning from a trip to Australia. My husband —Teresa Ledbetter
took me to the emergency room, and four Garland, Texas
days later I awakened from a coma with a
A Thousand Stings
diagnosis that required me to exercise my
The Drama in Real Life
brain. I tried to read but couldn’t understand story of Doug April
what I was reading. But my bridge partners climbing up a rock face
had me count points in aces, kings, queens, to save his friend from
a swarm of killer bees
and jacks. And it worked! I just became a
gave me goose bumps.
Gold Life Master in bridge. One thousand bee
—Carol Szazynski Clearwater, Florida stings doesn’t seem
survivable, but I’m glad
Everyday Heroes more heart than most Ian Cappelle is alive to
When I turned to “Step- did something I know I tell the tale. April is a
ping Up to the Plate” never would’ve. It takes hero in my book.
and read “A longtime courage to give away —Emilee Jaskowiak
baseball card collector $35,000 in baseball Bethel, Ohio
seizes the opportunity cards to strangers.
to do good after a de- —Quirinius Taze True Stories
structive wildfire,” I Peters I enjoyed “The Mother
questioned how much Modesto, California of All Broken Records,”
good you could do after a true story about a
a natural disaster with My Autism Diagnosis, woman who asks her
rd photo studio
6 november 2021
Reader ’s Digest
Rd.com 7
EVERYDAY HEROES
Screen Saver
As the lost hiker grew desperate,
a stranger with an unusual pastime
was trying to rescue him
By Sydney Page
From the Washington Post
Rd.com 9
Reader ’s Digest Everyday Heroes
Ben Kuo was working at home when “He’s got to be on the south side be-
he read a tweet from the Los Angeles cause there’s not really any green val-
County Sheriff ’s Department, show- leys on the north side.”
ing a grainy image of a man’s legs. The That finding tightened his search,
sheriff’s search-and-rescue teams had leading him to an area that resem-
spent the previous night unsuccess- bled the terrain in the image. The
fully looking for Compean, so they final step was cross-referencing
released the photo to the public, hop- the original photo with 3-D images of
ing someone might know the location. the area from Google Earth. The loca-
Kuo, then 47, works in the tech tions matched!
industry, and he has an unusual He quickly called the sheriff ’s
hobby: “I have always loved looking department with the latitudinal and
for where photos are taken,” he says. longitudinal coordinates supplied by
Google Earth. Soon, a search-and-
AFTER SPOTTING rescue team helicopter was in the
air, hovering above Compean.
MOUNTAIN LIONS AND
After spending 27 hours alone in the
A BEAR, HE SPENT THE wilderness, Compean cried, “I’m safe!”
NIGHT ON HIGH ALERT. Days later, the two men met via
Zoom, where they made a plan to
meet in person. “Maybe we’ll go on
He frequently tries to identify where a hike,” Compean joked. Getting seri-
movie scenes, television shows, or ous, he told Kuo, “I owe you my life.”
commercials were filmed. He’s often Sgt. John Gilbert, of the sheriff ’s
successful. When he saw the blurry department, agrees. Compean’s story
image of Compean’s legs surrounded probably would have ended very
by an endless landscape of rocks and differently had a total stranger with
vegetation, he instinctively pulled strong satellite skills and a sharp eye
up a satellite map on his laptop. The for detail not taken action.
sheriff’s department said Compean’s “Ben’s help allowed us to get to that
car was parked near Buckhorn Camp- location much sooner than we prob-
ground, so he narrowed his search to ably would have,” Gilbert says.
the surrounding area. In fact, when Compean was finally
“There’s an amazing amount of in- pulled safely into the helicopter, one
formation you can get from satellites,” of his rescuers, unable to yell over the
says Kuo. The first thing he noticed din of the rotors, wrote on a piece of
in Compean’s photo were patches of paper, “You are so lucky.” RD
greenery. After comparing it to the
The WashingTon PosT (aPril 22, 2021),
satellite map, Kuo realized something: CoPyrighT © 2021 by WashingTon PosT.
I fer Williams’s
mother who
got her hooked on
to work hard out
on the field.”
S o sh e g ot to
books. A librarian, work, first by roping
she read to her in friends to donate
three children ev- books or money to
ery day. “Not until buy books. Before
we went to kinder- long, as news of
garten,” Williams Williams’s project
told vadogwood Williams and a few of her books spread, strang-
.com, a local news ers started leaving
site. “Until we went to college.” bundles of books on her front porch.
When Williams, now 54, became an As quickly as the books come in, Wil-
elementary school teacher and tutor in liams gives them to local schools—free
Danville, Virginia, she wanted her stu- of charge—and also supplies books to
dents to fall in love with reading just as little free libraries around the city of
she had. But early on, she realized that 41,000 just over the North Carolina
some kids had limited access to books. border. She also hosts a book club for
“It’s very obvious to teachers of inmates in the local jail.
young children which kids are read to In the four years she’s been doing
versus kids who are not,” she said. “It’s all this, the Book Lady, as Williams
Courtesy Jennifer Hoge Williams
obvious at the end of the first day of has come to be known, has given
school.” To Williams, the solution was away more than 78,000 books—only
simple: Give kids books. In 2017, as 922,000 more to reach her goal! And
part of a civic event called Engage Dan- she’s not slowing down. It’s too impor-
ville, she gave away 900 used children’s tant for kids with few options. R
books over three days. Most people “Reading can take you anywhere,”
would be satisfied with that. Most. she told CNN. “You can travel in time
“I was like, ‘Anybody could do that,’ ” and space. If you can read, you can
she said. “I wanted to do something learn almost anything.” RD
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LIFE
in these
United States
LITTLE ME
You can learn a lot about kids from their parents.
She’s So Over It Suddenly, she tripped, response: “Well, I don’t
My daughter had a and the trophy crashed, know anything.”
complete existential breaking in half. —Via Reddit
breakdown one day Everyone gasped,
when she found out expecting tears. She He’s a Family Man
that she was going to picked it up and said, When I asked my five-
have to pee every day “Look! Now I have year-old grandson why
of her life. two trophies!” he was so anxious to
—via Reddit — @marvinallen turn six, he replied,
“So I can finally get
He’s a Wordsmith She’s Curious married and have kids!”
My two-year-old son After a typical —Julee Smith
calls beards and mus- rapid-fire ques- Ogden, Utah
taches “face grass.” tion session
— @PAREENE with our five-
mikimad/Getty imaGes
year-old, my
She’s a Glass-Half-Full Gal wife won-
At a gymnastics dered why
“competition,” my she asks so
three-year-old was pos- many ques-
ing with her trophy. tions. Her
IS YOUR
BLADDER
ALWAYS
TAKING
YOU ON A
TRIP OF
ITS OWN?
Find us on Facebook
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For more information about Myrbetriq, talk to your health care provider.
By Elizabeth Bernstein
from The Wall STreeT Journal
22 november 2021
Reader ’s Digest
fter his father was rushed technique, and it’s different from writ
more you avoid a problem, the more goal of the exercise is to find meaning
trouble you will have with it, because in an unsettling event.
you create a loop of trepidation and Yanatha Desouvre turned to expres-
apprehension, and increasing nega- sive writing about 15 years ago, after
tive emotions,” says Brian Marx, PhD, the breakup of what he says was an
a professor of psychiatry at the Bos- unhealthy relationship. He wrote to
ton University School of Medicine. He understand why it made him feel vul-
uses an expressive writing protocol he nerable and sometimes physically ill.
helped to design, called Written Ex- “You can’t keep things bottled up,”
posure Therapy, with PTSD patients he says. “It will make you sick.”
at the VA Boston Healthcare System.
Why write? Thinking or talking
about an event can lead to ruminat-
HE STARTS WITH
ing, where you become lost in your “THE TOUGH STUFF,”
emotions. But writing forces you to THEN WRITES ABOUT
slow down, says Joshua Smyth, PhD,
distinguished professor of biobehav-
HOW HE’S GROWN.
ioral health and medicine at Penn-
sylvania State University, who studies
expressive writing.
The mere act of labeling a feeling—
of putting words to an emotion—can
dampen the neural activity in the
threat area of the brain, says Annette
Stanton, PhD, distinguished profes- The writing brought up an older
sor and chair of the department of trauma as well. When he was nine, he
psychology at UCLA. says, he survived a shooting in a bar-
Stanton’s research suggests that ex- bershop in Brooklyn. He had night-
pressive writing can lead to lower de- mares about it over the years but tried
pressive symptoms, greater positive not to focus on it. He started writing
mood, and an enhanced appreciation about it, then kept going. It helped.
for life. “Writing can increase some- As he wrote, Desouvre asked him-
one’s acceptance of their experience, self how he felt about the traumas of
and acceptance is calming,” she says. his life and what they revealed. It was
What if you don’t consider yourself painful, he says. “But when I acknowl-
“a writer”? Don’t worry about spell- edged the pain,” he says, “I was able to
ing or grammar, and don’t share your see the courage I didn’t know I had.”
writing with anyone. But do dig deep He thinks of his expressive writ-
into your thoughts and feelings. The ing as a captain’s log—a recording
24 November 2021
How to Work Out Your Worries by Writing
of what happened and what he’s pandemic. But he’s also written about
learned. Sometimes he jots down just what he has gained: more time with
a few sentences. But he always starts his family, and perspective.
with “the tough stuff” and then writes “My expressive writing gave me the
about how he’s grown from the expe- courage to face my fears,” Desouvre
rience. Last year he wrote in a note- says. “And I believe it has helped me
book, recording the stress of wrestling discover the hope I need to heal.” RD
with germs, loss, misinformation, and
The Wall STreeT Journal (March 31, 2020), copyrighT
his kids’ homeschooling during the © 2020 by DoW JoneS & coMpany, inc.
Rd.com 25
Reader ’s Digest
LAUGH LINES
If I ever rob a bank, I won’t My dad and I went to a restau-
resort to guns or violence. rant and the waiter pointed at
I’ll bring in sizzling fajitas, the QR code on the wall and
said, “That’s our menu.” And my
the one distraction dad looked at it really close and
no human being can resist. said, “Is this some kind of joke?”
—@samgrittner — @johnistoasted
Restaurants
I have an idea drastically
for a hot wings overestimate
restaurant: The how much I
wings are free, but care about
napkins cost $100. which wood
— @lunch_enjoyer they smoke my
bacon over.
— @SLOnans
Amuse Bouche
Rd.com | NovembeR 2021 29
Reader ’s Digest
FOOD
the
I Italian police arrested 33 members
of the ’Ndrangheta, the organized
crime group based in the Calabria re-
gion. The offense for which the men
ON YOUR were apprehended did not involve
selling drugs, committing murder, or
PLATE laundering money (though the group
is known for those things too). It was
about me, olive oil.
This notorious Italian mafia had
been taking low-quality olive mash,
called pomace, and selling it in Boston,
New York, Chicago, and New Jersey
as the good stuff—extra virgin—mak-
ing millions of dollars in the process.
This wasn’t the first time I was at
the center of some high drama; in fact,
that’s been part of my deal for millen-
nia. Take the Hanukkah story—the
one in which the Jews had only one
night’s worth of lamp oil but, miracu-
lously, it lasted eight. That was me,
back when I was more important as a
source of light than as a food.
I’ve also been used as perfume,
skin lotion, hair ointment, and even
a cleaning agent. The ancient Ro-
I Am Olive Oil … mans had no soap, so instead they’d
34 november 2021
think I really did much good like that.
Much more recently, I’ve been cat-
egorized into quality grades based
on processing methods and levels of
free oleic acid (the lower the level, the
more pristine the oil). Extra-virgin ol-
ive oil, or EVOO, has the lowest oleic
acid and the best flavor; it’s good raw
in dressings, or as a cooking oil. Virgin
oil has higher oleic acid but can work
as a frying oil, while refined oil (also
called “pure” or “olive pomace”) is so
heavily processed it’s better for lubri-
cating machinery than for use in food. OLIVE OIL DIP
Instances of fraud aside, high-
quality EVOO can be difficult to find, In a small bowl, stir together ½ cup
as there’s little guarantee that I will extra-virgin olive oil with 2 finely minced
Mark Derse/TMB sTuDios; ProP sTylisT: Melissa Franco; FooD sTylisT: Josh rink
still be in good form when you open cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon finely minced
the bottle. Time and heat can de- fresh rosemary needles, ½ teaspoon
grade my taste and health benefits finely minced fresh oregano leaves,
and bring me closer to full-on ran- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes,
cidity. Best-by dates often give more and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black
than two years for the oil in the bottle, pepper. Let infuse for at least 15 minutes
and up to 1 hour before serving with
but that assumes good storage condi-
fresh crusty bread. Garlic-herb oil can
tions, which are far from guaranteed
be refrigerated in an airtight container
in many places. How do you avoid for up to 2 days.
such pitfalls? There’s no easy answer,
but look for bottles that have a best- from a specialty shop that has a direct
by date that’s as far out as possible, relationship with the farmers, or from
which suggests it’s fresher. bigger (often more affordable) produc-
Avoid super cheap EVOO—a good ers that have a transparent process.
everyday olive oil costs about $15 per It’s also smart to skip those giant
liter. Go lower than that and chances jugs of me unless you’re sure you’ll
of getting the good stuff diminish. use me up within a couple of months,
Because light speeds oxidation, steer as I go rancid rapidly once my con-
clear of clear bottles; any company se- tainer is opened. Good versions of
rious about my quality will sell me in me can taste herbal, grassy, almondy,
dark glass or tin. Look for companies artichoke-y, green tomato-ish, and
with a shorter supply chain by buying peppery. Some varieties of me are
Rd.com 35
Reader ’s Digest The Food on Your Plate
WORK
38 November 2021
Reader ’s Digest
Rd.com 39
13 THINGS
Rd.com 41
Reader ’s Digest 13 Things
10 reason why
experts say
you shouldn’t use the
distribute the video to
your contacts unless
you pay a ransom. If
government and to
access organizations for
support and resources.
same log-in credentials this scam happens to It’s also a place where
for different websites. you, don’t pay a dime. anonymous sources
Cybercriminals on Report it to the FBI and whistleblowers can
the dark web buy huge at ic3.gov. share secrets or tips
databases of username with journalists and law
and password combina- Increasingly, enforcement without
tions that come from
data breaches. Then
they use bots to plug
12 law enforce-
ment is using
the dark web to pin-
compromising their
identities. Many legiti-
mate organizations, in-
the credentials into point and break up cluding the New York
bank portals and other illegal activity. In one Times and Facebook,
lucrative sites until they of the biggest busts so have versions of their
crack into an account. far, 338 people were sites on the dark web. RD
arrested worldwide in
Fraudsters 2019 as part of a take- Protect Yourself
44 November 2021
Reader ’s Digest
Rd.com 45
EVERYDAY MIRACLES
Banding Together
By Emma Taubenfeld
to pass up his invitation. “My first re- on his own layer until they achieve the
action was ‘Who is this guy and what sound they want.
does he want from me?’” says Paul The Paul O’Sullivan Band released
O’Sullivan from the Netherlands— its first original song, “Namesake,”
now known as Rotterdam Paul. in March 2016. It’s an upbeat track
As Baltimore Paul scrolled through about long-distance relationships—
the other Paul O’Sullivans’ profiles, he not romantic ones, but friendships
noticed something four of them had like those they had begun to develop.
in common: They were all musicians. But just months after the song’s
Like Baltimore Paul, Rotterdam Paul release, Baltimore Paul began ex-
sings and plays guitar. Another Paul in periencing health issues that forced
Manchester, England, plays bass. And
Paul from Pennsylvania is a drummer.
Four men with the same name who all “WRITING A SONG WITH
love making music? Baltimore Paul SOMEONE ACROSS THE
had an idea. Wouldn’t it be funny, OCEAN MAKES YOU
he asked the other musical Pauls, if
they formed a band called The Paul FEEL LESS TRAPPED.”
O’Sullivans? Yes, it would be, they all
agreed. And so they did.
Starting a band across multiple time him to take time off from making mu-
zones proved to be tricky. Shaky Wi-Fi sic. The other Pauls decided to take
and other technical difficulties meant a break too—from the band, that is.
they were often out of sync. And be- But they didn’t press pause on their
ing even half a second off from one an- friendship. Instead of supporting one
other wrecked their sound. To fix this, another on bass and drums, they sup-
they created a sort of musical assem- ported one another more generally.
bly line. Baltimore Paul and Rotterdam The other Pauls made sure Baltimore
Paul write and record a basic track, Paul never felt alone, even with the
then e-mail it to Manchester Paul. miles (and ocean) between them.
“I listen to the song over a few days,” They shared family pictures, chatted
says Manchester Paul, “to get a feel for live on Instagram, and checked in on
what bass arrangement seems most Baltimore Paul and on one another.
appropriate.” Once he records a bass “The other Pauls are gentle, dear,
track, he e-mails it back to Baltimore caring people,” says Pennsylvania
Paul, who then builds it into the main Paul. “They are a fountain of joy.”
song. Later, Pennsylvania Paul adds It was about four years before Bal-
the drumbeat. Round and round the timore Paul was well enough to start
track goes, with each member adding making music again. The first thing
Rd.com 47
Reader ’s Digest Everyday Miracles
the band did was create a music video “Life is tough sometimes,” says
for “Namesake,” which debuted on Pennsylvania Paul. “When you have
YouTube in February 2020. In its first an opportunity to generate joy, you
two weeks online, the video pulled in have to put aside the other stuff.”
more than 20,000 views. A new source of joy for the Pauls is
And when COVID-19 slowly shut getting to spend time with each other
down the world just weeks later, in person. Last fall, Baltimore Paul
the Pauls didn’t miss a beat. After surprised Pennsylvania Paul at his
all, the band had already gotten the home after coordinating with his fian-
hang of remote work. But now their cée. It was the first time any of them
international connection took on had met face-to-face without a com-
new meaning. “Writing a song with puter screen in the way. The two spent
someone across the ocean makes more time together this past summer
you feel less trapped,” says Baltimore and hope to add the other two Pauls
Paul. They used their time during to the mix soon. And when sched-
the pandemic to record their first EP, ules allow, they plan to embark on a
or short album. Titled Internet Fa- whirlwind four-stop world tour—one
mous: A Retrospective, it was released concert in each of their hometowns.
last April. “What are the odds,” says Baltimore
Half of the proceeds from the EP Paul, that a random Facebook request
will be donated to the COVID-19 Soli- would lead not only to new music but
darity Response Fund, which supports to lasting friendships as well? “Some
the World Health Organization’s work. things are just meant to be.” RD
ONLY
2,500fiLfiFTfi
WE
FOUND
A FIX
5 Tricks to
Improve Your Life*
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“Request” Facebook Take You to Your Leaders
Tech Facebook has made it just as easy to find your government
officials as your old school chums and favorite cousins. Stay
informed about the civic goings-on in your area by going to
facebook.com/townhall. Enter your home address and you’ll see
federal, state, and local officials, including some council members
and municipal office holders. What’s more, you’ll be able to contact
each of them with the click of a button, and see a feed devoted to
joleen zubek
50 november 2021
Reader ’s Digest
2
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3
Don’t Hammer Your Nails
Every Time Home Next time you go to pick up a hammer, spare
money If you’re shopping your fingernails when you’re aiming for the metal ones.
online and just a few Hold the nail in place by tucking it between the arms
dollars away from free of a bobby pin. The nail stem will fit snugly into the
shipping, it’s tempting indents of the bobby pin’s bumps for a tight hold, and
to buy one more item— an errant swing won’t crush your fingertips.
probably something you
don’t really need—to
save those shipping fees.
Instead, add a gift card
to your cart. Choose a
4
Cook Brown Rice Twice as Fast
dollar amount that puts Food If you think brown rice takes too long to cook,
you over the free ship- here’s a way to speed things up: Soak the rice in a covered
ping threshold and use pot at a 2-to-1 water-to-rice ratio and leave it in the fridge
the card later for some- overnight. The rice, having absorbed most of the water
thing you actually want. by the next day, will take half the amount of time to cook.
Redline 96 /Getty imaGes (plant), membio/Getty imaGes (sponGes)
5
Assist Your Not-So-Green Thumb
gardening If you have a houseplant
that’s prone to drying out quickly
(or if you’re prone to occasionally
missing a watering), place a kitchen
sponge at the bottom of the pot
under the soil the next time you
repot the plant. The sponge will
act as a reservoir, absorbing and
holding any excess water to feed
back to your plant the next time
the roots are a bit parched. RD
Rd.com 51
LAUGHTER
The best Medicine
Upon entering a store, “Yep, that’s him,” son the box of animal
a man noticed a big the man replied. crackers he had
“BEWARE OF DOG” “He doesn’t look begged her for. As she
sign posted on the dangerous. Why do unpacked the rest of
door. He continued you need that sign?” the groceries, the boy
cautiously until he “Because,” the man spread the crackers all
noticed an old hound explained, “before I over the kitchen table.
asleep on the floor put it up, people kept “What are you do-
near the cash register. tripping over him.” ing?” the mom asked.
“Is that the dog —StartSat60.com “I’m looking for the
we’re supposed to seal,” said the boy. “It
Dan Piraro
beware of?” he asked A mother returned says you can’t eat these
a worker behind from the supermarket if it’s broken.”
the counter. and handed her young —Scoutlife.org
More Than
Winter-Dry
Skin
Eczema and psoriasis flare
up this time of year. Here’s
what you need to know.
There are several types of eczema, swelling; crusted or oozing skin; and
but the most common is atopic derma- rough, leathery, scaly patches. These
titis (AD), an allergic skin disease. The symptoms can come and go, with pe-
main symptom is itching, which can riods of clear skin followed by flare-
be so intense that scratching leaves the ups when the skin becomes itchy and
skin vulnerable to infection. “Eczema irritated again.
is an inherited skin condition often Anything that might rob the skin of
associated with asthma or allergic moisture can precipitate a flare-up,
rhinitis [hay fever],” says Jeffrey Wein- including the cold, dry air of winter;
berg, MD, associate clinical professor central heating; and frequent bathing
of dermatology with the Mount Sinai without applying a moisturizer after-
hospitals in New York City. ward. Skin that’s exposed to winter
Eczema often starts in early child- elements is particularly vulnerable,
hood, and some people outgrow the especially on the hands and face. And
symptoms as they age. In children the as people bundle up, wool and poly-
disease usually appears on the cheeks, ester clothing can also be irritants.
elbows, knees, and scalp. In adults, ec- There is no cure for eczema, but
zema typically shows up in the creases flare-ups can be minimized and
of the face and neck, behind the knees, symptoms managed. The most impor-
and on the wrists and ankles. tant step is moisturizing frequently.
Besides itching, eczema symptoms Symptoms are usually treated with top-
can include dry, red, scaly, or inflamed ical medications (including corticoste-
skin; bleeding (from scratching); roids), biologic agents (drugs created
i tried it...
56 November 2021
The Healthy
Rd.com 57
Reader ’s Digest
the warmer months. What’s more, just school after many years of developing
about anything that jolts the immune red, itchy skin patches, she tried every
system can bring about a painful topical medication available, without
flare-up, including stress, colds, strep success. Kerner had heard about bio-
throat, or even an ear infection. logic medications, but they were de-
One in three people with psoriasis scribed as a last resort by her doctor.
develop psoriatic arthritis, a disease She became more desperate as her
that causes stiffness, swelling, and condition worsened. “The patches be-
pain in the joints and surrounding came more visible; they were on my
areas. The chronic inflammation in arms and legs,” she says. “To cover
psoriasis is also associated with other them up I would wear long sleeves,
serious conditions such as cardio- turtlenecks, and pants—all the things
vascular disease and diabetes. you shouldn’t do with psoriasis be-
There are many treatment options cause it overheats the skin and makes
for psoriasis sufferers. Mild to moder- it worse.”
ate cases can be treated topically with Finally Kerner consulted another
a combination of steroids and emol- doctor, who listened to her story and
lients such as petroleum jelly mixed immediately said, “We’re going to put
you on a biologic.”
“PSORIASIS IS Kerner was so relieved she burst
into tears. “I began giving myself bio-
NOT FATAL, BUT logic injections every two weeks, and I
DEALING WITH IT felt like a new person,” she says.
IS MURDER.” As with eczema, psoriasis can make
people feel shunned because of their
skin’s appearance, even though the
with salicylic acid, retinoids, and vi- condition is not contagious. “There’s
tamin D. Phototherapy treatment can a huge social impact for psoriasis
help by exposing the skin to an artifi- patients,” says Mark Lebwohl, MD,
cial source of UVB, a type of ultraviolet a dermatologist with Mount Sinai in
light. Moderate to severe psoriasis usu- New York. “I’ve heard of hairdressers
ally requires systemic treatment with turning patients away, as well as
oral medication (such as methotrexate blood banks not allowing people to
and systemic retinoids) or biologics. donate. Sometimes it even results in
It was treatment with biologics that job losses and absenteeism. Someone
finally helped Jennifer Kerner, 37, a once said, ‘Psoriasis is not fatal, but
scientist and consultant with Booz Al- dealing with it is murder,’ and that’s a
len Hamilton in Washington, DC, con- great description of it. It’s a truly dev-
trol her psoriasis. Diagnosed in high astating disease.”
58 November 2021
The Healthy
D
ry eye—a condition that evaporative loss of tears as well, he
occurs when your eyes don’t says. The American Optometric Asso-
produce enough tears, the ciation (AOA) suggests using a humid-
tears don’t work correctly, or they ifier to keep the air moist, and making
evaporate too quickly—is much more sure to get a good night’s sleep. Hy-
than a nuisance. “The burning can dration can also play a role in keeping
feel like sand is in your eyes, and this your eyes lubricated. The AOA guide-
can cause eye fatigue, light sensitivity, lines suggest aiming for eight to ten
and blurry vision,” says Angela Bevels, glasses of water every day.
an optometrist in Tucson, Arizona. Over-the-counter lubricant eye
Nearly 16 million Americans may drops can help ease symptoms. But
have dry eye, according to the Na- when these remedies don’t provide
tional Eye Institute. Anyone can relief or you find you’re using drops
develop the problem, but it’s more more than six times a day, it’s time to
common in women and in people see an eye doctor for treatments that
older than age 50. are available only by prescription or
Sometimes dry eye is a temporary when administered in a medical of-
condition caused by a variety of irri- fice. “These include heat and com-
tants. But it can be chronic, too, when pression treatments of the eyelids to
caused by immune system diseases improve the tear film [the fluid layer
such as lupus and rheumatoid arthri- that covers the eye], prescription anti-
tis. Skin issues on or around the eye- inflammatory eye drops, and tempo-
lids and diseases of the glands in the rary plugs that can be placed in the
eyelids are also common contributors. eyelids to keep the tears around lon-
People who wear contact lenses or ger,” Dr. Kanesa-thasan says. RD
Rd.com 59
Is Work Shortening
News From the Your Life?
WORLD OF When the COVID-19
60 November 2021
The Healthy Reader ’s Digest
Rd.com 61
Reader ’s Digest
QUOTABLE QUOTES
When you focus on the past, that’s your ego. When I focus on the
future, it’s my pride. I try to focus in the present. That’s humility.
—Giannis Antetokounmpo, athlete
The
NICEST PLACES
AMERICA
in
HOPE HELP HEART
KODAK, TENNESSEE
Photographs by Jessica Tezak
The green
Quality Inn sign
was a beacon for
those seeking
shelter from a
rare Tennessee
snowstorm.
F or Michelle and James
Hundley, it was a moment of truth.
Ahead of them lay a snowy, icy road.
Behind them, their cold, unheated
house. In the valley below, a warm,
welcoming room at the Quality Inn in
Kodak, Tennessee. All the Hundleys
had to do was get there, and Sean Pa-
“We will take
care of you,”
Sean Patel posted
on Facebook.
68 November 2021
Special Report Reader ’s Digest
rooms to local residents, concerned Patel wrote on the hotel’s page. “We
they might use the rooms for things are not charging the usual holiday
they didn’t want to do in their homes, or weekend rates. We had a few can
even for criminal activity. Even in the cellations and have allocated those
face of a massive storm that knocked rooms to help out.”
out power in the region, those hotels Not only would the hotel not lock
refused to lift their “no locals” rule. out locals or use the emergency
Facing the double whammy of high as an excuse to price gouge, Patel
prices and discrimination, their truck promised to keep rates down, even
was looking like the Hundleys’ only tually locking them in as low as
option. That is, until Michelle stum corporate regulations would allow:
bled upon a Facebook post from the $25 per night.
nearby Quality Inn. It was the lifeline the Hundleys
“Hello neighbors! If you are af needed. They called the Quality Inn
fected by the power outages, please and were promised a room if they
call us at Quality Inn in Kodak, right could get there safely. James pointed
off Exit 407. We will take care of you,” their truck down the mountain road
Rd.com 69
Reader ’s Digest
70 November 2021
Special Report
into Kodak but soon found them- Patel texted to make sure they were
selves cold, stranded, and worried. OK. Carole wasn’t sure what they’d
“It was like a blizzard,” says Carole. “I find when they arrived. “I was a little
called my neighbor and she said not bit wary,” she recalls. After all, $25 a
to come home.” They tried getting night is pretty cheap for a hotel room.
back but saw car after car stuck in the But she needn’t have worried. “We
snow. Utility workers urged them to felt safe the minute we walked in,”
turn around. So the Williamses started Carole says. “They rolled out the red
looking for a place to stay. carpet.” Their room was clean and
Like the Hundleys, at first they had warm. They could stay for as long as
no luck with area hotels: either no they needed, staff told them. When
rooms or none for them, thanks to the couple went downstairs for break-
those “no locals” restrictions. A friend fast the next morning, they found a
of the Williamses’ spotted Patel’s smiling, bespectacled man offering
Facebook post, and soon the couple them hot coffee. It was Patel.
were hauling down the highway while “Sean was standing there in the
Rd.com 71
Reader ’s Digest
dining area and was like, ‘You guys stopped by to chat and sip hot coffee.
going to stay for breakfast?’ ” Wil- By night, strands of lights twinkled
liams says. quietly among the lobby’s hand-
From that day on, Patel’s Quality made Nativity displays. Patel and
Inn was packed. Between Christmas his guests called it their Christmas
and New Year’s Eve, all 60 rooms were Village, complete with tiny houses,
booked, with as many as eight or nine a chugging train, and Santa’s sleigh
family members sharing a room. The hidden among the little trees that Pa-
weather may have made a mess of the tel’s seven-year-old son, Rudra—aka
holidays for many in the area, but in- Rudy—helped him set up.
side the inn, the Christmas spirit was And as the new year approached,
alive and well—with Patel playing with hundreds of area homes still
Santa, giving the gifts of electricity, without power, Patel let everyone
water, warmth, and friendship. know they had a friend out by the
By day, the halls filled with locals, highway. Looking for a room? He’ll try
tourists, and utility workers who to supply one. In need of a shower?
72 November 2021
Special Report
“Bring your towels,” he wrote on Face- his own money and energy to help
book. “And guess what, it’s free!” others,” says Patel’s friend Steve
As residents made their way to Smith, who nominated the Quality
Dumplin Valley Road, the Facebook Inn as the Nicest Place in America.
testimonials poured in: “But he has such a big heart, I know
“It is a blessing to know that in the he will only give more.”
midst of the darkness, there are still And he has. Patel owns a second
caring, thoughtful people that help in hotel, the Segovia Lodge in Junction,
time of need!” wrote Chelle Renee. Texas, near San Antonio. When a simi-
“We spent last night there,” posted lar freeze hit there in February 2021,
Bryan Holloway. “First time since Patel let his guests stay and eat free
early Christmas Eve we had power all week. And when the Segovia prop-
and running water. Thank you so erty lost power too, stranded truck-
much!” ers kept the fire in the lobby fireplace
“Sean and staff are amazing!!” going all night while guests slept on
wrote April Fetzer Smith. “They have the lobby floor.
personally helped my family when “It wasn’t about who was Black,
we were stranded in the Smoky white, Democrat, Republican. COVID,
Mountains!” or no COVID. Everyone was a family,”
No one who knows Patel was sur- says Shelly Shirley, a manager at the
prised by his generosity. Harold Hines Segovia. “I’ve never witnessed some-
lives in an extended-stay residence one like Sean.”
Patel owns, just behind the Quality Today, things there and in Kodak are
Inn. Hines landed there four years ago back to (mostly) normal. But the next
after losing his business. When he was time there’s trouble, the residents of
down and out, says Hines, Patel wel- Sevier County know where they’ll find
comed his family with open arms. a safe haven.
“You will never go hungry even “He helped a whole lot of people
if you don’t have food,” says Hines. who didn’t have anything,” Michelle
“Sean has made this a home.” Hundley says of Sean Patel. “He was
“I frequently ask him to dial it back the only one who stepped up to help
a bit because he spends so much of the locals.” RD
Rd.com 73
Reader ’s Digest Special Report
The
NICEST SUN AND MOON RANCH in Lexington, North Carolina
PLACES in
AMERICA Sharing the Sun and Moon
By Caroline Fanning
in the saddle at age two, she had al- With eight acres of pastures and an
ways felt most comfortable on horse- abundance of sunshine and fresh air,
back. In February 2020, her dream there was no safer way for frightened
finally came true, when she and neighbors to get out of the house. The
her “partner-in-farm,” Cory Conley, ranch, Hearne realized, should be
opened the gates of Sun and Moon for everybody. “It didn’t feel right to
Ranch. Then, just a month later, the suddenly become protective of what
74 November 2021
Shannan Hearne
(oppposite) wants
everyone who loves
horses and ranch life
to have easy access.
I thought I was being a good steward One of those people, now 15, was
of,” she says. born without fingers on one hand. His
Sun and Moon Ranch is nestled grandmother brought him to Sun and
between the Appalachian Mountains Moon for riding lessons. Learning to
and the Atlantic coast, in Lexington, control a horse with one hand helped
North Carolina. Sure, you can sign up him better manage his disability, and
for riding lessons or board your horse. he grew closer to his grandmother
But you can also drop by to play with over their shared love of horses. Plus,
the chickens, goats, and dogs. Wan- a special bond with two of Hearne’s
der through the vegetable garden. 18 rescued horses, Annie and Honey,
Break bread—and crab legs—during was a real leg up confidence-wise.
the farm’s low-country boils, when “There is something empowering
pots of shrimp, scallops, sausage, and about controlling a thousand-pound
corn cover the length of a newspaper- animal, and I believe this is espe-
covered picnic table. Or join the cially true for children or anyone who
younger ranchers playing on the big struggles with any sort of self-esteem
pile of freshly dug dirt. issues,” Hearne says.
Hearne, a digital marketer by day, Another boy became selectively
now saw the ranch as something more mute after being bullied because of
than a business—it would be a place his autism. Lesson by lesson, Hearne
the community could call home. watched him slowly come out of his
As the pandemic deepened, lo- shell. Taking the reins, literally, helped
cals began to gather there, not just him do so in his daily life too.
for the free cookouts and bonfires, “I could see how the empowerment
but for the chance to put up a ham- of riding was helping him feel once
courtesy shannan hearne
mock when they wanted some again in control of the world around
peace. RVs and campers were wel- him,” says Hearne. “He went from not
come to pull in for a quiet night after answering questions to literally talk-
a day on the road. “I had a vision ing our ears off.” And there’s no nicer
for the space being therapeutic for sound, especially when answered by
whoever the universe sent our way— an affectionate whinny from a four-
horses or people,” says Hearne. legged best friend. RD
Rd.com 75
The
NICEST MANTON, MICHIGAN
PLACES in
AMERICA A Winter Wonderland
By Emma Taubenfeld
76 November 2021
Special Report Reader ’s Digest
the coming years playing hockey. even the darkest times. “I want
That, thought Chittle, is what the to show the rest of the world,” says
children in this community need. Chittle, “what a little effort, the best
One problem: Chittle had no clue intentions, and community can do,
nETWORK
how to build an ice rink. Luckily, not only for others but for the souls
there’s YouTube. Soon after watching of all.” RD
Rd.com 77
Reader ’s Digest Special Report
The
NICEST
PLACES in Our Finalists
AMERICA These are this year’s Nicest Places in America.
Read nominations and full stories at rd.com/nicest.
CONNECTIONS:
Your link to values and insights each month
80 November 2021
COVER STORY
By Chris Hoffman
photo illustrations by Justin Metz
Rd.com 81
Reader ’s Digest
s the saying goes: The Inter- With these sorts of slip-ups, the
82 November 2021
Cover Story
nu m b e r, o r p a s s -
words are included in
any leaked databases
available to criminals.
Spoiler: Your infor-
mation has probably
been involved in mul-
tiple leaks. (The leaks
on HaveIBeenPwned
are just the tip of the
iceberg of what crimi-
nals have access to.)
4
Delete Old
Accounts
You probably have a
lot of online accounts
you no longer use,
and they might con-
tain personal infor-
mation. Delete them.
Don’t leave whatever
details you may have
shared sitting around
so they can be discov-
ered by criminals—or
or $5/month for a family of up to five misused if an unscrupulous company
people). Bitwarden is a good free op- one day buys and abuses your data.
tion. Or use the free manager built To learn how to delete an account,
into your browser. perform a web search such as “delete
old e-mail account.” You can also visit
justdelete.me, which has instructions
3 for deleting many different types of
Find Out Whether Criminals accounts. Or go right to the company;
Have Your Information check its online support pages or con-
Visit haveibeenpwned.com to see tact customer support and ask for ac-
whether your e-mail address, phone count deletion.
Rd.com 83
Reader ’s Digest
84 November 2021
Cover Story
can access them without a warrant. remove comments you’ve posted, de-
Despite bipartisan agreement and a lete accounts, or ask websites to take
unanimous vote in the House to ap- down your personal information.
prove the Email Privacy Act in 2016,
which would close this loophole, the
bill has not passed the Senate. 10
Consider deleting old e-mails, pos- Control Social Media
sibly after downloading a copy. This Privacy Settings
protects your correspondence from You may also want to restrict who can
both hackers and warrantless govern- see what you post on social media
ment surveillance. sites. For example, on Facebook you
can limit who can find you, who can
see what you post, and what Face-
8 book shares about you with other
Search Your Usernames Online companies. To get started, go to the
Head to a search engine and search Facebook home page and click the
for your name, as well as any user- down arrow in the top right corner,
names you’ve gone by online. The then select Settings & Privacy. A good
results show you where your name guide to Facebook privacy settings
appears on the public Web. In all like- can be found at consumerreports.org/
lihood, your social media profiles will privacy/facebook-privacy-settings/.
pop up in the results. That means they
will also show up for other people
who search for you. 11
Delete Old Social Media Posts
Facebook was created back in 2004.
9 By now, the college students who
Hide Social Media Profiles shared their party photos on the so-
from Search Engines cial media service in its infancy are in
Want to wipe these personal details their mid-30s. Fortunately, Facebook
from the Internet? You can make your has a Manage Activity tool that lets
social media accounts vanish from you delete or archive posts older than
search results by visiting each site that a certain date. Instagram allows you
came up in your initial search and to delete or archive individual posts.
changing the privacy settings. Each Only you can see the things you’ve
site works a bit differently; for guid- archived on either platform.
ance, search for “privacy settings” and Twitter has no built-in way to de-
the name of each site. While you’re lete old tweets, but third-party tools
cleaning things up, you can also such as TweetDelete can delete them,
Rd.com 85
Reader ’s Digest Cover Story
15
13 Tell Google to Stop
Tracking You
Know How California’s New
Privacy Act Affects You Even if you want to keep using Google,
The California Consumer Privacy Act you can activate more privacy settings
took effect on January 1, 2020. If you to keep the Internet giant from track-
are a California resident, it gives you ing all your web searches—which it
86 November 2021
does automatically if you’re logged Then, under History Settings, click My
in to Google (while using Gmail, for Activity and turn off any activity you
example). Even YouTube, which is don’t want to save.
owned by Google, tracks a history of
the videos you watch.
But this tracking is optional. You 16
can tell Google to stop collecting your Limit Who Has Your
data in the future and to delete what- Location History
ever it has already collected. To pause Something else Google may track
collection and delete previously col- about you, unless you tell it not to, is
lected data, visit the My Google Ac- your location history. Depending on
tivity page. To get there, click on your your settings, Google may store this
Google profile photo, go to Manage information forever, building a data-
Your Google Account, and, in the left base of your movements.
navigation panel, click Data & Privacy. Google can gather this information
Rd.com 87
Reader ’s Digest
v ia s ma r tp ho nes
w ith its Android
operating system
or if you install the
Google Maps app on
an iPhone and give
it location access.
Here’s how to stop
it: On the My Google
Activity page, select
the option to pause
collection of your
location and de-
lete your collected
location data or tell
Google to automati-
cally delete it.
17
Configure Your
Browser for
Privacy
Browser cookies are small pieces online. (Every device on your home
of information that websites can network likely shares the same IP ad-
store in your browser to track you. dress.) One way to conceal your IP
Chrome is moving away from cook- address is with a VPN.
ies and toward a technology called
“FLoC,” which will essentially make
the browser track your search history 18
and report your general interests to Use a VPN
websites so they can feed you ads A VPN , or virtual private network,
based on your perceived interests. creates a secure tunnel to the In-
There are ways to limit this track- ternet, acting as a middleman be-
ing, with ad blockers and browser ex- tween you and your Internet service
tensions that protect privacy. But you provider by encrypting your con-
can be tracked in other ways, includ- nection. With a VPN , your Inter-
ing by your IP address, a number that net service provider can’t see what
identifies your Internet connection websites you’re accessing, and the
88 November 2021
Cover Story
Rd.com 89
Reader ’s Digest
One communication app that uses VPN : It routes your Safari browsing
end-to-end encryption is Signal. traffic through an anonymous server.
Owned by a nonprofit and popular Websites will know the general region
with activists worldwide, it works on you’re in but won’t see your unique IP
both Apple and Android products. address as you browse.
When signing up for accounts or
newsletters online, the Hide My Email
22 feature in iCloud+ lets you create ran-
Take Advantage of Apple’s domized unique e-mail addresses that
New Privacy Features forward e-mails to your real e-mail ac-
Apple has been a leader in introduc- count. Senders can’t see your real e-
ing privacy features, and recently the mail address, and you can deactivate
company added even more with the a randomized e-mail address at any
newest operating systems, namely time—perfect for avoiding spam.
iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Mon-
terey. Most of these features require
iCloud+, an additional paid iCloud 23
Protect Your Mail
storage plan (starting at 99 cents/
month). The included iCloud Private Even if you don’t pay for iCloud+,
Relay service functions similarly to a be sure to look for the Mail Privacy
90 November 2021
Cover Story
Protection feature that pops up the the time, sharing a tidbit may seem
first time you open Apple’s Mail app. It inconsequential, but remember, per-
will block tracking pixels, preventing sonal details such as your birthday or
people (and advertisers) from seeing the city you were born in are just the
when you opened their e-mails. When sorts of facts you should guard care-
you load images in e-mails, Apple will fully, as they are often the answers to
hide your address from trackers. your security questions.
Worse yet, should a criminal get
hold of your birthdate and the city you
24
Remove Saved Payment
were born in, suddenly it becomes
easier to guess your Social Security
Details number. In 2011, the Social Security
Don’t save your payment details Administration began randomizing
on online shopping sites. True, this newly assigned Social Security num-
makes it easier for you to buy the bers. But before that, people’s Social
things you want, but it also makes it Security numbers were determined
easier for criminals to gain access to by the place and time they were born,
your accounts and buy things as you. so those are important clues to keep
As a compromise, you may want to from identity thieves.
keep a credit card stored on sites you
shop often but not on sites you use Concerns about online privacy
only occasionally. aren’t just concerns about privacy on
the Internet, they’re about privacy in
every facet of our lives.
25 All of this is a lot to fully compre-
Be Careful About Sharing Info hend. But knowing the scale of the
Think twice before sharing any per- problem and taking these very doable
sonal details anywhere online. At steps is a good start. RD
Rd.com 91
Reader ’s Digest
My Most
Unforgettable
Road Trip
Rd.com 93
Reader ’s Digest
“Honey, I think your check just got to have a little fun. Any time a car passed
Spearfish campground.” us, Al, lying in the back where the
—Patricia Olson coffin should be, would slowly rise,
Port Charlotte, Florida like Dracula come to life. Driving
across country can be tedious, but
Snap Judgment the hours flew by as we enjoyed the
We were nearing the end of our shocked stares and double takes of
40-day Route 66 road trip when my our fellow travelers.
wife and I arrived at Cool Springs, a —Russell Kaspar
historic gas station/museum/gift shop Frankfort, Indiana
in western Arizona. Numbed by hav-
ing stopped at every attraction along A Monumental Request Met
the way, and having already snapped Our family took a road trip from Flor-
1,500 photos, we asked ourselves, ida to Wyoming. My fondest mem-
“Do we really want another stop?” ory was Mount Rushmore, though it
We decided to pause long enough for wasn’t the monument that clutched at
one more picture. Ginny rolled down my heart, magnificent as it is. It was a
her window and stuck out her cam- family pushing a gurney with a man
era. Just as she was about to press the on it, searching for the perfect view-
shutter, the proprietor sitting on the ing spot. Seeing the monument, I later
porch piped up and said, “The pic- learned, would tick off the last item on
ture doesn’t count unless you get out his bucket list. It was a moving sight,
of the car.” and I’ll never forget the family who
—Jon Oshel didn’t feel it was too much to honor
Hillsboro, Oregon their loved one’s last request.
—Calvin Snyder
A Ride to Die For Maitland, Florida
Here was the challenge: Get myself
and my groomsmen from Indiana, Just Outside of Somewhere, USA
where we went to school, to Califor- Driving through South Dakota, I was
nia, where I was getting married, and awestruck by just how much farmland
do it on the cheap. We heard about there was—acres upon acres of fields,
a company that recruited drivers to hay bales, and cows as far as the eye
transport vehicles across the country, could see. My five-year-old son, Adam,
so we signed up. It was a great deal— had a slightly different perspective.
we wouldn’t pay a cent—and our “Wow,” he said, “there sure is a lot of
vehicle was as stately as they come: middle-of-nowhere out here.”
a big black hearse. It was spooky at —Mark Dequaine
first, but by Nebraska, we decided to De Pere, Wisconsin
Gerald Herbert/SHutterStock
98 November 2021
DRAMA IN REAL LIFE
By Kelli Kennedy
From AssociAted Press
Rd.com 99
Reader ’s Digest Drama in Real Life
While their escape felt agonizingly normally be asleep, but his 15-year-
long, it all unfolded in mere minutes. old sister, Chani, had returned from
In those perilous seconds, before the babysitting only minutes earlier and
world knew of the carnage, they were was in the shower, his dad was out
fighting to survive. of town, and his mom had just come
“When I opened the staircase door home from an event.
and half the staircase was missing— They all heard the first thunderous
at that point I knew we were racing rumble. They knew the building was
against time to all get out as a family,” undergoing construction and had
Albert says. been irritated by the incessant noise,
Joe Raedle/Getty ImaGes
Rd.com 101
Reader ’s Digest
Back in the Nirs’ kitchen, thick wrapped around her hair—fled their
concrete dust came rushing into apartment and ran to the lobby.
their apartment from the patio win- Through the lobby’s windows and
dows near the pool. The ground was glass doors, the Nirs could see the
shaking as 25-year-old Gabriel ran to damage outside. The car deck had
the bathroom. caved into the parking garage. Car
“We have to go now!” he screamed alarms were blaring, emergency lights
to his sister. He grabbed his phone, were flashing, and water was rapidly
then he and Chani—wearing only filling the garage where pipes had
a bathrobe, flip-flops, and a towel burst. Residents from upstairs were
running out the door screaming, 42-year-old former college athlete was
many still in pajamas, one man push- vacationing from New Jersey with his
ing a baby stroller. wife, Janette; 14-year-old daughter,
As the rumbling intensified, Gabriel Athena; and 22-year-old son, Justin
pushed his mom and sister safely into Willis, a college baseball player.
the street. “Run! Run!” he ordered. Justin thought a plane had crashed
Tiny rocks and bits of debris pelted into the building, but there was little
his head as he turned back to face an time to talk as they rushed into the
image that still haunts him. stairwell, wondering if they could
“I saw the building turning into a manage to painstakingly descend
white dust,” he says, describing the 11 floors before more of the building
complex as part of it crumbled, much collapsed. No one panicked or cried.
of it atop his family’s apartment. “I “There was no time to react. Just make
heard people screaming.” your move,” Albert says.
“I have to go back. I have to make Each time they descended another
sure everyone’s OK,” he yelled to his level, they yelled out the floor num-
mother and sister. But he knew it was ber, a small victory of survival, one
Lynne SLadky/ShutterStock
Some residents
carried neighbors
down the stairs.
Rd.com 103
Reader ’s Digest
stairwell, bumping into the Aguero gone. “So I kept going,” she says.
and Lopez clans along the way. Meanwhile, Esther Gorfinkel was
But when Rodriguez reached the flagging. They were moving too
flooded parking garage, she turned fast, she complained. Her knee was
around. “I knew being electrocuted in terrible pain. Without thinking,
was a real possibility,” she says. Alfredo threw her over his shoulder
Rodriguez rushed back upstairs and pressed on.
to her party. While the Aguero and “We became like a caravan,” he says.
Lopez group continued down to the But the caravan was in for a
garage, Rodriguez chose a different surprise when they reached the
path, leading her friends out of the flooded garage. Though they weren’t
stairwell at the second floor. There, worried about being electrocuted,
they discovered that someone had left as Rodriguez had feared, their way
their apartment door open. They ran out was obstructed by mangled cars
to the balcony, which faced the street and a giant slab of concrete that had
side, and called down to a rescue fallen from the pool deck above. They
team outside. Soon, first responders would have to wade through the
maneuvered a cherry picker toward water and scramble over the vehicles
them. One by one they stepped in and and concrete to the pool deck.
were brought down to the street and Alvarez panicked. She was wear-
to safety. ing slippers, just like Alfredo’s wife,
Marian. It was too high to climb the
Back in the stairwell, the Aguero and rubble. She watched as the athletic
Lopez families were still making their Aguero family ascended the broken
way toward the garage. Alfredo Lopez cars and concrete to the pool deck,
was panicked ... and miffed. Why was with father and son hoisting Gorfinkel
his wife wearing slippers to navigate up the wreckage.
their doomsday nightmare? “What I can’t make it, Alvarez thought.
were you thinking?” he yelled. Her hands were covered with blood,
As they descended, Susana Alvarez but she had no scratches, and no idea
paused as she remembered Hilda where it came from. But the Lopezes
Noriega on the sixth floor. She was weren’t about to leave her behind.
like family; they’d spent many holi- “Thanks to Alfredo and his son,” she
days together. Noriega and Alvarez’s says, “we were able to climb up and
mother had been best friends since get out.”
their days in Cuba. Can I rescue
her? Can I go get her? she thought The Aguero, Nir, and Lopez families
frantically. But she knew the wing and their little ragtag team all came
of the building Noriega lived in was out alive and safe. They now find
Rd.com 105
Reader ’s Digest Drama in Real Life
Gabriel Nir, left, and his family escaped, but their first-floor apartment was squashed
under debris. At right, loved ones set up a tribute wall to the victims.
themselves embracing their children away the what-ifs. “It’s like a virus. It
and siblings tighter, knowing that just never goes away,” he says regret-
many of their neighbors will never fully. “I wish I could have done more
return, never hug loved ones again. ... these people who are missing, they
They lost their homes. It’s all aren’t coming back.”
gone. Clothes, computers, cars, even Susana Alvarez is also filled with
prescriptions. The part of the building grief. Hilda Noriega, her mother’s best
that continued to stand was deemed friend, is among the dead. And then
structurally unsound and unsafe for there are her other neighbors. “Those
tenants to return. It was demolished are people I say hello to,” she told NPR.
on July 4. It’s inconvenient, the sur- “The lady who was in the elevator
vivors say, but it doesn’t really mat- with me that night before when I went
ter. They are alive. At night, it’s much home for the evening—we were talk-
harder. They still hear the screams ing. She did yoga with me. They were
Gerald Herbert/SHutterStock (2)
in their heads, and it all comes the nicest couple. They always wanted
rushing back. “I had horrible survi- me to go out, ride bikes with them.”
vor’s guilt,” says Alfredo. And then there were the people
Days after the collapse of the she heard crying from the rubble
Champlain Towers South, the Nir as she escaped. “Some were yelling
family found themselves crammed ‘Help,’” she says. “That will haunt
into a nearby donated hotel room. me forever.” RD
But Gabriel Nir found it difficult to
aSSociated PreSS (July 3, 2021), coPyriGHt © 2021 by
sleep. He tried to stay busy, to push tHe aSSociated PreSS
Humor in
UNIFORM
Rd.com 107
INSPIRATION
How I Learned to
Make
Friends Again
It used to be so easy. Then life got in the way.
By Billy Baker
from the book We Need to HaNg out
Reader ’s Digest
et’s start with the moment I all the time and we hung out all the ...
and local Boston guy who, with friendships. So I typed out my com-
his wife, Jacqueline Olds, MD, had plaints, threw in some research, and
written a book called The Lonely completed my assignment.
American: Drifting Apart in the Twenty- As soon as my article was pub-
first Century. lished, the first thing I did was send
Name a health condition you don’t it to Mark and Rory, my buddies from
want and there’s a study linking it to high school.
loneliness. Diabetes. Obesity. Alz- Mark replied right away. “Who is
heimer’s. Heart disease. Cancer. this?” That’s classic Mark.
Now consider that a 2019 survey Rory’s reply was not funny. “Awe-
found that 61 percent of Americans— some story,” he wrote. And then he
men and women—are measurably apologized, because he had failed to
lonely, based on how they scored on mention something kind of impor-
the UCLA Loneliness scale, the gold tant. He had moved.
standard for decades. The percent- To Vienna.
age had jumped seven points from One of my two best friends had
just the previous year. And accord- moved to Austria and did not bother
ing to a large study conducted by the to tell me.
AARP, more than 42 million Ameri- It was clear I needed to get my
cans over the age of 45 suffer from friend life back on track. And I wasn’t
chronic loneliness. the only one. I was getting e-mails,
“Psychiatry has worked hard to de- hundreds and hundreds of e-mails,
stigmatize things like depression, and all saying “This is me,” or some ver-
to a large part it has been successful,” sion of it.
Dr. Schwartz said. “People are com- Good thing I had spoken to some
fortable saying they’re depressed. But experts about all this.
they’re not comfortable saying they’re Dr. Schwartz had suggested finding
lonely, because you’re the kid sitting activities with built-in regularity, and
alone in the cafeteria.” I did not need a PhD to understand
I’ve never been that kid. I’m gre- why this is the favored advice of the
garious and outgoing. I’ve never had experts who work in this field. Sched-
trouble making friends. I’m fairly uling takes initiative, and if you have
Sidney Pearce/UnSPlaSh
good about keeping in touch. Or at to take initiative every time you see
least I comment on their Facebook a friend, it’s easy for the effort to feel
posts, and they comment on mine. like yet another aggravation you don’t
But I could no longer deny how need. Anyone who has ever been on
well my symptoms fit the diagnosis an e-mail chain trying to plan a group
that had been handed to me. I had get-together knows how quickly the
to admit that I had no truly active aggravation can kill the concept.
So the expert recommendation is very guy thing to do. Also ... Wednes-
rather grandfatherly: Join a bowling days. Ain’t nothing great about
league. Essentially. That gave me an Wednesdays.
idea. More accurately, I was going to I needed my own Wednesday
steal an idea. Nights. And I knew that other guys
Shortly after we’d moved from the did too.
city, I took a kayaking class run out of So I invited a dozen guys to get to-
a small shop owned by a guy named gether on Wednesday night, in the loft
Ozzie and his wife, Sandy. At some of a barn a guy in town had agreed to
point I heard Ozzie decline an invi- let us use. The barn wasn’t much. It
tation because he had Wednesday had a couple of old couches, some
Night. I didn’t totally follow, as I was beat-up chairs, a strand of Christmas
under the impression that we all had lights on the wall. It was perfect.
Wednesday night, but Ozzie explained Ten guys showed up. I told them the
that “Wednesday Night” was a pact barn was ours on the odd-numbered
that he and some buddies had made Wednesdays, and if anyone wanted
years before, a standing order that on to join me, I’d be there. When the
Wednesday nights they would get to- next Odd Wednesday rolled around,
gether and do something. Anything. the Boston Bruins were playing in
Everything about the idea sounded the Stanley Cup, so the guys who
perfect to me, a blend of quaint and were free that night got together and
profound, right down to its name, watched the game. Friendship is com-
which is a lack of a name, which is a plicated unless it’s painfully simple.
As the weather warmed, we moved
outside, where we set up a firepit on
a spot overlooking a river that runs
through a salt marsh. There was a
primitive pleasure in sitting around
a fire at the end of a day, cold drink
in hand. We had some good laughs,
but what I remember most about that
night was that near the end, when it
had finally become pitch-black, there
was a good long stretch where we all
just stood around the flames, watch-
ing them dance, and saying nothing.
As the year rolled on, we got to-
gether some Odd Wednesdays and
skipped others.
Rd.com 111
Reader ’s Digest Inspiration
and cousins. My friends from the gym. ment didn’t work out, I still made out:
A crew I’d played bar trivia with a de- I wound up with three best friends to
cade before. Organically and instinc- hang out with on Wednesday nights. RD
tively, the squads were assembling. ExcErptEd from thE book WE NEEd to haNg out by
“What catastrophes seem to do— billy bakEr, copyright © 2021 by billy bakEr.
rEpriNtEd With pErmissioN of avid rEadEr prEss,
sometimes in the span of a few a divisioN of simoN & schustEr, iNc.
BRAIN GAMES
7 Pages to sharpen Your Mind
Fact or Fiction?
MEDIUM Determine whether each statement is fact or fiction. To reveal the solution
to the bonus question at the bottom, write the letters indicated by your responses
in the corresponding numbered blanks. Turn the page upside down for the answers.
BONUs QUEsTION What is the number that identifies your Internet connection called?
(Need help? Turn to “Delete Your Internet Footprint” on page 80.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
many viewers. 8. Fiction; they are cells in the pancreas. 9. Fact. Bonus Question. IP address.
6. Fact; the males’ droppings are spiral and the females’ are J-shaped. 7. Fact; the Super Bowl had nearly ten times as
water a higher boiling point. 5. Fiction; for a few years in the 1970s, it was celebrated on the fourth Monday in October.
Answers: 1. Fact. 2. Fiction; even in low Earth orbit, it isn’t visible to the naked eye. 3. Fact. 4. Fiction; adding salt gives
Rd.com 113
Reader ’s Digest
Quick Crossword
easy In the spirit of giving 1
thanks, fill the grid with
these words, all of which 2
mean “thank you” in 3
various languages.
4
HVALA (Croatian) 5
MERCI (French)
WADO (Cherokee)
ASANTE (Swahili) 6 7 8
TODA (Hebrew) 9
GRACIAS (Spanish)
KIITOS (Finnish)
ARIGATO (Japanese) 10
DANKE (German)
emily goodman (quick crossword). marcel danesi (missing middle, pyramid scheme)
MAHALO (Hawaiian)
12 2 9 21
94 ?
1 34 14 7
Clues
✦✦ Aiden did not make a dish with a vegetable in its name.
✦✦ Cedric made a side with only one word in its name.
✦✦ Jill made the mac and cheese.
✦✦ Barb did not make the green bean casserole.
Double Trouble
medium Rephrase each item below as a pair of rhyming words. Hint: Each item’s
number is also the number of syllables in each word in the answer.
Rd.com 115
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9. inert adj.
WORD POWER (ih-'nert)
A explosive
B inactive
C poisonous
Grab your safety goggles and fire up your
Bunsen burner—we’re heading to science 10. velocity n.
class with terms related to chemistry, biol- (vuh-'lah-sih-tee)
A speed
ogy, and physics. If you feel out of your ele- B friction
ment, don’t worry; the words are also used C pressure
outside the lab. After your pop quiz, take a
quantum leap to the next page for answers. 11. vertebra n.
('ver-tuh-bruh)
A green metal
By Sarah Chassé B back bone
C reptile family
Weird Science
Science has countless branches, many with names ending in -logy
or -ology, meaning “study,” from the Greek logos (“word”). Among
the lesser-known specialties: oology (the study of birds’ eggs), koniology (dust),
dendrochronology (tree rings), and ichnology (fossil footprints). And for those who
really want to get down and dirty, there’s scatology, the study of ... well, excrement.
Make
ANSWERS us !
L ugh
a
WHERE, OH WHERE?
(page 44)
C. Boone County, Iowa
BRAIN GAMES
(pages 114-115)
Quick Crossword
ACROSS DOWN
3. WADO 1. HVALA
5. GRACIAS 2. MAHALO
6. TODA 4. ARIGATO
9. ASANTE 7. DANKE
10. KIITOS 8. MERCI
Missing Middle Reader’s Digest (ISSN 0034-0375) (USPS 865-820), (CPM Agreement# 40031457), Vol. 198,
15. The number in the No. 1175, November 2021. © 2021. Published monthly, except bimonthly in March/April, July/
August, and December/January (subject to change without notice), by Trusted Media Brands,
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Rd.com 119
Reader ’s Digest Brain Games
PHOTO FINISH
Your Funniest captions
Winner
First year at clown-car college.
—Bruce Merecki Silver City, New Mexico
Runners-Up
The Sardine family packs for its next vacation.
—Robert Carr Toms River, New Jersey
Jodie GriGGs/Getty imaGes