Reader's Digest AU NZ 03.2020

OATUSRARPSOLDTDKOCRASISETSS

Fears of An ibiotic
Resistance

PAGE 50

TRUE CRIME
The Stalker and the
Unsellable House

PAGE 92

PATRICK BLANC
The Vertical
Garden Pioneer

PAGE 28

TO SNACK OR
NOT TO SNACK?
We Have
The Answer

PAGE 66

Available now, everywhere G OBAL

ealth

THREAT

Fears of Antibiotic
Resistance

TRUE CRIME
The Stalker and the
Unsellable House

PATRICK BLANC
The Vertical
Garden Pioneer

TO SNACK OR
NOT TO SNACK?
We Have
The Answer

CONTENTS

MARCH 2020

COVER IMAGE:GETTY IMAGES Features 34 46

24 46 2

making a difference food on your plate family

Clean-Up Teen Grapes – A Divine Talk to Her
Fruit to Drink Like a Person
The teenager looking
after her part of the The vines celebrated My daughter has
planet, plus a charity since antiquity. special needs, but
helping disadvantaged that doesn’t mean
children. DIANE GODLEY KATE LOWENSTEIN you need to talk
AND DANIEL GRITZER down to her.
28
50 HEATHER LANIER
profile FROM TODAY’S PARENT
public health
Left Field Genius
Let’s Keep
The innovative Antibiotics
botanist is bringing Working
lush vertical gardens
to the world’s cities. The global effort
needed to combat
MATTHEW BIGGS the rising threat of
FROM THE SECRETS OF bacteria resistant
GREAT BOTANISTS to antibiotics.

34 SUSANNAH HICKLING

in the news

The View From
Gun Country

It’s only after she is
shot that a woman
tries to make sense of
America’s complicated
relationship with guns.

ELAINA PLOTT
FROM THE ATLANTIC

ON THE COVER: LET’S KEEP ANTIBIOTICS WORKING – PAGE 50

1

CONTENTS

MARCH 2020

70 78 92

66 drama in real life true crime

food The Snake’s Revenge The Haunted House
Next Door
Snack Your Way A couple’s relaxing
to Better Health day turns into a It seemed the perfect
horrific lesson in home for the family
Are snacks good dealing with snakes. of five. Then the
or bad for you? Well, it disturbing letters
all depends on what NICHOLAS HUNE-BROWN began arriving.
you are nibbling.
86 REEVES WIEDEMAN
DAWN YANEK FROM NEW YORK
life lesson
70 100
The Art of
relationships Condolence travel

“I Never Forgot You” Guidance on Small Country,
offering sympathy Big Attraction
Two star-crossed when someone has
teenagers have a lost a loved one. They’re pint-sized
second chance at love but perfectly formed –
– decades later. BRUCE FEILER ADAPTED why Europe’s smallest
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES countries are well
MARINA LOPES worth visiting.
FROM THE WASHINGTON
POST MAGAZINE TIM HULSE

2 march 2020 86

18

100 Departments 60
122
107 the digest
18 Pets
13 things 20 Health
23 News From the
Soaring Facts About
Hot-Air Balloons World of Medicine
123 RD Recommends
Up, up and away:
what’s behind the regulars
most colourful way to 4 Editor’s Note
float through the sky. 6 Letters

JEN MCCAFFERY 10 News Worth
Sharing
110
12 My Story
bonus read 16 Smart Animals
49 That’s Outrageous
The Moondust 56 Look Twice
Diaries 122 Quotable Quotes

The dark side of humour
returning to the 44 Life’s Like That
moon is fine, super 60 Laughter, the
sticky and may pose
health risks to Best Medicine
astronauts. 90 All in a Day’s Work

CERIDWEN DOVEY the genius section
130 The Rule of Age 10
FROM THE BOOK INNER 135 Trivia
WORLDS OUTER SPACES 136 Puzzles
138 Family Fun
139 Word Power

3

READER’S DIGEST

EDITOR’S NOTE

The Elements of Surprise

THE BEST STORYTELLING brings up surprises and makes the reader
raise a fist in support. This was my initial response to reading about
the work of Australian physicist Professor Brian O’Brien, an expert
on moondust. ‘The Moondust Diaries’ (page 110) by Ceridwen Dovey
tells the back story of one of the weirdest, though largely unreported,
challenges faced by the 12 astronauts who walked on the moon surface
from 1969 to 1972. Moondust! The dust on the moon is super-fine, super-
sticky and, according to O’Brien, is an extremely fascinating substance.
Today, aged in his 80s, he is considered to be the world’s leading expert
on moondust and still contributes to future moon explorations.

This month’s issue has some excellent reading on offer, including
a true crime that forced a family to flee their newly renovated home
(‘The Haunted House Next Door’, page 92), a man’s bizarre yet life-
altering encounter with a snake (‘A Snake’s
Revenge’, page 78), the latest information on the
global crisis of antibacterial resistance (‘Let’s
Keep Antibiotics Working’, page 50), as well as
a heartwarming love story over 60 years in the
making (‘I Never Forgot You’, page 70).

We’d love to hear from you, so don’t hesitate
to write and tell us your thoughts about any
of the articles featured in this issue.

Happy reading,

LOUISE WATERSON
Editor-in-Chief

4 march 2020

Vol. 198 OATUSARRPSOLDTDKOCRASISETSS
No. 1178
March 2020 GLHOeBaAlLth

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Louise Waterson THRE TFReeasrisstaofncAe ibiotic
Managing Editor Zoë Meunier
Chief Subeditor Melanie Egan PAGE 50
Art Director Hugh Hanson
Senior Art Designer Adele Burley TTURhneUseESltClaaRlbkIlMeerEHanoudstehe
Senior Editor Diane Godley
Associate Editor Victoria Polzot PAGE 92
DIGITAL Head of Digital Content Greg Barton
Digital Marketing Executive Jemma Newlyn PATRICK BLANC
TGhaerdVeenrtPiicoanleer
ADVERTISING Group Advertising
& Retail Sales Director Sheron White PAGE 28
Account Manager Darlene Delaney,
Sales Support Manager Conor Hillis TNOOTSNTAOCSKNAORCK?
WTheeHAanvsewer
REGIONAL ADVERTISING CONTACTS
PAGE 66
Australia/Asia Sheron White
[email protected] SAVE $$
New Zealand Yulia McKenzie, DISCOUNT SAVINGS
[email protected] OFF TOTAL COVER PRICE

PUBLISHED UNDER LICENCE PLUS
BY DIRECT PUBLISHING PTY LTD
+SPECIAL FREE GIFT
CUSTOMER INQUIRIES +FREE DELIVERY
Online
www.readersdigest.com.au Already a subscriber?
www.readersdigest.co.nz You can take advantage
www.rdasia.com of this great offer to renew

Moving? PLEASE NOTIFY US OF YOUR CHANGE your subscription.

OF ADDRESS SIX WEEKS BEFORE YOU MOVE. TO SUBSCRIBE:

TO SERVE YOU BETTER – OUR PRIVACY STATEMENT Asia: rdasia.com/subscribe
DIRECT PUBLISHING PTY LTD COLLECTS YOUR INFORMATION TO Australia: readersdigest.com.au
PROVIDE OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AND MAY ALSO USE YOUR
INFORMATION FOR THE MARKETING PURPOSES OF RD AND/OR subscribe
SELECTED CORPORATE PARTNERS. IF THE INFORMATION IS NOT New Zealand: readersdigest.co.nz/
PROVIDED YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO ACCESS OUR PRODUCTS OR
SERVICES. OUR PRIVACY POLICY THE READER’S DIGEST WEBSITE IN subscribe
YOUR REGION CONTAINS FULL DETAILS ON HOW YOUR INFORMATION
IS USED (INCLUDING HOW WE MAY SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH
OUR AFFILIATE COMPANIES IN THE US OR OTHER OVERSEAS ENTITIES),
HOW YOU MAY ACCESS OR CORRECT INFORMATION HELD AND OUR
PRIVACY COMPLAINTS PROCESS.

READER’S DIGEST

LETTERS

Reader’s Comments And Opinions

Keep Them Safe

‘The Push to Save Sydney’s Koala Habitat’

(December) about the colony in

Campbelltown is an important story. I never

knew there was a chlamydia-free population

in Sydney. Now, with the bushfires raging,

it’s more important than ever to protect the

native wildlife, especially this disease-free

population. Let’s hope the Campbelltown

colony will be spared. AYESHA AZEEM

Editor’s Note: At the time of going to print,
this colony fortunately had not been affected
by the bushfires.

The Great Debate Over with year zero. It was year one. A
Decades
decade is ten years, so it will go
I’m doing a big catch up on my
Reader’s Digest reading, and am from year one to ten, not from year
a little taken aback by Louise
Waterson’s Editor’s Note in the one to year nine.
December 2019 edition where she
says, “...another decade ... has Conversely, to extend that, this
reached its end.”
decade runs from 2011 (one) to
I beg to differ – as would so many
others. This decade does not end 2020 (ten). That means the next
until 31/12/2020. Time didn’t start
decade will begin on 01/01/2021.

Similarly, the current millennium

did not commence on 01/01/2000

as so many stated. It commenced

on 01/01/2001. STEVE PEARSON

Let us know if you are moved – or provoked – by any item in the magazine,
share your thoughts. See page 8 for how to join the discussion.

6 march 2020

Editor’s Note: Thanks for raising Letters
this point. Our editorial approach
is to always adopt the plain and ANOTHER GOLDEN OLDIE
ordinary meaning of words, guided
by the authority available to us in the We asked you to think up a funny
dictionary. The Oxford Dictionary caption for this photo.
defines a decade as “a period of
ten years, especially a period such “Help me, I pulled my disc!”
as 1910-1919 or 1990-1999.” Using
a strict numerical or Gregorian YEHUDA
calendar reading, ie one to ten, does
lead to confusion and would result Top of the Pops.
in saying 1990 is actually part of the
1980s. So, we decided to settle on a JASON HARRIS
decade as starting with year zero and
not year one, or in this particular A new spin on classic rock.
case 2020-2029. But we cheerfully
acknowledge Steve Pearson’s point MICHAEL GOATHAM
and would be very interested to know
what other readers think about the The original Hip-op DJ.
debate over ‘decade’ and its technical
versus cultural usage. PAUL BEISLY

WIN A PILOT CAPLESS “Don’t ‘OK Boomer’ me! I’ve been a
FOUNTAIN PEN DJ for 50 years and that’s a record.”

The best letter each month CHRIS RAMOS
will win a Pilot Capless
Fountain Pen, valued at over Congratulations to this month’s
$200. The Capless is the winner, Jason Harris.
perfect combination of luxury
and ingenious technology, WIN!
featuring a one-of-a-kind
retractable fountain pen nib, CAPTION CONTEST
durable metal body, beautiful
rhodium accents and a 14K Come up with the funniest caption
gold nib. Congratulations to this for the above photo and you could win
month’s winner, Steve Pearson.
$100. To enter, see email details for
your region on page 8.

7

READER’S DIGEST

Lighting the Way RD SHOP

‘The Great London Fog’ (January) For quality products, book sales and more,
visit Readersdigest.com.au/shop
reminded me of a day in December, and Readersdigest.co.nz/shop

1952, when I was nine years old and CONTRIBUTE

living in London. The street where I Anecdotes and jokes
Send in your real-life laugh for
lived was a T-shaped cul-de-sac and Life’s Like That or All in a Day’s Work.
Got a joke? Send it in for Laughter
a double-decker bus drove up our is the Best Medicine!
Smart Animals
street because the driver had got lost Share antics of unique pets
or wildlife in up to 300 words.
in the fog. With visibility only about Reminisce
Share the tales of an event from your
one metre, the bus could not turn past that made a huge impact in
100–500 words.
around in our narrow street. A group My Story
Do you have an inspiring or life-
of adults and kids helped the bus changing tale to tell? Submissions
must be true, unpublished, original
driver make a three-point turn and 800–1000 words – see website
for more information.
until he was pointed back down the
Letters to the editor, caption
street and then guided, with torches, competitions and other reader
submissions
back to his route. LEN ALLEN ONLINE
Follow the ‘Contribute’ link at the
Laughing at Yourself RD website in your region.
www.readersdigest.com.au
My pick for the best Classic Read in www.readersdigest.co.nz
the January issue is ‘The Engaging Art www.rdasia.com
of Laughing at Yourself’. The happiest
people are those who have the EMAIL
confidence and moral courage, not AU: [email protected]
only to laugh at their own mistakes, NZ: [email protected]
but invite you also to do so. T. M. MALAK ASIA: [email protected]

Remembering the Past WE MAY EDIT LETTERS AND USE THEM IN ALL MEDIA. SEE WEBSITE
FOR FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
I always enjoy the My Story section
PRINTED BY OVATO LIMITED, 8 PRIDDLE ST, WARWICK FARM, NSW 2170, FOR THE
and December was no exception. I PROPRIETORS, DIRECT PUBLISHING PTY LTD, 431 WARRINGAH ROAD, FRENCHS
FOREST, NSW 2086. © 2020 DIRECT PUBLISHING PTY LTD (ABN 81000565471). ALL
remember all too well the stories my RIGHTS RESERVED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. REPRODUCTION IN ANY MANNER
IN WHOLE OR PART IN ENGLISH OR OTHER LANGUAGES PROHIBITED
grandmother would tell of living in

London during World War II and the

difficulties her family faced trying to

keep the children safe.

Mike Hilton’s experience was sadly

not unique and it’s important to

remember how war affects everyone

and how we should always strive

for peace. MARIE ERMINE

8 March 2020

PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK; (MAN) GETTY IMAGES ONLINE

FIND THESE UNIQUE READS AT

Your local RD website

DIET + WEIGHTLOSS

50 unhealthy foods
at the supermarket

Not everything that comes in a box
or bag is bad, but a lot of it is. From
powdered coffee creamer to coated
chocolates, nutrition experts reveal
50 unhealthy supermarket foods.

MENTAL HEALTH

How to be happy:
40+ secrets to a
happier life

From owning a dog to wearing
sunglasses, these tips can boost
your mood – and your wellbeing.

PETS

14 COMMON ‘FACTS’
ABOUT CATS THAT
ARE ACTUALLY FALSE

Most cat lovers would do anything
to defend their favourite pet, but cats
can still be very misunderstood.
We debunk some popular myths.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

PLUS SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER FOR MORE HOT OFFERS, TOP STORIES AND PRIZES!

NEWS WORTH SHARING

‘Reverse’ Vending Machines Spur Recycling in Singapore

Australia, New Zealand and Hong various supermarkets and malls in PHOTO (CANS): GETTY IMAGES
Kong are already on board and partnership with drinks manufacturer
now there’s a good reason for Fraser and Neave (F&N).
Singaporeans to rethink how they
discard their empty drink cans and For every four containers deposited,
bottles with the rollout of the first a grocery voucher worth 20 cents will
‘reverse’ vending machines (RVMs). be dispensed for use at participating
Instead of accepting money, RVMs take retailers such as FairPrice and
empty drink cans and plastic bottles Cheers. RVMs, which are fixed with
and, instead of dispensing drinks, they compactors, accept bottles of up to
give out grocery vouchers. two litres and allow for a capacity of
up to 600 flattened cans and bottles.
RVMs are an initiative by the Once the machine is 80 to 90 per cent
National Environment Agency to full an automatic alert is sent to F&N
encourage Singaporeans to recycle. so the crushed items can be collected
The machines will be located at and sent for recycling.

COMPILED BY VICTORIA POLZOT

10 march 2020

News Worth Sharing

Tula, the Penguin has become difficult. Despite being slower
Protector Retires Maremmas, bred to than she once was, Tula
will not be stepping
After spending protect flocks of sheep, away from her role as
nine years were first placed on the protector. Maremmas
protecting island in 2006 to protect like a task and hers will
Australia’s famed the penguins from the be protecting chickens
penguin colony on foxes that make their at a farm as well as
Middle Island, Victoria, way from the foreshore helping train younger
Tula the maremma is to the island at low tide. guardian dogs.
hanging up her lead. At the time, fewer than

Tula, with sister
Eudy’s help, has been
guarding the breeding
penguins since she was
just two years old as
part of the Middle Island
Project – the project,
that inspired the movie
Oddball. Now aged 11,
she has arthritis and
Patricia Corbett, the
project’s coordinator,
says that getting up the

Stroke Rehabilitation found it worked by ‘fooling’ the
brain about what it sees.
Stroke patients and therapists
in New Zealand have given Stroke patients put their hands
augmented reality (AR) into separate black boxes and use
technology the thumbs up after the functioning hand to perform
a trial by the University of Otago certain exercises, such as gripping.

The AR technology provides the
patient with a reflection of their
functioning hand on a screen, and
mirrors the movement on the non-
functioning hand so it appears that
the impaired hand is making the
movements. This has been shown to
help ‘rewire’ the patient’s brain and
can lead to increased movement in
their damaged limb.

11

READER’S DIGEST

MY STORY

Tales of
Trash and
Treasure

What people discard through the years
tells a compelling story of their lives

BY Kerry Podlogar

M y family and I have You have what I call ‘the
lived happily in the perennials’. The saggy mattresses,
same pleasant, leafy the worn-out or outdated shaggy
suburb for over 40 years. carpet, the blown-up microwave,

It is the sort of place that doesn’t the shredded (faux) leather lounges,

get much passing traffic, and is a whole picnic ground worth of

frequented by only the people who barbecues of all types and, of

live here, or who are visiting. It has course, a multitude of unwanted

withstood the changes that come gym equipment that seemed like

with a growing population, such as a good idea at the time. I actually

apartment blocks, parking problems have a good reason why I threw out

and the like. my exercise bike. My husband said

People have moved out and moved every time I passed it, I broke out

in as people do but there is one into a sweat. So, job done. I am sure

remaining cherished memory of we’ve all discarded unwanted stuff

the neighbourhood and its history at some time. A suburban rite of the

that keeps coming back to me, twice passage of rubbish, perhaps.

yearly in fact – the Council Clean Up. Council Clean Up was always the

This sort of trash is a ‘recollection’ time when I was made painfully

of things, really. aware of the fact that children have

12 march 2020

My Story

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES the habit of growing up quickly. unwanted throwaways, too.
After a few years of married life The 1970s produced old record
in the newly minted suburb of turntables, bar stools and wine
ours, baby accessories began to racks, home hairdryers, truckloads
appear – outgrown cots, rundown of encyclopaedias and macrame. In
baby walkers, deflated plastic baby the 1980s there were plastic shoes,
baths, broken-down prams and Rubik’s cubes, phones with dials,
strollers to be replaced a few years portable stereos and leopard print…
later by damaged toys, unwanted everything. Leopard print phones?
blackboards, and punctured balls What were we thinking?
of all types. Then tricycles were
replaced with little training bikes, I can remember throwing away
which then became the bigger BMX the cassette tapes of all my favourite
bikes or scooters or skateboards. groups and singers in the late
1990s, with the firm intention of
Each decade has its own iconic buying them all again as CDs, and
then later as iTunes or perhaps
Kerry Podlogar is a retired teacher living Spotify. Before e-waste collections
with her family in the northern suburbs of came along, it was fascinating
Sydney. She likes reading, working for to see computers, TVs and other
charity and is happily awaiting the birth technology become more compact,
of her first grandchild.
13

READER’S DIGEST

thinner and streamlined by the neighbours have started renovating

year. So along with time capsules, their homes. And so out it all goes,

museums and private collections from old wardrobes, blinds, light

specialising in such historical globes and shower nozzles to bric

paraphernalia, we can now add the à brac that defied years of dusting

streets of my area at Clean-Up time! efforts and artwork that suited the

The Clean Up OUT IT ALL muted furnishings of
is one of the best a bygone time

services that local GOES, FROM OLD and taste.
councils provide. WARDROBES TO The renovation
It is only slightly
outdone by the BRIC À BRAC cycle could well be
the last in the Clean-

recycling centre at Up cycle of life. Just in

some council rubbish time for a well-earned

tips. Some of the items on display retirement and to hand affairs over

seem so appealing. I am sure I could to the next generation because didn’t

use that plastic hatstand shaped I see a baby capsule appear among

like a sunflower and wait… didn’t the assorted jumble of oddities

I throw an imitation wooden nest at Number 3? New families with

of tables like that away last year? children? Doting grandparents

There might still be a few houses in with visiting grandchildren? Only

the area sporting laminated kitchen Clean-Up time will tell.

counters, toilet roll dolls, ceramic

shell ashtrays, or the flying ducks Do you have a tale to tell? We’ll pay
on the wall of a 1950s wallpapered cash for any original and unpublished
lounge room. story we print. See page 8 for details

Lately, quite a few of my long-term on how to contribute.

It’s Written in the Asparagus Spears

Self-proclaimed British fortune teller Jemima Packington, 64, is
claiming she predicted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would step

back from the royal family after ‘reading’ some asparagus spears.
Packington, 64, reportedly the world’s only ‘asparamancer’, says
she is able to see the future by throwing asparagus into the air and
then observing how the spears land on the ground. For the rest of
2020, Packington foresees “sporting personalities will be embroiled

in scandals”. Now that’s a surprise. UPI

14 march 2020

TALKS What’s New in RD Talks

Sit back and enjoy the audio versions of the most engaging
stories to have appeared in Reader’s Digest magazine.

FLORENCE THE MAN WHO
NIGHTINGALE WILL NOT FORGET

Often called ‘The Believing
Lady of the Lamp’, passionately that
this indomitable justice should know
woman pioneered “no limits in time
modern nursing, or distance”, Simon
cleaner hospitals and Wiesenthal ferreted
better care in the out more than 1000
Nazi war criminals.
midst of war.

TICKET TO A WHAT LIFE INSIDE
MURDER ALCATRAZ WAS

Nearly a thousand REALLY LIKE
leads had turned up
nothing to solve a This is the story
shocking crime. Then of a prisoner at
the detective got the infamous
an unexpected call Alcatraz maximum
about a lottery ticket. security prison off
San Francisco.

TO LISTEN GO TO:

w dersdigest.com.au/podcasts
www.readersdigest.co.nz/podcasts

www.rdasia.com/podcasts

READER’S DIGEST

SMART ANIMALS

Only too often there are surprises in store

Broody Bertha into the coup. We’d find her there ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY IMAGES
in the afternoon sitting on the egg
DONNA GLIDEYE and have to reach underneath her to
collect the warm egg. This was the
After a fox slunk into the pen one only time we got near her.
night, our most timid hen, Bertha,
became even more fearful. After several weeks of this, we
She would run under the deck or decided to buy her some fertilised
in the bushes whenever you got eggs. We proudly brought four home
anywhere near her. We also noticed and put them in the coop for Bertha
her egg laying became sporadic, to sit on. She was very happy to be
until it dwindled to nil – a sure sign fulfilling her motherly duties.
of cluckiness.
However, when we looked in
When our other girl, Red, a
strapping Isa Brown – a breed You could earn cash by telling us
known for their unparalleled egg- about the antics of unique pets or
laying abilities – pushed one out wildlife. Turn to page 8 for details
and went back to scratching the on how to contribute.
earth for bugs, Bertha would head

16 march 2020

Smart Animals

on her the next day, bossy-boots Bertha a chance of motherhood had
Red had pushed her aside and produced a rooster, which we then
was clumsily sitting on the eggs – had to pay $20 to the nursery where
instead of all being tucked firmly we bought the eggs to take him off
underneath her, a couple of them our hands.
had slipped out the sides.
The Secret’s Out
We picked Red up and put Bertha
back on the eggs. But as soon as our JUDITH FRENDA
backs were turned, Red would be
exerting her authority again. Once When my son found a stray black
she had shown Bertha who was cat under our house ten years ago,
boss, she’d be back outside, letting we took her in after we’d failed
the eggs fend for themselves – which to locate her owner. We assumed
they didn’t do very well. When the she was female as there were no
water dragons got a whiff, they took obvious male features. At first,
one, then another. Two left. we named her Elanora, which
was later changed to a friendly
With a few weeks to go before the nickname, Ella Bella.
remaining eggs were due to hatch,
we tried keeping a closer eye on Some years later, we were having
the hen house. But yet another was a cuppa on the back deck and Ella
stolen. One egg left! Bella joined us. We watched her
as she rolled onto her back to get
Happily, the next morning a bit of sun on her belly. We were
we found a fluffy little chick with admiring her black, velvety stomach
two mothers. when Ella Bella revealed her true
self. To our amazement, we realised
It takes a few weeks before that Ella was actually a male.
chicks show their sex. We had our
collective fingers crossed that it Once more, she was renamed. No
would be a girl. The chick’s yellow longer Ella Bella but ELLA FELLA!
feathers gradually turned white, and
it grew until it was the same size 17
as its mothers. We were hopeful.
But with each day, the chick was
showing signs of aggression we
hadn’t seen in our girls. That
made us a little nervous.

Then, about a week or
so later, we were woken
early one morning to a ‘cock-a-
doodle-doo’. Our best efforts to give

READER’S DIGEST

PETS

Simple Companions

Low-maintenance breeds come in all shapes and sizes

BY Dr Katrina Warren

VETERINARIAN DR KATRINA shares her expert
advice about low-maintenance dog and cat breeds.

Our regular pet EXERCISE Most healthy dogs need a certain amount of
columnist,
Dr Katrina Warren, exercise every day to keep them physically healthy and
is an established mentally stimulated. Conversely, cats rarely receive any
and trusted animal sort of formal exercise, but they can certainly benefit
expert. from general activity and energetic play.

Greyhounds are often assumed to need a lot of
exercise, whereas they are more likely to be couch-
potatoes, happy with a decent regular stroll. Working
breeds, such as kelpies and border collies, were bred
to run long distances and require daily exercise.
They can become bored and destructive if they don’t
receive enough stimulation. Dog breeds requiring little
exercise include Chihuahuas, French bulldogs, pugs,
greyhounds and Maltese poodles. Cat breeds that
prefer little physical activity include Persians, rag dolls,
birmans, exotic shorthairs and Scottish folds.

ACTIVITY AND ENERGY Different breeds of dogs PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

and cats have differing energy levels. Some breeds,
while not requiring a lot of actual exercise, are
nonetheless more ‘active’ than others. Active pets
generally require more attention and can be higher
maintenance. People often assume that large dogs are

18 march 2020

Pets

more active than smaller more loose hair to be cleaned

dogs, but appearances up. Smooth-coated dog

can be deceptive. For breeds requiring little

instance, some of grooming include

the small terrier greyhounds and

breeds, such Italian greyhounds,

as Jack Russell whippets, Boston

terriers, can be terriers, pugs and

extremely lively French Bulldogs.

and demand a lot Short-coated cat

of attention, while breeds include

giant breeds, such as Devon and Cornish

Great Danes, can be very rexes and domestic

calm. Cat breeds also Ragdoll cats have a shorthairs. Siamese
differ, with Abyssinians placid temperament and Burmese cats also
and Bengals tending to require little grooming.

be quite active.

AGE, HOME ALONE AND

GROOMING Non or low-shedding FEEDING Puppies and kittens are

dog breeds such as bichons, more energetic and will require more

poodles and poodle crosses could attention and care than older pets.

be considered ‘low maintenance’ Some dog and cat breeds tend to be

as they don’t drop hair that needs happier on their own than others

to be cleaned up, but regular trips and can make excellent pets for busy

to the grooming salon can be time people. Also remember large breeds

consuming and costly. Generally eat more food which means more

speaking, the longer the coat, the cleaning up after, and that can add

more grooming is required and the up to higher maintenance.

TOP LOW-MAINTENANCE DOG AND CAT BREEDS

DOGS CATS

Greyhound Domestic shorthair
Whippet Ragdoll

Bichon frise Russian blue
Poodle h Cornish and
Devon rex h

READER’S DIGEST

HEALTH

Misconceptions,
common symptoms
and treatment options

The Many
Faces

of Epilepsy

BY Anna Sharratt

E pilepsy is often misunder- “In fact, there are over 40 different PHOTO: ISTOCK.COM/ILEXX
stood. Although many types of seizures,” he adds, which
people believe that all include ones where a person stares
epileptic attacks involve blankly and doesn’t respond when
a violent seizure – with the person someone is talking to them, and
falling to the ground and convulsing others that cause the muscles to
– the neurological disease actually contract so the body becomes rigid.
takes many different forms.
Epileptic seizures occur when
Dr Ley Sander, an expert on electrical signals in the brain
epilepsy and professor of neurology malfunction. They fall under two
at University College London, says broad categories: generalised,
that though these ‘tonic-clonic’ involving the entire brain, or focal,
seizures – formerly referred to as affecting only part of it. While some
‘grand mal’ – are indeed common, people only ever experience one
there are others. seizure, which can be triggered by

20 march 2020

Health

a brain illness, stroke or tumour, a vagus nerve stimulator implant

at least two seizures not linked to may help, says Dr Sander. Like

these issues are generally required a pacemaker that regulates the

for an epilepsy diagnosis. heart’s rhythm, this device, placed

Fifty million people worldwide in the neck, can send mild pulses of

have epilepsy, making it one of the electricity to prevent seizures when

most common neurological diseases they are coming on.

globally. It can affect anyone, What Dr Sander finds most

especially when it runs in the family. promising, though, is the use

Children will sometimes outgrow it, of whole genome sequencing in

but for those who have seizures into treating epilepsy. “Although this is

adulthood, there are treatments and still in its infancy, we are beginning

medications to reduce its impact. to pinpoint areas of our DNA that

“For two-thirds of people contribute to epilepsy and which

with epilepsy, their seizures will ones may then indicate a different

be controlled by medication,” course of medication, particularly

says Dr Sander, THERE for people with
explaining that some of the most
there are more than ARE OVER 40 severe cases,”
two dozen drugs DIFFERENT TYPES he says.
for epilepsy, with OF EPILEPTIC The good news
newer ones having SEIZURES
fewer side effects. is that many forms
of epilepsy are

For patients who treatable, says

fail to respond to Dr Sander, and lots

treatment, and the area of the brain of people with the condition lead

responsible for the seizures can normal lives. Often, they can control

be identified, surgery is an option. their epilepsy through lifestyle

Functional MRI can be used to modifications, whether that’s

accurately map the brain in order avoiding alcohol or minimising

to guide safer surgery, he says. triggers such as stress and sleep

Seventy per cent of those who deprivation.

have surgery, which often involves If you witness a convulsive

removing a portion of the brain’s seizure, he suggests you ‘calm,

temporal lobe, become seizure-free, cushion and call’ – relax the person

while 20 per cent find their seizures using a gentle voice, support their

are reduced; for ten per cent, there is head with your hands or a piece of

no improvement. clothing, and phone for help if the

For those with severe epilepsy, seizure lasts more than five minutes.

21

READER’S DIGEST

HEALTH

4 Self- fists to massage the area. With one PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Massage hand, gently pull each finger of the
Techniques other hand. Finish by using your
thumb and index finger to pinch the
FROM 5-MINUTE HEALTH BOOSTERS webbing between your other thumb
and index finger.
1 MASSAGE YOURSELF
3 RUB YOUR STOMACH
REGULARLY Every morning and
AFTER EVERY MEAL Most of us
evening, hammer out the kinks. Using
your fists, gently thump the outside of do this instinctively, especially
your body, starting with your legs and after overeating. Place one or both
arms, working from top to bottom. palms on your abdomen and rub
Then move inwards to your torso it in clockwise circles. This is the
and thump from bottom to top. The same direction that food naturally
pummelling will help to strengthen moves through your intestine, so
your body, stimulate blood circulation your circular massage will stimulate
and relax nerve endings. digestion.

2 MASSAGE YOUR HANDS 4 BEFORE AND AFTER

DAILY Start with the bottom of your EXERCISE Before exercising, use a

palms by clasping your fingers and pummelling motion with your fists
rubbing the heels of your palms to bring blood flow to your leg and
together in a circular motion. Then, arm muscles. After exercising, rub
with your hands still clasped, take along your muscles with your palm
one thumb and massage the area or fist moving in the direction of your
just below your other thumb in heart. Massaging your muscles after
circular motions, moving outwards exercise may help to encourage waste
to the centre of the palm. Repeat removal and speed muscle recovery.
with the other hand. Then release
your fingers and use your palms and

22 march 2020

News From the

WORLD OF MEDICINE

PHOTO: ADAM VOORHES LIFE SPAN IS BARELY Alzheimer’s but is sometimes the
AFFECTED BY GENES result of anxiety or other conditions)
to navigate virtual walking paths as
If you think you’re golden because seen on a virtual reality headset.
both sets of your grandparents lived
to a ripe old age, think again. Those who performed the worst
also tested positive for biomarkers
A new study has found that genes of Alzheimer’s in their cerebrospinal
account for less than seven per cent fluid. The virtual reality test could
of a person’s life span, much less than become a valuable diagnostic tool
the 20–30 per cent of most previous because it identified patients with
estimates. Researchers analysed the early Alzheimer’s more accurately
54 million public family trees on than the cognitive tests now in use.
ancestry.com, comparing the life
spans of 406 million people born AIR PURIFIERS HELP THE HEART
from the 19th century to the mid-20th
century. They found that spouses and The air inside virtually every house
even in-laws had more similar life contains some fine particulate
spans than siblings, indicating that life matter, coming from sources such
span is influenced mostly by lifestyle as mould and cooking smoke. These
factors, such as access to clean water, microscopic particles increase the
not smoking and eating healthily. risk of respiratory and cardiovascular
problems, especially in older people.
NEW TEST FOR ALZHEIMER’S In a study of 40 nonsmoking adults
with an average age of 67, using
Having trouble working out which an air purifier at home not only
way to go can be an early sign of
Alzheimer’s. That’s because one reduced participants’
of the first regions of the brain exposure to the noxious
to be damaged by the disease particles by 30–50 per
is the entorhinal cortex, cent (depending on the
which is key to our sense of filter) but also lowered
where we are. Researchers their systolic blood
asked 45 patients with pressure by a modest
mild cognitive impairment but meaningful average
(which can be a precursor to
of 3.2 mm Hg.

23

Starting small and
moving to bigger
things: Sophie
Weenink Smith

CLEAN-UP Teen
The New Zealand teenager on a mission to save
her part of the planet, clearing the rubbish from
beaches and rivers

“IBY Diane Godley marine life is hurt by thoughtless PHOTOS: THE NELSON MAIL
am a vegan because I love decisions made by humans.”
animals and marine life,”
wrote 13-year-old Sophie It was while snorkelling at Cable
Weenink Smith in her Bay, at the tip of New Zealand’s South
submission to the 2019 Island and not far from her home, that
New Zealand Vegetarian Society’s Sophie saw garbage on the sea floor.
‘Think Kind’ competition for school “Usually it is clean there, but that day
students. “I held a beach clean-up I saw a lot of plastic,” she says. “It was
in Nelson in the school holidays the first time I’d seen a sea cucumber,
because it really bothers me that and it was next to a chip packet! I also

24 March 2020

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

saw a starfish. It was a bit sad I had to birthday party – instead of holding

see them among plastic.” a party that would create waste, she

It was also the trigger which made decided to do something that would

her act. “I thought we weren’t tak- reduce it: she held a clean-up of the

ing enough action and that could Maitai River.

change. Everyone needs to do their “I live quite close to the river and

part, otherwise we’re going to let I’ve seen the water go from clear

down our planet.” to dark green. I thought it needed

Sophie took to social media and to change, even if it was just for a

the local news media to get her mes- day.” So, her ‘party’ picked up the

sage out and to ask for volunteers rubbish that accumulates along the

at the clean-up she had planned at river bank when the tide comes in

Tahunanui Beach in July last year. so it could be disposed of properly

To Sophie’s surprise, more than before being swept back out to sea.

200 people turned up to help. “I was About 70 people turned up on the

expecting about ten people, so it Wednesday morning to help, and

was a pretty good turnout,” she says. managed to fill an entire skip bin of

Among the 200 kilograms of rubbish rubbish that included beer bottles

collected were cigarette butts, plas- and cigarette butts.

tic and Styrofoam If there is one thing
everyone could do to
“I KNEW RUBBISHpackaging, and plastic
straws. “It was quite WAS THERE BUT I help keep the environ-
horrible. I knew rub- DIDN’T REALISE ment clean it is to “pick
bish was there but up after yourself,” says
I didn’t realise how HOW MUCH” Sophie. “I’m walking

much until we started home from school at

looking.” this very moment and

She may have only been 13 at the right where I’m standing I can see

time, but young Sophie ran her first seven cigarette butts and five zip-lock

event like a pro, contacting compa- ties just thrown on the ground.

nies that produce ethical products “It can be hard for families to afford

and vegan-friendly sausages and some of the plastic alternatives, I

food for the barbecue afterwards to know me and my mum can’t, but just

thank the helpers. not buying things wrapped in plastic

Once the eco bug had hit Sophie, will help.” She suggests buying ‘nude’

it hit hard. For her 14th birthday, she fruit and vegetables, and using met-

decided to celebrate with a ‘reverse’ al straws, reusable containers and

25

READER’S DIGEST

shopping bags, shampoo and condi- presented with a cheque for $1000,
tioner bars and bamboo toothbrushes. which Sophie asked to be donated to
“When there are more options on the animal-based charities in the region.
market it will be even easier for indi- She has also been invited to be a
viduals to make a change.” youth leader by the charit y, the
Ministry of Inspiration.
W hen the Think Kind People’s
Choice award was announced in Keep an eye out for Ecogirl NZ on
November last year, Sophie’s clean- Facebook for future clean-up and tree
up campaign was the winner among planting events, and to be inspired by
a competitive field of songs, posters Sophie’s quest to clean up her
and poems. Sophie’s school was part of the planet.

SPREADING HOPE,

One Stitch at a Time

A former teacher has set up a charity to help
disadvantaged children to play and learn,
and to connect volunteers

BY Diane Godley

Project KIN’s Maryann Webb

26 March 2020

n 2016, Maryann Webb was Making a Difference
soothing her child when she
asked herself a question: if sew, knit and crochet male and female
dolls of every skin and hair colour.
Ia child from a loving family,
The ‘Play and Learn’ packs each
come with a handmade doll, the book

surrounded with toys and books, Imagine If You Had a Friend, which

can still feel anxious, how must a child also offers advice to parents and

living in poverty, or a victim of domes- carers about bonding with children

tic violence, cope? over reading, and an activity book.

The former primary school teacher, The packs are gifted to children

mother and keen seamstress knew the from low socioeconomic back-

impact that literacy and social skills grounds, and kids experiencing

can have on a child’s disadvantage, trauma

wellbeing. After a little HANDMADE and vulnerability.
research, she discov- DOLLS AND BOOKS But the good deeds
ered that three million
Australians were living HELP PROMOTE don’t stop with the
below the poverty HEALTHY BONDS children: Project KIN
line in 2017, and over is also inspiring a
movement of change

700,000 of these were in the lives of its

children. volunteers.

“As a parent, I was shocked by that “Our goal is fostering human

statistic and how many disadvantaged connections that contribute to the

children live across Australia,” says social and emotional wellbeing of our

Webb. “The more I learnt, the more I volunteers and the communities they

was inspired to do something.” live in,” says Webb.

Her bright idea was to create The charity brings together volun-

Play and Learn Packs. The result is teers across Australia who share their

carefully crafted handmade dolls and creations, patterns, tips and stories

books for kids in need that promote through the Project KIN’s portal or

healthy bonds in the home and break social media group, which in turn

the cycle of disadvantage. provides volunteers with a sense of

What followed was Project KIN connectedness and purpose.

(Kids in Need): a registered, com- “We know our Play and Learn

munity-centred charity that not only packs won’t solve the problem of

helps underprivileged kids, but pro- disadvantage, but we believe they’re

vides social pathways to women who a powerful and tangible piece of the

feel socially isolated. ‘change’ puzzle,” says Webb.

Today, after two years, Project KIN For more information about Project KIN,

has more than 600 volunteers who go to www.projectkin.org

27

French botanist
and ‘green wall’

innovator
Patrick Blanc

28 march 2020

PROFILE

Genius
Fascinated by plants since childhood, Patrick Blanc
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES travels the world to study their habitats to accomplish

his ultimate goal: pioneering vertical gardens

BY Matthew Biggs

AN EXCERPT FROM THE SECRETS OF GREAT BOTANISTS

29

READER’S DIGEST

hen Sir David Attenborough reopened
the restored Temperate House at the

W Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London
on May 3, 2018, he remarked “the best
gardener is a good botanist and the best botanist
is a good gardener”. It is necessary to have an
understanding of both disciplines, if we are to have
a full understanding of plants.

Botanists are not just scientists experimenting with plants. At the
who spend their lives in laboratories, age of 12, he created a rudimentary
squinting down microscopes at the version of a plant wall, planting flow-
cells of plants – they are the explor- ers on a mesh frame along the walls
ers, the trailblazers and the inventors, of his parents’ garden and, after
advancing a range of fields through reading how rooting plants in water
their studies of the natural world. purifies them of nitrates, he created
a biological water-filtration system
Patrick Blanc is a left-field genius for his aquaria and grew philoden-
and modern innovator of the ‘green drons up the wall.
wall’. Born in France in 1953, Blanc
is part artist, part scientist, part land- Fascinated by plants that flourish
scape architect, and his ideas have without soil and grow in low light,
revolutionised urban architecture. Blanc went on to study this phe-
nomenon at the Pierre and Marie
Blanc, who is usually dressed in Curie University in Paris, dedicating
green, with green hair and green himself to studying tropical plants.
nail varnish on one long fingernail, He travelled to Malaysia and Thai-
is a research botanist specialising land for the first time in the 1970s to
in tropical forests. He has travelled observe first-hand how plants grow
the world, studying plants and hab- on rocks or in the forest understorey.
itats to develop his style. From shop
fronts to high-rise dwellings and a One day, when a hideous new wall
Robe Végétal (plant dress) for Jean was constructed in front of his living
Paul Gaultier, this horticultural icon room, he was inspired to develop the
has brought nature to the city. concept of a frost-resistant evergreen
wall, and so immersed himself in the
TEEN INVENTOR flora of the temperate zones.

Patrick Blanc became hooked on With a PhD in natural sciences, he
botany as a teenager and began has been a professor and researcher

30 March 2020

The tallest garden in the world: Blanc’s green wall at One Central Park, Sydney

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES at the National Centre for Scientific Blanc found that there are various
Research in Paris for over 25 years. other plants that could grow this way,
His living laboratory is his home – such as drought-tolerant lavender
indoors and out, its walls are home to and moisture-tolerant Iris japonica
an ecosystem of birds, lizards, frogs and Nandina domestica.
and over 250 plant species.
The mur végétal (plant wall) struc-
THE GREEN WALL ture that Blanc patented in 1988
after creating his first installation at
Blanc is inspired by nature and the Cité des Sciences et de l’Indus-
vertical habitats and landforms trie in Paris, used a simple system of
such as the rocks, cliffs and karst in hydroponics. Two three-millimetre
rainforests and other moist habitats layers of polyamide felt, mimicking
he visits on research trips. Here, the mosses into which the plants
plants grow on a thin layer of moss, naturally root, were stapled onto a
or attach themselves directly onto ten-millimetre PVC plate attached
rocks and trees by their roots, fed to a metal frame. A network of pipes
by a constant flow of nutrient-rich at the top of the wall automatically
water. Soil, therefore, is not essential drip-fed the plants with a nutrient
to their growth. solution, which flowed down the

31

Blanc’s vertical garden installation at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris includes
15,000 plants from over 150 species

wall, soaking the capillary matting. whole system and for selecting the PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Excess liquid was then collected in a plant species for each peculiar loca-
gutter at the bottom of the wall and tion.” The rainforest bears similar-
recycled through the system. ities to an urban environment, and
the height of city buildings reflects
Blanc’s extensive experiments and the ecological niches in a rainforest.
encyclopaedic knowledge of plants
and ecosystems enabled him to GLOBAL SUCCESS
select plants that would thrive in this
habitat and at each different point on Blanc’s work has taken him beyond
the wall. France – his vertical gardens can now
be seen in Spain, the US, India, Japan,
Each of Blanc’s plans is drawn up Malaysia, Poland, Germany, Hong
on paper – a wavy design, usually from Kong and Australia, gracing embas-
top right to bottom left, that reflects sies, shopping malls and hotels, and
the formations he has seen on prec- his portfolio continues to grow.
ipices and screes in the wild, where
plants often spread out in smooth di- His installation at the Musée du
agonals along water channels. quai Branly in Paris, created in 2005,
includes 15,000 plants from 150 spe-
As he explains, “My scientific ap- cies growing on the outer walls, along
proach is essential for designing the

32 March 2020

Left Field Genius

with vertical gardens in the muse- germinating. A wall that Blanc
um’s administration offices. designed for the Cartier Foundation
for Contemporary Art in Paris in 1998
He has also created the tallest gar- has never been pruned.
den in the world – at One Central Park
in Sydney, where vegetation reaches AWARD WINNING
116 metres into the sky. These hang-
ing vertical gardens are planted with Blanc has won many accolades, in-
35,000 green wall plants from 350 dif- cluding a botany award from the
ferent species, the 23 green walls cov- French Academy of Sciences, a top
ering a total of 1200 square metres. 50 Best Invention of the Year from
Time magazine, and an Honorary
His wall at the Shin-Yamaguchi Fellowship from the Royal Institute
station in Japan was planted with of British Architects.
100 different species of native plants
collected on expeditions in 2012 His international profile has
and 2013; at 103 metres, his rain- brought the idea of vertical planting
forest Chandelier at EmQuartier in to a wider audience, but a lifetime
Bangkok is the longest free-standing dedicated to the acquisition of
structure to be covered by plants; knowledge and perfecting his art
and with around 200 different spe- means that his is often copied but
cies of climbing plants, the installa- never bettered.
tion at Le Nouvel in Kuala Lumpur
features the highest vine biodiversity This is an edited
on a high-rise building. As an artist, extract from The
all of Blanc’s works are copyrighted, Secrets of Great
unique and never replicated. Botanists (and
What They Teach Us
Maintenance of his walls is About Gardening)
minimal; with careful plant se- by Matthew Biggs,
lection, green walls do not need published by Exisle.
to be trimmed, and the density of Available from all
the planting prevents weeds from good bookstores.

Childhood Wisdom

One morning while I was looking out the living-room window
at some storm clouds, my four year old came and stood beside me.

He gazed out silently for a while, then finally said,
“One thing’s for sure, Dad. We’re going to have weather today!”

daniel dunne

33

IN THE NEWS

34 March 2020

One American
woman’s

experience – as
an observer and

as a shooting
victim – opens

up issues
surrounding gun

ownership

BY Elaina Plott

FROM THE ATLANTIC

ILLUSTRATIONS BY Dan Bejar

TChOe GVUiUeNwNTFrRomY
35

READER’S DIGEST

or decades, we’ve watched as mass shootings
have flashed across news bulletins from the
United States. The gun ‘problem’ is almost
as American as apple pie. So why can’t the
problem be fixed and the ‘right to bear arms’

F be replaced by a confidence in the greater
good guided by common sense? Elaina Plott
reveals just how ingrained in her country’s culture – far
away from lobby groups and politicians – this subject
remains. Her experience both as an observer and as
a shooting victim underscores how difficult it is for
Americans to reach consensus on gun control.
“ Iwas shot on a Sunday. It was
late and it was hot and I was I thought about how I wished I had
21, on my way home from wavy blonde hair like hers.

My dad said to stay put, that he’d

dinner during the summer holidays. come get me. I insisted on driving

I’d rolled the windows down because home. On the way, I apologised to

the breeze felt good. I pulled up to a God for the things I’d done wrong in

red light less than a kilometre from life. When I pulled into the driveway,

my home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. my parents were standing outside.

‘Yeah!’ by Usher was play ing on My mother cried as she drove me

the radio. A silver Toyota Tacoma to the hospital. The surgeon said the

turned the corner. As it passed me, bullet was small, maybe a .22 cali-

I heard a pop. Then my left arm was bre, and too deep in the muscle to

on fire. take out, so it’s still in my arm. They

It never occurred to me to call never caught the shooter or came up

emergency services, only to want with a motive.

my dad. I pulled into a corner shop W here I’m from, we like guns.
across the street to call him. I looked They are as much a part of
at the blood blooming across my blue our story as Jesus, cheering
dress. It was new, and I wondered

whether the stain would come out. on the University of Alabama, and

Then I looked over at a girl standing monograms. Even if you’ve never shot

in the car park, talking with two boys. one, you appreciate the romance.

Her wavy blonde hair shimmered That appreciation begins when

beneath the fluorescent streetlights. you ’ re you ng. He re i s w hat I

36 March 2020

The View From Gun Country

remember: November air, stadium Those mornings weren’t about

lights, cut grass. We cheerleaders guns so much as they were about

would stay after school to practise growing up, the pride of inclusion in

our halftime routine. On Friday nights, a culture, the proximity to a mascu-

we’d crowd in front of the small bath- line energy we all found intoxicating.

room mirrors to touch up our makeup If people in Tuscaloosa talked about

– glitter eyeshadow if it was a big game gun violence at all – in the wake of a

– and emerge in a fog of hair spray. mass shooting, or after the rare hunt-

The cheerleaders who were most ing accident – it was as an unfortu-

envied were the ones who had their nate but explicable bit of collateral

alarm clock set for 4am the next day. It damage: occasionally cars hit people,

meant they had a boyfriend who was but we still drive.

taking them hunting, and that meant When I was 14, my grandfather be-

things were getting came a co-owner of

serious. I looked at an outdoors store.
Not every girl the blood The shop car-
blooming ried everything –
was excited about across my firearms, fishing
the hunting itself. blue dress equipment, hiking
The gear was bulky and camping gear.
and heavy: rubber After I got shot,
boots and a big after I was able to
camouflage jacket,

which, if you were sleep on my left

lucky and had a brother, you could side again, I started thinking about

just borrow from him. The boy would the gun section at the back of the

pick you up in his 4WD and drive you shop. Did the person who shot me buy

out to his family’s land. You’d climb the weapon there? How long did the

into the deer stand and wait. The boy sale take? I pictured him – he is face-

would have his rifle ready – maybe a less in my mind, but always a man –

.30-06, a youth model that didn’t kick selecting a gun, and then tossing in a

too hard – and when his prey finally pack of chewing gum, because it was

emerged, he’d squeeze the trigger, right there by the cash register.

and you’d jump because the sound P robabl y I had pa r roted t he

cracked open the sky. A few horri- unfortunate-but-justifiable-collateral

bly boring hours for you, but when bit before. That logic became mud-

his face flushed with delight, you’d died, though, when the collateral

remember why you came – because damage was me. But nobody talked

it was important to him, which meant about it like that, at least not out loud.

that it was important to you, too. So for a while, neither did I.

37

READER’S DIGEST

Getting shot did not end my life. It to think I might have heard a beer

didn’t even upend it, really. The one can clattering across the street.)

time I cried, I was sitting in a tufted I travelled the next week to France

chair in my parents’ bedroom while for a writing class. The bullet did not

the local Fox affiliate was on. “The – does not – set off metal detectors,

victim,” the news announcer said, but I carried a letter about it from

“is still rattled but at home and do- the sheriff, just in case. In the au-

ing fine, we can exclusively report.” tumn, I went back to university in

It was disembodying, listening to this New England, where the story of the

person I had never spoken with speak lead inside my arm was just that: a

about me. We can exclusively report. story. But like the ugliest white noise,

Each time I replayed that night in it was always there with me, defiant

my mind, a different image would and relentless. After late nights at

surface. My four- the library, I’d call

year-old sister, in I hated the campus police,
the driveway when what had wary of the three
I pulled in. When I happened to me. traffic lights I had
got out, she saw I wanted to hate to pass on my way
the deep-red side guns, too home. I’d ask the
of my dress, the woman who usu-
bloodstain like a ally worked at that
Rorschach pat- hour to stay on the

tern. She pointed line with me while

at it and calmly said, “You got shoot I walked.

on your dress.” At the hospital, a Sometimes a friend would ask

nurse at the emergency room desk whether my feelings on gun rights

looked up from her phone and said, had changed. I usually said, “I don’t

expressionless, “We’ve got a gunshot know,” and that was true. Knee-jerk

wound.” calls for gun control didn’t resonate

These were not the details the with me. Yet a reverence towards

police wanted me to remember. Like guns no longer felt right either.

detectives on a TV show, they asked I found my ambivalence unsettling.

me to close my eyes and relive the Everyone else seemed so sure about

drive. The way the air smelled, the how to feel about guns – people on

sound of the other cars. But I could campus, on the internet, back home.

not conjure the missing fact that Unlike most of them, I had had an

would give meaning to all the oth- intimate acquaintance with gun vi-

ers. (A beer can clattering across the olence. I should have had some spe-

street – for some reason, they seemed cial insight. If what had happened to

38 March 2020

The View From Gun Country

me wasn’t fodder for clarity, I feared much about that risk, so he’d ordered
nothing ever would be. the change.

I n February 2018, a few days after He’d also considered pulling AR-
34 high school students and faculty 15s from the shelves altogether, but
staff were gunned down, 17 fatally, first he’d had his employees look into
in Parkland, Florida, my grandfather who regularly buys them. Turns out
called me in Washington, DC, where most customers are landowners and
I now work as a congressional report- farmers with a wild hog issue. The pigs
er. He wanted to talk about what had barrel onto their property, digging up
happened. roots and acorns and generally tearing
up the ground, making it difficult to
We’d never discussed gun control run equipment over the land. Because
before. After I got shot, we talked the animals often travel in herds, a
about me. We talked about the semiautomatic rifle is a particularly
reporters and TV vans parked outside efficient means of stopping them. For
my dad’s office. We talked about the that reason, my grandfather said, he’d
dead-end police investigation. Never, continue to sell the gun.
though, about the gun.
We talked about how raising the
After Parkland, we did. My grand- age for AR-15 purchases was unlike-
father said that “something” had ly to stop the next Parkland. Still, it
to be done about “all this”, and it felt good to do something, anything.
didn’t look like “anyone up there” The problem was a complicated one,
– meaning Washington – was “go- he said, and the only thing most pol-
ing to do a damned thing about it”. iticians seemed able to do was serve
I could picture his brow furrowed, up broad-stroke talking points, or say
his head shaking. nothing at all.

He said that when he’d learned On Capitol Hill, I’d watched up
the killer in Parkland had used an close as apathy had settled in after
AR-15-st yle semiautomatic rif le, earlier shootings. I could predict
he’d asked one of the store’s man- the responses of each party’s lead-
agers to call the Bureau of Alcohol, ers. I could recite the thoughts and
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives prayers, all of which had begun to
to find out whether the store could feel like a mockery of God, of the
stop selling those types of weapons brains he’d given us to figure this
to people under the age of 21. The out. I found myself thinking of 1 Peter
woman there said it could – it was a 4:10: “Each of you should use what-
private business – but it would risk ever gift you have received to serve
age-discrimination lawsuits. My others, as faithful stewards of God’s
grandfather told me he didn’t care grace in its various forms.”

39

READER’S DIGEST

If my grandfather, a middle-of- sits high on a hill.
the-road Republican who’d voted for You can see almost
Donald Trump, could see the many a ll of Tusca loo-
greys of this very American problem, sa from there. “It’s
I thought, why couldn’t Washington? about necessity.” He
mentioned rattle-
Soon after our talk, I went home for snakes and coyotes.
a visit. My grandfather picked me up For people in rural
from my parents’ house. As we drove, areas – that’s more
I told him I was writing an article than 40 per cent of
about what it was like getting shot in Alabamians – guns
a place that loves guns. are still a day-to-day
defence against such
“It’s not love,” he said. We pulled animals. Yes, there is
into the car park of his shop, which ample love for guns in
Alabama. But to for-
get that they’re tools
is to miss an impor-
tant point.

We walked into the
shop. It smelled like
pine. In the back-left
corner was the gun
room, its name an-
nounced in tall brown
letters beneath a tax-
idermied leopard. For the next few
hours, I watched employees handle
firearms with care bordering on de-
votion. They spoke with pride, and
I could see how expertise on some-
thing so complicated, so controver-
sial – so lethal – might feel gratifying.
Reid Duvall, a tall 20-something
with sandy-coloured hair, was at
the counter that morning. Back in
Washington, I’d spent months talk-
ing with Republican lawmakers who
bristled at the notion of “common

40 March 2020

The View From Gun Country

sense solutions” to gun violence. representatives – ostensibly sent to

Proposed gun-control measures re- Washington to cut through the mo-

flected anything but common sense, rass – appear guilty of the same. In

they told me. Moreover, the Nation- all the times I’ve talked with Republi-

al Rif le Association was stridently can lawmakers about guns, why have

against them, on the grounds that they never mentioned that age re-

almost any concession would un- strictions are, for many conservative

dermine the Second Amendment. voters, a worthwhile starting point?

But Duvall, who described himself Better question: do they even know?

as “very pro–Second Amendment”, “I don’t k now,” sa id a not her

seemed to suggest that this argument employee, Morgan Pate. “It’s not like

was insincere. “It just makes sense, they ask us.”

stuff like age restrictions,” he told me. I hated what had happened to me,

“There’s a certain and I hated what

maturity level re- After Parkland, had happened to
quired for guns in my grandfather, the children in
general, and espe- Parkland. I want-
cially with some- a gun-shop ed to hate guns,
thing like [an AR- owner, wanted too. That’s how
15]. Some people I thought a good
probably shouldn’t to talk person should feel.

have them.” I’d recata log ued

It occurred to me my ambivalence

that guys like Duvall and the others from unsettling to irresponsible,

at the counter had had their voices even immoral. And yet it remained.

hijacked by people like Kaitlin Ben- T wo nights after visiting the
nett. She marked her graduation from shop, I went shooting with
Kent State University in 2018 with a an old friend I’ll call Tyler. I’d
photo of herself shouldering an AR-

10 and holding her cap, which she’d reached out to him in the hope that

decorated with the words, “Come and he could help me remember things

take it”. The photo went viral, and about hunting, about home, that I’d

now Bennett posts incendiary tweets forgotten. We stopped at his house to

designed to elicit “liberal tears”. pick up his Labrador and some beer,

That the broader population has then headed to some land he owned

transferred the attitudes of people about 45 minutes outside of town to

like Bennett onto most gun owners kill some hogs.

is understandable. Popular discourse W hen we got to his cabin, the

is given to extremes. But gun owners’ a la r m was bla r ing. At f irst, we

41

READER’S DIGEST

wondered whether there’d been a lawmakers. But they are certainly
break-in. Not that there would have more complicated than their lead-
been much to take, apart from a tel- ers care to admit. Lawmakers of
evision with rabbit ears. Still, it felt both parties are alienating reason-
good to walk in with someone who able and responsible gun owners
was armed. Tyler looked around, out of deference to extremists. Ac-
holding his AR-15 over his shoulder. knowledging the ambiguities, the
All clear. He grabbed boots and wool- grey areas, of American attitudes
len socks from a cupboard. I pulled towards guns – all the things that
them on, and we doused ourselves in could make a gun-violence victim
bug spray. want to go shooting or a firearms
dealer decide to regulate his own
We walked back outside to unload shop – won’t solve this problem or
the car. Tyler fired three shots into single-handedly stem gun deaths.
the sky. Pop pop pop. But continuing to see things in the
current terms pretty much guaran-
I jumped backwards, shielding my tees that we’ll get nowhere.
face with my forearms. I yelled his
name. He laughed. “What?” As my evening with Tyler wore on,
no hogs appeared. But I wanted to
I held myself in that space just shoot the AR-15, so Tyler proposed
before tears, where your cheeks target practice. He walked out into
warm and pressure builds in the back the field and balanced empty cans
of your throat. I hadn’t expected to be one on top of another.
scared.
I nestled the stock into my shoul-
We climbed into an all-terrain der and steadied the red dot on the
vehicle and snaked it through the top can. I pulled the trigger. The can
woods into an open field. Here we exploded into the air, a blue blur. A
were, surrounded by kilometres of piercing ring followed and made the
tall grass. Power lines dissolved into rest of the world seem still. I caught
the horizon on either side. The sky the metallic scent of gunpowder.
was lavender. “The best smell in the whole wide
world,” Tyler said.
The plan now was to wait. As min-
utes bled into hours, we were com- I snapped on the safety, and he
fortable in the vehicle, talking about restacked the cans so I could go
our ten-year plans – I didn’t have one; again. The same deafening pops that
he thought that was risky – the gun had almost sent me spiralling a few
and the Labrador resting between us. hours earlier now set loose a sweet
Any anxiety I’d felt earlier was gone. dose of adrenaline. I was happy. I
didn’t want to be.
I don’t buy into the idea that
normal people are more sensible,
intrinsically, than Washington

42 March 2020

The View From Gun Country

Where Americans Agree

Gun control is one of the most 37 per cent of Americans are even
polarising political issues somewhat confident that their
Americans face today – or is it? elected officials understand their
There is no doubt that the topic views on guns.
generates fierce opinions from
both sides. But on many questions If the public servants in
about how to reduce the number Washington want to follow the will
of gun-related deaths – something of the people – including the 42 per
85 per cent of Americans say they cent of Americans who have a gun
are “concerned” about – there is far at home, they could start by looking
more agreement than the debaters at the areas where the vast majority
or politicians let on. In fact, a recent of Americans agree they need
Ipsos/Reuters poll found that only federal gun laws in place, according
to recent polls:

94% 83% 77%

support requiring support limiting gun support requiring
background checks for purchases to those a licence before

all gun buyers. 21 and older. buying a gun.

86% 80% 73%

favour banning people think there should be support banning high-
with a history of a mandatory three-day capacity magazines
waiting period before
mental illness from (automatic ammunition
buying a gun. someone can take feeders that hold more
home a gun.
84% than ten rounds).
80%
favour prohibiting SOURCES:
anyone on the favour tracking gun Ipsos.com, Quinnipiac
sales through a federal University National Poll,
airline no-fly list from government database. MorningConsult.com,
buying a gun. Politico.com, Morning
Consult/Politico poll

43

READER’S DIGEST

LIFE’S LIKE THAT

Seeing the Funny Side

Love Affair word ‘version’. His sentence: “Have CARTOON: JACK ZIEGLER/THE NEW YORKER COLLECTION. ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY IMAGES
you heard of the version Mary?”
When people hear that my
husband and I just celebrated our SUBMITTED BY RON WILLIAMS
60th wedding anniversary, they
inevitably ask us the secret to Priceless
our long, successful marriage. In
response, my husband will smile I held a garage sale with my little
sweetly, nod my way, and explain, blond cairn terrier for company.
“We both love me.” Soon came the first customer.
He took his time browsing and
SUBMITTED BY MARIAN PITCHER examining everything I had out
for sale. Eventually he found
Different Version something that interested him.
“Excuse me,” he said. “How much
My 11 year old takes his homework for the dog?”
seriously. One question required
him to write a sentence using the SUBMITTED BY MILDRED ROSS

44 march 2020

Life’s Like That

Born Without a Filter THE GREAT TWEET-OFF:
GENERATION GAP
My brother recently ran into a EDITION
woman he’d gone to school with
many years earlier. After they Boomers, Generation Y
caught up, she showed him a and Millennials all divide and
picture of her daughter. “Wow,”
he said. “She doesn’t look anything try to conquer on Twitter.
like you. She’s pretty.”
Just called the DVD player a VCR
SUBMITTED BY CINDY EARL in front of the kids. Now this will
become their childhood memory.
Free and Easy
@KSUJULIE
My four-year-old son, Jaden, loves
babies. Recently he voiced his wish My son picked up a phone at my
for a baby sister. The next day, while work and said, “What’s that noise?”
we waited at the doctor’s office, Jaden His first dial tone. @JASONDCRANE
noticed a poster of a doctor and a
mother holding her newborn baby. Seven year old: Wow, this must
Jaden exclaimed, “Oh! Are the be an antique! It’s from way
doctors giving away free babies?” back in the 1900s!
Me: OK, calm down. It’s from 1997.
SUBMITTED BY JESSLET SILUVAIRAYAN
@MAUGHAMMOM
ENOUGH
TO DRIVE “Millennials are idiots” – the
YOU NUTS generation that made a millionaire
out of the creator of the Pet Rock.
My dentist always plays
funny YouTube videos of @ANDYLEVY
dogs while she works on your
teeth. But today YouTube The next time somebody complains
started auto-playing videos about Millennials, maybe remind
FOR dogs, so I watched them which generation linoleumed
squirrels playing in a park over all those beautiful
for 25 whole minutes. hardwood floors.

SUBMITTED BY KATE MCKENNA @BOORADLEY

My daughter
just asked why
we say ‘hang
up’ the phone,
and now I
feel 90.

@ENGLISHJASON

READER’S DIGEST

I Am the

FOOD
ON UR
PL E

I Am Grapes … PHOTO: SOIFI/SHUTTERSTOCK. ADDITIONAL REPORTING: DIANE GODLEY
A Divine

Fruit to Drink

BY Kate Lowenstein
AND Daniel Gritzer

In 2017, a single sentence rever- and I became a nonsens ca nterne
berated on the internet, skidding meme.
across social media and breath-
less blogs: “They did surgery on a My popularity long predates my
grape.” And they had! A video showed online fame, of course. After all, I
a tiny robot making delicate incisions also become wine! I was grown by
in my thin purple skin before pulling early civilisations in Asia and Eu-
back the translucent layer to reveal rope, but am now a resident of Aus-
my juicy yellow-green flesh below. tralia, New Zealand, North America
and Africa. Early humans in Asia
The video was meant to demon- and Europe learned that given the
strate the surgical tool’s exacting right conditions, I ferment well – just
abilities, but the sheer absurdity of harvest my bunches, crush them to
the sentence ‘They did surgery on a a pulp, and let the good times roll.
grape’ caught millions by surprise (It wasn’t until later that modern

46 march 2020

microbiolog y explained t hat my in the nick of time, scientists figured

skins – if they haven’t been peeled out how to save the world’s wine

off by a mini robot – naturally carry industry: graft European wine vari-

t he yeast necessar y for fermen- etals onto aphid-resistant American

tation.) The Romans then spread rootstock.

wine-making to just about every In the mid-1900s, Australia, and

land they conquered. Perhaps Julius to a lesser extent New Zealand, saw

Caesar should have said veni, vidi, the arrival of migrants from Euro-

vini (I came, I saw, I wined). pean wine-growing countries, who

Early settlers in the US, Austral- helped expand the wine industries

ia and New Zealand brought vine in the two countries. In 1961, George

stock from Europe to grow vineyards Fistonich, the son of Croatian immi-

in their fledgling countries. By the grants, leased land from his father in

1880s, Antipodean AN INSECT Auckland. He planted
wines were starting to ALMOST CAUSED vines and soon start-
make a stir in Europe, THE ENTIRE WINE ed selling wine under
with two Australian the name Villa Maria.
wines winning gold WORLD TO BE Today, Villa Maria is
medals in France. LOST IN THE an award-winning
LATE 1800S wine brand both in
Alas, the entire New Zealand and
wine world was abroad.
almost lost in the late

1800s when a tiny yel- By the late 1980s

low aphid-like insect (phylloxeras) and again in the early 2000s, my

burrowed underground and started Australian varieties were in trouble

eating away at my roots. again. Not from an insect this time,

Above ground, vintners the world but from over supply. A glut of me hit

over watched in horror as my vines the market, and prices fell through

became yellow and shrivelled. the floor. To correct this trend, the

Although they didn’t know it at government sponsored growers to

the time, the phylloxeras pest that pull me out of the ground. Fortunate-

wreaked havoc on the European vine ly, in the past five years my produc-

rootstock was native to American soil. tion has been on the rise again.

The pestilence destroyed as much A lt houg h you may not be as

as 90 per cent of European vineyards, gregarious afterwards, humans find

almost sending a centuries-old agri- me a pure pleasure to eat, too. Even

cultural tradition to ruin, and the my most conventional varieties can

fledgling Australian and New Zea- be happily popped by the handful

land industries to an early grave. Just into your mouth or set on a cheese

47

READER’S DIGEST

HOMEMADE R ISIN

Wash and gently dry apes.
Spray oil or place a s et of baking paper

baking tray and scatter th seedless grapes.
Cook in a 100°C oven ntil they are

shrivelled but still slightl plump – this takes
about four hours (althou it will depend
on the type of grapes you e, the heati
cycles of your oven, and ot er variables,
so check often.)

Allow raisins to cool, then e a
thin metal spatula to separa a
stuck to the baking sheet.

board to tame a funky ched r. If o re moments,
health is your concern, you may nt en v Gaye sang ‘I Heard It
to seek the darker-skinned varie hrough the Grapevine’.
the deeper-hued pigments are the bo- And while my greatest contribu-
tanical world’s most plentiful source tion to the world may be wine, like
of resveratrol, an antioxidant credited grapevines, there are many twists
with anti-ageing properties (though, and turns in my story.
frankly, often overhyped ones).
Kate Lowenstein is a health editor
Of course, I also come as a currently at Vice; Daniel Gritzer is
mass-produced dried snack, as the culinary director of the cooking
generations of schoolchildren site Serious Eats.
know. You may also remember one

Look Ma, No Pants! PHOTO: MATTHEW COHEN

Train travellers in 20 cities around the globe shed their trousers for
the annual No Pants Subway Ride recently. The improvisation art
event featured hundreds of people riding commuter trains in their
underwear in cities including Chicago, Mexico City, Tokyo, London,

Lisbon, St Peterburg and Melbourne. upi

48 march 2020