LANGUAGE
Why was the cat in a bag in the first place?
BY Meghan Jones
One of the most curious hard to pin down a precise origin for
and funny aspects of many idioms like these, simply be-
language is the use cause of the way language evolves.
of idioms. These ex- People start using phrases gradually,
pressions use words over time, and there’s no concrete
in a non-literal way to historical record of how they came up
mean something other than the ac- with that phrase. This is especially
tual meaning of the individual words the case with figurative expressions,
– and they’re often quirky and funny. which, by definition, don’t literally
mean what they say.
And, notably, a lot of them involve
animals, from ‘straight from the So there’s no definitive consensus
horse’s mouth’ to ‘let the cat out of as to where it comes from, but there
the bag’. When we say ‘let the cat out is an explanation that most linguists
of the bag’, we’re not actually talking consider at least somewhat likely.
about a feline that was in a bag but And it actually, literally, involves cats
about a secret or surprise that was in bags!
revealed.
The medieval
Where did this phrase come from? scam explanation
Well, first, let’s consider the first
recorded use of the phrase. In a 1760 The most popular explanation for
book review in the London Maga- why we say ‘let the cat out of the bag’
zine, the reviewer complained that dates back to the Middle Ages. As the
he “wished that the author had not story goes, shady livestock vendors
let the cat out of the bag,” presumably in medieval marketplaces sought to
referring to some kind of plot point. swindle their buyers. When some-
But while the first recorded use of one would purchase a pig, the ven-
the phrase is pretty straightforward, dor would sneak a cat into the bag
its origin is not. Unfortunately, it’s instead, cheating the buyer out of the
readersdigest.com.au 99
READER’S DIGEST
higher price for a pig. It wasn’t until deal or purchasing something with-
the buyer arrived home and, literally, out fully validating it. And a “poke” is
let the cat out of the bag that they’d an old-timey word for a bag.
realise they’d been scammed, hence
the phrase’s association with reveal- The nautical
ing a secret. English has no shortage punishment explanation
of idioms for telling a secret – here’s
why we also call it ‘spilling the beans’. There’s another theory about the
origins of this expression, and it’s a
This explanation is not outright good deal darker. This explanation
proven – and neither, in fact, is the claims that the ‘cat’ the expression
tale that medieval vendors even reg- refers to is not a feline but the ‘cat o’
ularly did such a switcheroo. Would nine tails’, a whip made from nine
the weight difference between a pig intertwined cords that was used as
and a cat not clue buyers in? a form of punishment in the British
Royal Navy and in prisons until as
But this explanation does have late as the 1840s. It was called a ‘cat’
some things going for it. For one because the marks it left on its
thing, per Phrases.org, both the victims resembled scratches. In fact,
Dutch and German versions of this it’s also a likely candidate for the ori-
phrase translate to ‘to buy a cat in gin of ‘cat got your tongue’.
a bag’, which alludes a little more
directly to a deceitful purchase. But there are a few details that di-
And the Spanish translation means minish this explanation’s likelihood.
‘to give a cat for a hare’, suggesting For one thing, there are no records of
(somewhat more plausibly) that it the actual phrase, ‘let the cat out of the
would be rabbits, not pigs, that ven- bag’, being used in reference to nauti-
dors would switch with the cats. cal exploits. Not to mention that the
cat o’ nine tails punishment, while
But, then again, the expression ‘pig certainly notorious and unpleasant,
in a poke’, which dates back to the wasn’t really a secret, per se.
16th century, also refers to making a
Snoring More?
People worldwide may be snoring more due to the effects of the
COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, which may make people
“feel trapped and congested”, according to leading osteopath
Stephen Makinde. He suggests that this may “potentially manifest
itself as a restriction or obstruction of their airways because their
subconscious is telling them to restrict themselves”. MSN.COM
100 september 2020
THAT’S OUTRAGEOUS!
BY Megan Murphy
FINDERS KEEPERS What would its YouTube channel. So far, more
than half a million viewers have
you do if you stumbled upon a bag tuned in to watch strangers sip
of money on the street? That’s what tea, read and, once, watch a guest
happened at least 13 times in the attempt to play Twister by himself.
last six years to residents of Blackhall Don’t worry, the bathroom is private.
Colliery, England. Someone was
leaving bags of £2000 in cash around TENSE FENCES A couple from
the village. Most remarkably, honest
citizens kept turning in the bounty. Wales, Barry and Hellynne Lee,
After two weeks, if the money wasn’t both in their 70s, were charged with
claimed, the person who found assault. Their crime? Spraying their
the money got to keep it. Police neighbour, Harold Burrows, with a
finally discovered that a pair of garden hose over their shared fence.
good Samaritans were leaving the The neighbours had been squabbling
mystery cash. The duo, who wanted for years, but things escalated one
to remain anonymous, were doing it day while the Lees hosed down their
as a way to ‘give back’ to vulnerable driveway. When Burrows confronted
people in the community. So, for all the Lees about yard waste the stream
of the 13 citizens who became £2000 was pushing onto his lot, they turned
richer, honesty really did pay off. their hose on him. Burrows, who
recorded his surprise shower, later
PRICE OF STAYING Once travel presented the footage as evidence
to a judge. In November last year,
bans are lifted, if you’re hoping to
visit Fukuoka, Japan, on a budget, the court imposed a two-year
there’s a hotel that has you restraining order,
covered: you can stay for and the Lees
a paltry 100 yen a night decided to look for
(about a dollar a new place to live.
a night). The catch?
Visitors must agree Hopefully, with some
to let the hotel live- time and space, the
stream their stay on debacle is now water
under the fence.
readersdigest.com.au 101
READER’S DIGEST
102 september 2020
HUMOUR
Daddy
Issues
Important breaking news about fathers
through the eyes of their offspring
FROM THE ONION
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARTIN LAKSMAN 1Reality of Fatherhood experience, but you can’t understand
Never Truly Dawned on what it feels like until you’re looking
Man Until He Held Newborn down at it in your own hands. It’s
Son’s Hospital Bill hard to even put into words. What-
ever my world was like before, I just
Describing how he found himself know things are going to be very dif-
overwhelmed by a flood of intense ferent from this day forward.”
emotions, Mike Bentzen told report-
ers the reality of fatherhood didn’t tru- Bentzen reportedly started weep-
ly set in for him until the moment he ing softly as he sat down with his
held his newborn son’s hospital bill. son’s medical bill in his lap and be-
gan imagining how he would deal
“Wow, this is going to totally with this for the next 18 years.
change my life,” said Bentzen as
tears welled up in his eyes, adding 2Four Year Old
that he was left completely speech- Convinced Father Is a
less by the little bundle of papers Moron After 45th Consecutive
and that it would probably take some Hide-and-Seek Victory
time before the magnitude of what
had just happened fully sank in. Expressing embarrassment over being
“I’ve had friends tell me about their the son of such a loser, four-year-old
readersdigest.com.au 103
READER’S DIGEST
Connor Heyward was convinced Fri- 3Baby Distracted
day that his father, Craig Heyward, by Father. Now Fears He
was a moron after losing 45 consecu- Left Home Without Oversize
tive games of hide-and-seek. Multicoloured Plastic Keys
“Jeez, this is bad. I’ve hidden be- Eight-month-old Joshua McManus
hind that bush a dozen times, and was reportedly overcome by a sharp
this dope still can’t find me,” said sinking feeling upon realising he had
Connor, confessing that after finding left home without his oversize multi-
his father crouched behind a chair coloured plastic keys.
half his size, he had started to worry
he might grow up to be a “complete Oh no – you have got to be kidding
imbecile” just like his dad. me, Joshua thought, his stomach
dropping as he wondered how he
“At first, I thought I might be really could possibly make it through the
good at this game, but after about an day without his large ring of blue,
hour hiding underneath a laundry pink, yellow and green keys.
basket with visible holes, I realised
he’s completely out to lunch. It’d be Ah, for crying out loud. I got so
one thing if he were only bad at seek- wrapped up in that game of peeka-
ing, but so far, his best hiding spot boo with Dad before heading out that
was behind the back door. Who hides I must have totally forgotten to grab
them. I bet they’re still sitting there
HE STARTED TO on the activity table right next to my
WORRY HE MIGHT phone on wheels.
GROW UP I’m such an idiot.
TO BE JUST
LIKE HIS DAD THE ONION IS A SATIRICAL NEWSPAPER AND WEB-
SITE, PARODYING THE TONE OF TRADITIONAL
behind a door? There’s no strategy to NEWS STORIES.
it whatsoever. One time, I went out to
find him and he was just standing be-
hind a kitchen stool – he wasn’t even
crouched behind it or anything.”
At the time of going to print, Connor
had emerged from his hiding spot to
help his father search for his two-year-
old brother.
104 september 2020
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HEALTH
THE
Eye
CONCERN
No One’s
Talking About
Computer vision WHAT IS COMPUTER PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
syndrome can compromise VISION SYNDROME (CVS)?
work productivity and Blurry vision? Tired eyes? Strained
eyesight. Here’s what you neck? Headaches? If you’re
experiencing any or all of the
need to know to reduce above symptoms, you might have
digital eye strain computer vision syndrome (CVS).
Yes, it’s a real thing. When you stare
BY Brooke Nelson at computers or smartphones for
too long, the muscles in your eyes
FROM THEHEALTHY.COM have to work overtime. And “like any
106 september 2020
muscle, if you’re constantly using it, EAT LEAFY GREENS
it can break down,” says eye health
expert Professor James Stringham. Eating leafy greens like spinach,
In fact, CVS – also called digital eye kale and broccoli may reduce
strain – affects around 60 million your risk for digital eye strain.
people around the world. And in Researchers found that special
this day and age, many jobs involve nutrients in leafy green vegetables,
at least some computer work. What also called lutein and zeaxanthin,
to do? Luckily, research shows that not only have exceptional
changing just a few daily habits can antioxidant powers, but they are
reduce your risk for CVS. also found in high concentrations
at the backs of our eyes, protecting
readersdigest.com.au 107
READER’S DIGEST
them from glare including from spend on the computer or any device
digital screens. with a screen. Doing so can protect
you from the short wavelength
CONSIDER A SUPPLEMENT of energy coming off your screen
called ‘blue light’, which irritates
Can’t get enough leafy greens in your eyes and causes you to squint
your everyday diet? In that case, unconsciously, leading to headaches
supplements are a viable option. and neck strain. Limiting the amount
Professor Stringham recommends of time spent on electronics is
getting 20 to 25 mg per day of both especially vital for adults over the
lutein and zeaxanthin, which is age of 40, whose eyes are already
a difficult ratio to find outside of beginning to strain due to age. Just
nature, like in vegetables. listen to your body’s cues, Professor
Stringham advises; if you start to feel
FOLLOW THE 20-20 RULE strain or fatigue in your eyes, back off
from the electronic devices.
While a simple solution to CVS
might be to reduce the amount of WEAR READING GLASSES
time we spend looking at digital
screens, “that’s not an option for Over-the-counter reading glasses
most of us when our jobs and aren’t just for older people. In fact,
our productivity is depending on they relieve quite a bit of strain
being on a computer,” Professor on your eyes, regardless of your
Stringham says. Instead, if your eyes age. Reading glasses can bring the
start feeling strained while you’re computer screen sharply in focus,
staring at your computer screen, try which also reduces the amount of
the 20-20 rule: for every 20 minutes straining your eyes have to do.
that you spend concentrating on a
screen, take a break to look out into TRY BLUE LIGHT GLASSES,
the distance for about 20 seconds. CONTACT LENSES OR
Doing so helps to relax the eyes, SCREEN OVERLAYS
cuts down on digital eye strain, and
prevents headaches. To keep the blue light from reaching
your eyes to begin with, it might be
LIMIT YOUR BLUE LIGHT time to invest in some blue light-
EXPOSURE blocking glasses or contact lenses
with a yellow tint, which block the
Diet aside, changing your daily habits blue light that comes from digital
could be a simple (and quick) fix to screens. But buyer beware: these
reducing your risk for CVS. Professor products can also change the
Stringham recommends imposing colours on your screen’s display.
a limit on the recreational time you
108 september 2020
ONLINE
FIND THESE UNIQUE READS AT
ReadersDigest.com.au
CULTURE
8 secrets your
body language
reveals about you
Find out what your gestures
and movements are saying.
ENVIRONMENT
11 crazy ideas that just
might save our oceans
Seas are acidifying, warming
and losing oxygen. These odd
solutions might help.
PETS
12 CAT BREEDS THAT GET
ALONG WITH DOGS
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES Certain cat breeds are more
sociable. These friendly felines
love dogs as much as you do!
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READER’S DIGEST
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
Humour on the Job
Literal Delivery their computer and ask, CARTOON: DAN REYNOLDS
“What’s that?” I would answer
I used to work as a courier in a honestly, “It’s a box!”
large city. I had a small designated
route and was expected to deliver SUBMITTED BY PETER BOWMAN
a package every five minutes.
Sometimes, when I was running Clean Sweep
behind, I would rush in carrying
a box for delivery to a customer, I grew up above my father’s
who would look up slowly from tavern. When we were
children, we would race
110 september 2020 each other down the stairs
every morning to sweep up
the bar and find the change
customers had dropped
during the night. Years later,
as an adult, I found out that
my father would throw a few
coins over the bar for us to
find in the morning. It cost
him only a dollar a day to have
us fight to be the first one to
clean the bar.
SUBMITTED BY ROD MOHAN
The Stages of Working
From Home
1) Yay, I get to work from home.
2) It would be nice to talk to people.
3) I hope that pigeon sits in the
window today.
@MarkAgee
All In a Day’s Work
THE VIDEO MEETING WILL COME TO DISORDER!
ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES I’m in a work-from- And then he finished There’s awkward,
home meeting, and his sentence: “... and and then there’s ‘the
my Google Home just they can hear you.” Zoom meeting is over
answered a question and you and one other
someone on the video @ScrewyDecimal person can’t work out
call asked. how to leave the
Names to use when meeting’ awkward.
@missalwayswrite logging in to Zoom
meetings: Corrine Tean, @SnarkyMommy78
Not muting your Noah Openstoor,
mic is the new reply all. Maya Snacksergon, Pets in meetings:
Lotta Freatime - Everyone wants to
@daniburgz see your cat.
bigdealmle on Reddit.com - No seriously, why
My husband’s are you pushing your
working from home and There’s nothing like cat away?
just shouted, “I’m going being the first one on a - More cat.
into a video meeting ...” conference call to show - What if we just did a
everyone who’s not call with your cat?
So I jokingly shouted boss. APARNA NANCHERLA,
back, “I guess I should @eplerjc
put a shirt on?” COMEDIAN
Sharing is Caring It’s Law-gical
Marriage vows should be rewritten What’s the difference between a
as “to have and to hold and to listen good lawyer and a great lawyer?
to stories about your workplace A good lawyer knows the law.
drama until death do us part”. A great lawyer knows the judge.
@copymama @gisscontreras
readersdigest.com.au 111
FIRST PERSON ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES COMPOSITE
SteAely
Determination
As a young boy growing up in
China during a time of famine
and fear, the author tried to
make sense of his world
BY Andrew Kwong
FROM THE BOOK ONE BRIGHT MOON
112 september 2020
READER’S DIGEST
Life along the Pearl River Delta in the late 1950s in the
dawning of the ‘New China’ was full of challenges. For
eight-year-old Ah-mun Kwong (aka Andrew) and his
siblings, cousins and friends, nothing was more
important than helping the ‘Great Leap Forward’ and
earning a ‘Red Scarf’, the symbol of revolutionary
youth worn by members of the Young Pioneers of
China – an organisation that selected children in
primary school who were seen to be dedicated to the
cause. The production of steel was central to the
nation’s prosperity and the whole country was
expected to contribute, by whatever means necessary.
“A swellasbuildingroads small furnace was set up in a corner
and dams, the whole of our school playground and junior
population had to students were assigned the important
participate in the rap- job of finding fuel to keep the furnace
id expansion of steel burning. We were also ordered to col-
production. Our teach- lect anything metallic that could be
er taught us another melted down to make steel.
slogan to shout: “Beat the British in
steel production and catch up with Soon my schoolbag was bulging
the Americans! If we pull together,” with dried leaves and fallen twigs.
she danced around the classroom, Fired up with enthusiasm, I some-
beaming, “we can do it.” times dragged tree branches to
“Yes, we can!” we yelled, before school and delivered them to the fur-
joining the senior students already nace. I watched the smoke wend its
hard at work in the school grounds. way into the sky and felt the heat ra-
No steelmakers lived in Shiqi, but diating from the big mudbrick stove.
instructions on how to build and How I wished that I were in Fourth
operate furnaces soon arrived. A Class so I could do the night shift
guarding the furnace.
114 september 2020
A Steely Determination
Each day moved us closer to when had brought home from Hawaii be-
we would beat the British in steel- fore I was born. Mama wasn’t happy
making – and move me closer to with my patriotic action, while I was
getting a Red Scarf. The smoke from disappointed that she wouldn’t let me
our furnace merged w ith smoke take the large pair of tailor’s scissors
from the other furnaces in town, that her father had given her on his
forming a cloud that hovered over first trip home in 1934. “They re-
Shiqi like a huge shawl. It concealed mind me of the father I hardly knew,
the crisp autumn sky from us, but so you can’t melt them,” she protest-
this didn’t matter to me. ed half-pleading and clutching the
When waste metal became hard to heav y scissors close to her chest.
find, I began scouring landfills and “Besides, I need them to make or
garbage tips with my friends. Our alter clothes for the family and may-
teachers suggested be for other uses as
bringing items from well.”
home: bars from win- OUR TEACHERS Tears welled up in
dows, old tin buckets, SUGGESTED her eyes. So I didn’t
gutters, doorhandles, take her scissors.
hinges and brackets. BRINGING ITEMS My search contin-
Unfortunately, the FROM HOME: ued, however. One
tenants at our ances- WINDOW BARS, wintry Sunday in early
tral home had already 1959, my cousin Yiu-
taken these items to TIN BUCKETS, hoi, had an idea: there
the furnaces; they GUTTERS was a half-submerged
had also stripped the riverboat wreck by the
wooden panels that large lotus pond not
had partitioned the far from home, and it
large house and taken them to the would have tons of big nails and oth-
furnaces, too. Now our home was er metal. My neighbour, Ah-dong,
bare and wide open. Mama and Sixth Yiu-hoi, my sister, Weng, and I ran
Aunt weren’t pleased, but they dared off towards the wreck with our ham-
not say anything to the tenants for mers and pliers, as another cousin,
fear of being branded counter-revo- four-year-old Ah-ki, followed.
lutionaries. The riverboat had been there for
One day I went home and packed a month, and looked bleak in the
together my father Baba’s few tools, icy water. There was little to find,
tea tins, mugs and old cookware, as because others had already been
well as the knives and forks with ivo- through the wreck. Balancing with
ry handles that Grandfather Young dif f icult y on t he t ilted hulk we
readersdigest.com.au 115
READER’S DIGEST
searched everywhere in and out of was still screaming and frightened.
the small cabin. Ah-dong and Yiu- The five of us ran home, arriving
hoi worked hard trying to remove a just before we turned into blocks of
large rusted nail, and Ah-ki scurried ice. Ah-ki’s grandmother, who was
around trying to help. Weng stood by, staying with us, was shocked, mum-
looking into the deserted pond and bling her prayers as she rubbed col-
daydreaming, as she often did. our back into him while waiting for
It was freezing. I thought of Baba the kettle to heat up so that she could
in the deep north enduring snow and give him a warm wash. “Four year
ice for eight or more months a year. olds should never leave the house in
He would have been the right person winter,” she said to us, before giving
to help us remove that big nail. thanks to God again for our return.
“Big brother, I’ve found a ...” Ah-ki’s We called her the God-believer.
voice woke me from daydreaming – Throughout this ordeal Ah-ki had
just in time to see him managed to hold on to
slip and tumble into THE WORLD his find. Now he could
the water. proudly contribute
Yiu-hoi and Ah- SEEMED TO a rusty bracket to
dong popped their GO INTO the local commune’s
heads up to check steelmaking.
what was happen- SLOW MOTION
For weeks we wait-
ing. Little Ah-ki was AS WE ed patiently to see
struggling like a kit- WATCHED HIM t he steel we’d been
ten under the sur- working so hard to
face of the pond. The DROWNING make. Finally, in the
world seemed to go spring of 1959 the day
into slow motion as came. We took Ah-ki
we watched him drowning. The to school to join in the celebration.
silence was eerie. Drums boomed. Trumpets blasted.
Weng screamed. There were rounds of singing to con-
Without thinking, I dived in to gratulate the school on its success.
reach Ah-ki. I held his face above Big red banners and flags fluttered
t he sur face w it h one ha nd a nd in the tepid breeze. The continuous
g r ipped t he roug h edge of t he clapping hurt our hands but also kept
wreck with the other. The icy water us warm.
cut like a million shards of glass. It The moment finally arrived, but
was hard to breathe. But with Yiu- only after many speeches. By then
hoi and Ah-dong’s help, we pulled our thin legs were buckling from
Ah-ki out of the arctic pool. Weng hours of standing, not to mention
116 september 2020
A Steely Determination
hunger. With immense pride, the days to cool down before the teachers
school’s Party Secretary shouted, declared it safe for us to handle. Red
“Long live Chairman Mao! Beat the ribbons adorned it, turning it into a
British and catch up with the Ameri- shrine we had helped create.
cans in steel production!” His enthu-
siasm reinvigorated us, and we grew We didn’t know then that it wasn’t
even more excited as the teachers steel but low-quality pig iron, and that
opened the door of the furnace. it would stay there for years to come,
rusting away in the typhoons and sea-
Our eyes bulged wide and we for- sonal floods of subtropical Shiqi. No-
got to blink. There it was: the glow- body ever knew what to do with it.
ing liquid flowed forward like a grand
character entering centre stage at This is an edited
the climax of an opera, unhurried extract from One
and stately, and filled a rectangular Bright Mooon by
mould set in a hole in the ground. We Andrew Kwong,
held our breaths and praised Chair- published by
man Mao for his wisdom. We had HarperCollins.
made steel. We had made history. Available
The adults told us not to touch the from all good
molten block. The holy slab, half the bookstores.
size of a ping-pong table, took several
Giant Queenslanders
North America had the Tyrannosaurus rex, South America had the
Giganotosaurus and now evidence shows Australia had gigantic
predatory dinosaurs. Palaeontologist Dr Anthony Romilio analysed
southern Queensland dinosaur footprint fossils dated to the latter
part of the Jurassic Period, between 165 and 151 million years
ago. “These tracks were made by dinosaurs walking through the
swamp forests that once occupied much of the landscape of what
is now southern Queensland,” he told sciencedaily.com. He said
the tracks were made by large-bodied carnivorous dinosaurs,
estimated to be up to three metres high at the hips and probably
around ten metres long.“To put that into perspective, T. rex got
to about 3.25 metres at the hips and attained lengths of 12 to 13
metres long, but it didn’t appear until 90 million years after our
Queensland giants.” SCIENCEDAILY.COM
readersdigest.com.au 117
READER’S DIGEST
13 THINGS
Create a Healthier Home
BY Jody L. Rohlena
MOST OF US HAVE SPENT MORE 1 Think about keeping your home ILLUSTRATION: SERGE BLOCH
clean the minute you walk in
time at home recently than we ever – literally. Take off your shoes at
imagined possible. Maybe you took your door. Studies have found that
the opportunity to clean, or maybe the average shoe harbours nearly
you plan to do it ... tomorrow. These 421,000 different bacteria, including
tips can help make your domicile E. coli and strep. Pesticides, tar, lead,
better for your body and your mind.
118 september 2020
mould and cleaning chemicals can mood. Researchers at the University
also get tracked into your home via of British Columbia found that blue
your shoes. Leave a pair of slippers by boosts creativity, while red increases
the front door. attention to detail.
2 Natural cleaners are great, and 6 Another mood booster is to work
they can also be surprising. Can’t near a window. In a small study,
find bleach? Try vodka. High-alcohol volunteers worked from noon to 8pm
vodka (at least 120 proof) makes an in a room lit primarily by daylight
excellent disinfectant. So if you have or artificial light. By the end of the
some vodka you’re not planning to second day, those who had worked
drink, mix it with an equal amount in the sunlit room were less sleepy
of water, put it in a spray bottle, and and performed better on cognitive
use it to freshen your sheets and performance tests.
smelly gym clothes.
7Don’t forget to clean the air in
3 Even if you think you’ve disinfect- your home too. The gold standard
ed everything, you might have is a high-efficiency particulate air
overlooked some germ magnets. (HEPA) filter. These can remove up
One notorious offender: the tooth- to 99.97 per cent of pollutants and
brush holder. Rinse it daily and run particles in the air. Portable HEPA
it through the dishwasher regularly. filters can clean a single room or the
Another culprit: kitchen sponges. entire house.
They’re so unsanitary, they’ve been
banned from restaurant kitchens. 8 There are cheaper ways to clean
the air – start by opening a few
4 Portable ultraviolet lights are a windows. Indoor air can have two
highly touted germ killer. Hospi- to five times more pollutants than
tals use powerful UVC light to disin- outdoor air. Cleaning products can
fect rooms, as it can kill some viruses. produce irritating, even hazardous,
But beware: not all home disinfecting chemicals. But if you suffer from
systems use UVC, and some UV lights seasonal allergies, be mindful of the
can quickly burn your skin. trade-offs.
If the walls in your home feel as 9Himalayan salt lamps are pret-
5if they’re closing in, maybe it’s t y, but there is no proof that
they purify the air by emitting neg-
time to freshen them up with a new ative ions, as some of these prod-
coat of paint. Studies have shown ucts claim. That said, you can get
that colour can influence your
readersdigest.com.au 119
READER’S DIGEST
mood-boosting negative ions via can make respiratory problems worse
fresh air at the beach, in the moun- and encourage the growth of dust
tains or after a rainstorm. mites, mildew and mould. The ideal
humidity level, especially for sleep-
10 Speaking of salt: it’s a surpris- ing, is 40 to 60 per cent.
ingly good cleaning agent.
Sprinkle some table salt and bicar- 12It’s important to keep commu-
bonate of soda on your grimy stove nal areas clean to prevent the
top and wipe with a wet cloth. Use spread of germs, particularly if fam-
a teaspoonful with some water or a ily members are sick. Learn what
little oil to clean a cast-iron pan. For areas or things people touch the
extra help with copper, slather on a most in your home. Even some per-
layer of tomato sauce before the salt, sonal items like a mobile phone
then scrub and rinse. should be cleaned. Don’t forget to
clean doorknobs, toilet handles,
11 Many viruses don’t spread as taps and items in the kitchen that
well in moist air as they do in everyone tends to grab. Bacteria and
the cold, dry months. One easy solu- viruses can live on surfaces for days
tion for the winter: using a humidifier. and even weeks.
The US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention advises against cool- 13 A spring cleaning tip is to
mist humidifiers, which can harbour change the filters in your
bacteria if they aren’t cleaned regu- air-conditioning unit if needed.
larly. Old-fashioned steam humidifi- You’ll get a good jump on the hay
ers are best. But too much humidity fever season.
The Dad Joke is on Him
For dads that have everything, here are some gifts for
Father’s Day that are sure to make him smile:
If your dad is a fan of the Netflix documentary Tiger King, you can
get him a statue of an alligator dressed up like Joe Exotic complete
with wig, boots, sunglasses and hat. Dad’s reaction to having that
in his garden will be worth the money.
Combine your dad’s two great loves – barbecuing and pizza – by
gifting him with a large pizza spatula made especially for grilling.
Sausage sizzle pizza, anyone? WWW.HUFFINGTONPOST.COM.AU
120 september 2020
READER’S DIGEST
122 september 2020
PHOTOS: ©TOURISM PEI/YVONNE DUIVENVOORDEN TRAVEL
Where the World is
YOUR OYSTER
Canada’s Prince Edward Island serves up rural
charm and a seafood feast that doesn’t end
BY Janie Allen
readersdigest.com.au 123
READER’S DIGEST chowder to our agenda, and looked PHOTOS, THIS PAGE: (BEACH) TOURISM PEI/SEAN LANDSMAN; (CHARLOTTETOWN) SHUTTERSTOCK; (LOBSTER MAN) TOURISM PEI/
up the list of 63 restaurants on the STEPHEN HARRIS; (GREEN GABLES) TOURISM PEI/JOHN SYLVESTER; (SOUP) JANIE ALLEN
e arrived on a ‘Chowder Trail’. As the days passed,
wet September our affection for the ‘garden of the
day and drove for Gulf’ grew.
kilometres past
fields and farms Our first destination the next morn-
ing is the biggest tourist attraction in
Wto our lodging, tiny O’Leary: a four-metre fibreglass
a golf resort potato outside the Canadian Potato
and spa tucked into western Prince Museum. In addition to the island’s
Edward Island (PEI). In the early underwater bounty, PEI’s rich red
evening chill, my husband, Glen, and soil is also brimming – with spuds.
I hurried to the soon-to-close restau- The industry is worth a billion dollars
rant and ordered seafood chowder. annually to the island’s economy.
Generous bowls of steaming, We eat lunch in the museum’s
creamy goodness were brought. Country Kitchen, and I order lob-
We inhaled the salt-air aroma and ster-stuffed baked potato. Normally
spooned in prawns, clams, haddock, a treat, lobster here is as common as
lobster and potatoes. It tasted heav- chicken. Over the next few days I see
enly – rich and hearty – and we de- it on menus as an ingredient in pot
voured it, all but licking the bowls as pie, poutine, lasagne… there’s even
we relaxed for the first time that day. lobster-stuffed chicken!
Holidaymakers flock to PEI, Cana- By late afternoon we are at Skin-
da’s smallest province, for its parks, ners Pond. The year’s second lobster
red-sand beaches and quaint sea- season is on, and boats are bringing
side villages. Fans of the red-haired in their catch. On the wharf, workers
Anne, of the classic children’s books, at the Royal Star Foods shed are un-
are drawn from far and wide to Green loading crates of lobsters. They don’t
Gables Heritage Place. seem to notice the wind blasting off
the sea, and cheerfully answer our
But it’s the seafood that attracted questions.
Glen and me to this 225-kilometre
long crescent in the Gulf of St. Law- Half of Royal Star’s 47 boats here
rence. Canada is a major supplier of didn’t go out today because of the stiff
seafood to the world; PEI mussels wind, says Chris Hogan, a seasonal
make up 80 per cent of Canada’s worker. Still, some 4500 kilograms
yield, and PEI lobsters account for have come in. Chris grabs a writhing
one-fifth of the country’s production. male as big as two dinner plates to
show us. Royal Star ships lobsters as
We were here for the Fall Flavours far away as China and Japan.
Festival. We’d catch a few events,
meet locals and explore the island.
But after our first night, we added
124 september 2020
Where the World is Your Oyster
Main photo:
Basin Head
Provincial Park,
at the east end
of the island.
Clockwise from
top left: museum
at Green Gables;
cooking lobster
on the beach;
Charlottetown;
clam chowder,
the ultimate
comfort food
READER’S DIGEST
Fisherman Blain Gavin, 53, says he River in western PEI. When we arrive,
brought in 320 kilograms today. A re- the 37 year old is in the yard screen-
ally good day would be up to 900 kilo- ing oysters heaped on a tray, part of
grams. Fishermen get around C$11 a an order of 80,000 to be picked up by
kilogram, but licences are limited. a processor today.
“You have to get one from some- From May through November, he’ll
body who’s getting ready to retire,” market a million oysters from his 13
Gavin says, or buy someone out. Thir- hectares of leases on the Foxley River.
ty years ago, Gavin paid C$75,000 for I ask him what it takes to grow them
a licence. “Then I bought my father’s to market size – around eight centime-
ten years ago for $300,000, and my tres – and I get an unexpected answer.
uncle’s a year ago for $1 million.” “We’re just babysitters,” he says.
We end the day’s sightseeing at “We provide habitat. They eat algae
North Cape, the is- and plankton that grow
land’s pict uresque THE YEAR’S in the rivers.”
northwestern tip and SECOND Buchanan’s helper,
location of one of PEI’s
Matthew, shucks two
63 lighthouses. Up- LOBSTER and hands them to us.
stairs in the Wind & SEASON I take a dripping shell,
Reef Restaurant, sea- IS ON, AND uncertain. “I’ve never
food chowder packed BOATS ARE eaten a raw oyster!” I
with clams, scallops BRINGING IN admit.
and more hits the spot THEIR CATCH
as we look at the view “There’s no neat way
to do it,” Buchanan
of red sandstone cliffs – says.
PEI’s cliffs, soil and beaches get their I bite, and it’s extremely tender.
hue from iron oxide – and a churn- Scraping it off the shell releases an
ing, desolate sea. Hogan had told us exquisite burst of briny flavour.
two men died out there in a lobster In the afternoon we head to Char-
boat two years ago. “It hit a rogue lottetown, centrally located on the
wave that almost took the cabin off.” south coast. Fields yield to rolling
Aquaculture is thriving in PEI’s spruce-covered hills. We detour to
bays and estuaries. Blue mussels Victoria by the Sea, an arts commu-
are ‘rope-grown’ inside mesh socks nity, but are disappointed to find
suspended in water, and oysters are it all but deserted on this autumn
either wild or cultured. weekday. The cosy Landmark Oys-
Curious, we arrange to meet oys- ter House is open, and we enjoy
ter farmer Adam Buchanan the next some chowder, with a new appre-
morning at his home on the Trout ciation of the oysters in it; salmon,
126 september 2020
Where the World is Your Oyster
PHOTO: TOURISM PEI/PAUL BAGLOLE haddock, mussel and bacon add to East Point Lighthouse is still operating
the bold flavours. more than 150 years after it was built
Our server says they’ll close soon Owner Derrick Hoare introduces
for the winter. I ask where locals go Chef Taylore Darnel, a Vancouver-
when they want to eat out at that time ite with short hair and blue-grey
of year, and the server replies that eyes, and confidently announces,
only about 40 people stay year-round. “By 12.30 you’ll be sitting down to a
beautiful lunch.” On the menu: lob-
“Forty!” Glen whispers to me after ster risotto, fennel-steamed mussels
the exchange. “They could all eat and a surprise dessert.
together!”
We don aprons and each pick up a
We are taken aback by how few live lobster. After carefully sliding the
people live on PEI. The population is rubber bands off the claws, some of
about 158,000; the capital, Charlotte- us eye the steaming pot with appre-
town, has a mere 36,000, small for a hension. “They don’t have a central
city with a deep-water harbour, uni- nervous system ... so they don’t feel
versity and a spot in history as Can- pain,” Darnel reassures us. I’m not
ada’s birthplace. An 1864 conference sure if that’s true, but there’s nothing
here led to Canada’s unification. for it but to drop the lobster gently in.
In Charlottetown we settle into Nine minutes later, we take them
the elegant Great George hotel, on a
quiet street behind the 1847 Province
House, and walk around the corner
to the Brickhouse Kitchen & Bar for
chowder. Its bowl was judged best at
the 2018 PEI International Shellfish
Festival. The broth of milk, lobster
sauce and spices is more sophisticat-
ed than we’ve had so far. It’s packed
with lobster, mussels, haddock and
scallops, and splashed with olive oil.
Delicious! We’re quickly learning that
the basic ingredients are similar, but
no two chowders are alike.
We’ve signed up for a half-day
cooking class at The Culinary Table
Studio, in New London, on the north
coast. The former church building is
a stylish space with a modern kitchen
and big harvest table.
readersdigest.com.au 127
READER’S DIGEST
out, their dark shells now bright red. farm, and after Kevin Petrie, its man-
Soon we’re up to our elbows shelling ager, leads diners on a garden tour, we
lobsters; stirring risotto; debearding head to a firepit where chefs are grill-
and washing mussels; and learning ing oysters on the half-shell. “Chef Mi-
knife skills for dicing vegetables. chael’s one rule is that you must chew
We feel gratified as we enjoy lunch. your oysters!” he says. “You gotta open
The risotto is perfect, “not gloopy, not up the flavours.” You don’t have to tell
soupy,” as Darnel says. The mussels Glen and me twice. The oysters, raw
are delicately flavoured. And we’re all but warm, and seasoned with melted
wowed by dessert: ‘Scallops on the lovage-herbed butter, are every bit as
Beach’. The seared scallops garnished good as that first one I tried.
with candied lemon peel and crushed At 7pm we take our seats for the
shortbread (the beach) are tender and parade of food. The menu is a won-
sweet. It’ll be a talking der, from ‘100-Year-
point back home: “Scal- SOON WE’RE Old Bread’ made from
lops! For dessert!” UP TO OUR heritage flour to a sal-
ad of shoots, stems,
Our final three days ELBOWS leaves and flowers.
include time at the Cu- SHELLING “Everything on your
linary Institute of Cana- LOBSTERS, plate is edible,” we’re
da; browsing Charlotte- STIRRING told, including the tops
town’s shops on Grafton RISOTTO AND of roasted carrots and
Street; and a walking WASHING beets. There’s pork bel-
tour of historic homes. MUSSELS ly, and bluefin tuna;
We head to North Rus-
tico one evening for a the boat captain who
‘roving feast’ in a harbour-side tent, caught it is named on the menu. The
where we devour more oysters, and, chowder is a feast of its own: mussels,
another day, we take a boat tour with bar clams, lobster, scallops, rock crab,
a fiddle-playing fisherman. seaweed and more. By the end we’ve
For our final night, we’ve planned a lost count of the courses – and the
special dinner at Chef Michael Smith’s kilojoules.
FireWorks restaurant at The Inn at Bay The end of our trip comes too
Fortune. Smith, a TV chef, cookbook soon. We loved the green country-
author, and the island’s official food side, beautiful coasts, friendly peo-
ambassador, offers an eight-course set ple, and all that fresh food. Did we
menu. His concept is simple, sustain- find our favourite chowder? Actual-
able home cooking, all done over fire. ly, it was all good. But we’re willing
Much of the food served is raised to keep t r y ing. That’s plent y of
and grown on FireWorks’ biodynamic reason to return.
128 september 2020
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BONUS READ
LTohneg Road
The past provides meaning for the present in
130 september 2020
to Freedom
a journey along the Civil Rights Trail in the US
TEXT & PHOTOS BY Paul Robert
The National Memorial for
Peace and Justice in Alabama
is a memorial to thousands of
racial lynching victims
readersdigest.com.au 131
READER’S DIGEST
alking down the It’s June 2019, and I’ve travelled from
concrete slope Holland to visit a few – and to learn.
of the ‘national This is the first day of my road trip
lynching memori- through Alabama, Tennessee, and
al’, a series of rust- Mississippi, where I’ll also be meet-
ing veterans of the 1960s protests and
W ed iron columns
rise up from the campaigns.
ground around me. Each is marked Before my trip, I had been sur-
with a name, a place and a date. As I prised to hear about this network
proceed, hundreds of them rise high- of sites. After all, the south is best
er until they’re suspended from the known to most outsiders for con-
ceiling – like the haunting ‘strange servative social policies and accu-
fruit’ Billie Holiday sang about in sations of suppressing minorities’
the late 1930s (Black bodies swinging voting rights. I had travelled through
in the southern breeze/ BEFORE the region before and
Strange fruit hanging enjoyed the hospitality,
from the poplar trees). MY TRIP, but when I met locals
On the grass by this I HAD BEEN I had shied away from
morbid passage I see SURPRISED TO subjects such as reli-
more rusted columns, gion and politics. And
lined up like coffins HEAR ABOUT now the region was
awaiting burial. This THIS NETWORK promoting its new Civil
disturbing artwork Rights Trail to visitors.
commemorates the OF SITES I thought it was a good
roughly 6400 victims reason to return, albe-
of lynchings, blacks it armed with healthy
killed in the United States by white scepticism. But that scepticism was
mobs between 1865 and 1950. Visi- the first thing I lost.
tors around me, white and black, are IT’S NO COINCIDENCE that a na-
uncomfortably silent. tional lynching memorial would
be placed in Montgomery: the Al-
Officially known as the National
Memorial for Peace and Justice, it
was founded by the Equal Justice Ini- abama capital has played a central
tiative in Montgomery, Alabama, and role in the darkest history of the US.
opened in 2018. It is one of the main In the 19th century it was a major hub
sites on the Civil Rights Trail, a na- for the American trade in humans. In
tional network of historic civil rights 1861, Montgomery became the first
markers, monuments and museums capital of the Confederacy after the
located mostly in the southern states. Confederate states seceded from the
132 september 2020
Dianne Harris in Selma, Alabama: “We wanted to forget about those days”
Union, starting the American Civil which overwhelmingly affects people
War. And in the 1950s and ’60s it was of colour, and which the organisation
a centre of resistance against system- directly links to the legacy of slavery.
atic racial segregation. The Legacy Museum is in a former
‘warehouse’ for slaves. Its display
Around Montgomery’s centre, trac- opens with life-sized black-and-white
es of the past are everywhere. I pass holograms of enslaved people who
the residence of the first Confederate start to talk when you pass the 19th
president, Jefferson Davis; the Baptist century holding cells where the holo-
church on Dexter Avenue where Mar- grams are projected. Their stories are
tin Luther King Jr preached; and the based on actual accounts recorded
place where Rosa Parks was arrested in the early 20th century by former
in 1955 because she refused to give slaves. In one corner a woman’s hol-
up her seat on the bus for a white ogram quietly sings a spiritual song,
passenger. and from another cell come chil-
dren’s voices crying, “Mama, mama.”
Also in the city’s centre is The Leg- It is chilling.
acy Museum, founded by the Equal
Justice Initiative, the not-for-profit or- The museum’s next section cov-
ganisation behind the lynching me- ers the transatlantic slave trade,
morial. It fights mass incarceration,
readersdigest.com.au 133
READER’S DIGEST
executed by men from England, says: “Thank you for asking.” Those
Spain, France, Portugal and, yes, words are strangely comforting.
my native Holland, between the The next morning, I meet Dianne
17th and 19th centuries. It is a dark Harris in Selma, Alabama, 80 kilo-
period that we Europeans so often metres west of Montgomery. Harris
regard as American history rather was 15 in March 1965 when hun-
than our own. dreds of black citizens crossed the
Near the exit are large photos from local Edmund Pettus Bridge intend-
the civil rights movement of the ing to march to Montgomery to de-
1960s. A photo of white teenagers an- mand the right to vote. They were
grily shouting at a black AS A WHITE blocked at the other
student entering their side of that bridge by
school suddenly makes PERSON, the sheriff, his deputies,
me realise that the dis- I AM ACUTELY and a posse of white
comfort I’ve felt since AWARE I’M A farmers and off-duty
I visited the lynching state troopers on hors-
memorial is turning REPRESENTATIVE es. In a violent crack-
to shame. This is not a OF THE down on the marchers,
scene from distant his- 17 were hospitalised.
tory. This is my genera- GUILTY PARTY Photos of ‘Bloody Sun-
tion, which makes me, day’ appeared in news-
a white person, repre- papers and magazines
sentative of the guilty party. This is around the world.
the first time I’ve ever been acutely Harris, who sought shelter in a
aware of my race. church with her brother, now works
If these places are impacting me, as a tour guide in Selma, and she in-
I wonder how they must affect Afri- cludes a stop at the Selma Interpre-
can Americans. So I ask an elderly tive Center located near the bridge.
lady standing near me. “It makes me She tells me it worries her that the
want to cry,” she says with a sad smile younger generation of African Amer-
as her eyes tear up. She tells me that icans know so little about what their
she grew up here in the 1960s and grandparents went through. It was
remembers the abuse. She’s lived in partly the fault of the school boards
the north of the US for the past 40 that once kept it out of the curric-
years and is back for the first time, ulum, she says, though Alabama’s
on holiday. She’s happy to see that civil rights education has notably
institutions like this exist now and improved since Harris’s days as a
that the south is moving forward. teacher. “But it’s also our own fault.
Then, before she walks away, she We didn’t teach them, either. We
134 september 2020
The Long Road to Freedom
wanted to forget about those
days.” It’s the reason why, she
says, she is telling the story
now, to kids on her education-
al outreach projects, to her
tour guide audiences, and to
all who wish to hear.
ILEAVE SELMA and drive
northwest for five hours to
Memphis, Tennessee. This
is where Martin Luther King
Jr was killed in 1968, shot from
across the street when he was
standing on the balcony of the
Lorraine Motel, now a civil
rights museum. When I visit, I
see an African American fam-
ily taking pictures, cheerfully
posing, thumbs up, under the
balcony where King died. It
reminds me of a similar kind
of disconnect outside Anne
Frank House in my hometown
of Amsterdam. The motel where Martin Luther King Jr died
My trip takes me south now, is now a civil rights museum
towards Jackson. Rather than
the direct three-hour route I take a Penitentiary, known as Parchman
wider, westerly swing through the Farm, the notorious prison farm
Mississippi Delta, the flat region covering some 120 square kilo-
between the Mississippi and the metres along Highway 49. I see pris-
Yazoo rivers. The birthplace of the on barracks to the right. Road signs
blues – the music of the slaves who warn that slowing down or stopping
toiled here for hundreds of years – is not allowed here for any reason.
the Delta is warm and humid. The Back in the early 1960s more than
young cotton plants stand 20 centi- 300 activists called Freedom Riders
metres high in the endless, treeless were held here. I’ll be meeting one of
fields now worked with massive ma- them, Hezekiah Watkins, at the end
chines. I pass the Mississippi State of my trip.
readersdigest.com.au 135
READER’S DIGEST
“YOU CANNOT BLAME
today’s kids for not
being interested,”
says Flonzie Brown
Wright when I meet
her in the small memorial
centre she has set up in a for-
mer shop in Canton, a sleepy
town of 12,000 some 40 kilo-
metres from Jackson. This
78-year-old activist was the
first African American elec-
tion commissioner in Mis- Flonzie Brown Wright: “I have to be optimistic”
sissippi, in 1968. Now, the
African American population of Mis- state-sanctioned violence against
sissippi has a higher local representa- black people, ideally, she says, this
tion than anywhere in the country, new generation of leaders would in-
she says. But they have no power. clude people like Martin Luther King
‘Gerr ymandering’ – the targeted Jr and the kind of people who worked
redrawing of election districts, en- with and supported him. And not the
sures that the state is still controlled version of King that’s celebrated to-
by conservative white RACE RELATIONS day – a pacifist dreamer
men, she says. “Schools ARE ACTUALLY – but the brilliant ac-
for black children are BETTER HERE tivist and strategist he
still inferior,” she says. actually was, she says.
“The curriculum is de- THAN IN Still, she is optimistic:
cided by the state.” In a “I have to be. The slaves
history book that most THE NORTH, never lost hope. They
Mississippi school dis- I’M TOLD survived on hope.”
tricts use, only five of
As I leave, I ask Brown
100 pages are devoted Wright if she ever con-
to civil rights struggles, according to siders retiring from the marketing
a report published in 2017. consulting business and scholarship
W hat is needed, say s Brow n foundation she runs.
Wright, is a new generation of strong “Not until number 45 is gone.”
black leaders. And while she sup- She’s referring to Donald Trump,
ports groups like Black Lives Mat- 45th President of the United States.
ter, the now global campaign that She refuses to utter his name.
was originally started to protest Flonzie Brown Wright takes me to
136 september 2020
The Long Road to Freedom
meet Glen Cotton, grandson of the middle class-owned shops, cinemas,
owner of a so-called ‘shotgun house’ restaurants and funeral parlours,
that served as a safe house for the and when black doctors and law-
Freedom Riders in the early ’60s. yers served the community. When
The Freedom Riders were local black desegregation came and African
activists and white volunteers from Americans gained the right to be
the north who tried to force deseg- served in the better-equipped white
regation of the Greyhound bus sys- establishments, the black business
tem by refusing to abide by rules that class suffered and many shops went
separated seating by race. Cotton has bankrupt.
turned the house into a small private “But at least,” adds Cotton, “race
museum dedicated to the Glen Cotton, grandson of the owner of
Freedom Riders and the a so-called ‘shotgun house’
history of the local black
community. He shows me
photos of famous activists
who came here, including
King and Medgar Evers,
the field secretary of the
National Association for
the Advancement of Color-
ed People (NAACP), who
was shot outside his Jack-
son home in 1963. Then
Cotton shows me a portrait
of a group of well-dressed
businessmen.
“That was the black busi-
ness association. There’s
no such thing anymore,”
he explains.
“We were better off be-
fore desegregation,” he
continues. Seeing the
surprise on my face, he
describes the lively black
business community that
existed here until the
1960s, when the black
readersdigest.com.au 137
READER’S DIGEST
relations here in the south
are better than they are in
the north.” Now I am really
surprised, but he insists, and
another African American
visitor who has walked in on
our conversation agrees. I’ll
hear more about this on my
next and final stop: Jackson.
AT THE STATE cap-
ital’s splendid new
civil rights muse-
um, I meet 71-year-
old Hezekiah ‘Heck’
Watkins. In 1961 at age 13
he went with a friend to the
Greyhound bus station in
Jackson to see the Freedom
Riders arrive, not knowing ‘Heck’ Watkins points to his Freedom
they’d been arrested before Rider mug shot
the bus got there. His friend
suddenly pushed him through the had been tortured and lynched in
door into the station, where police Mississippi for allegedly whistling at
mistook him for a demonstrator. He a white woman, but young Watkins
was locked up on death row at Parch- was shielded from such horrors by
man Farm. After five days, he was fi- his mother. All he knew was that he
nally released. had to lower his eyes when a white
We talk for some two hours about person approached, and he couldn’t
his youth in the segregated 1950s and play on the footpath. “My mother
’60s. Watkins grew up on a street that warned me never to look at a white
separated a white and a black neigh- woman’s butt or eyes,” he says with a
bourhood. “Little kids from both smile. “But I had no idea why.”
sides of the street played together, but After Heck’s accidental arrest his
when we turned six, we went to dif- naivete was later replaced with a
ferent schools. And when we turned clear view of the harsh racial injus-
12 we had to call them ‘Mister’ and tice of the south. It turned him into
they called us ‘Boy’. an activist. Eventually, his mother let
In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till him join the Freedom Riders. It led to
138 september 2020
The Long Road to Freedom
another 108 arrests, making him the echoes what others have shared with
most-arrested activist in the history me on this journey: that the south is
of the civil rights movement. “Other moving forwards by dealing with the
people counted that,” he says. past – through activism, memorials
and museums – while the north pre-
In 1965, the struggle seemed to be tends nothing was ever wrong.
ending in victory. First the Voting
Rights Act was signed into law by the On a long, sleepless flight home, I
Johnson administration, guarantee- ponder the parallels with the coun-
ing African Americans in the south try I’m returning to, where open dis-
the right to vote, and then the Civil plays of racism in soccer stadiums
Rights Act officially ended segrega- are loudly condemned, but where
tion. It did not, however, end racism any discussion of our colonial past,
or undo the wealth gap, says Watkins: including the slave trade, is muted
“What we needed was equality, but because it undermines our ideal-
what we got was integration.” ised image of the 17th century Dutch
‘golden age’. It’s also a place where
Still, Watkins confirms what Glen covert racism translates into situa-
Cotton told me: race relations are bet- tions like fewer job and housing op-
ter in the south than in the north. Try- portunities for people of colour. It’s
ing to make sense of this, I call Charles something I’ve always known on an
‘Chuck’ Ross, professor of history and intellectual level, but somehow, that
African American studies at the Uni- moment of acute awareness of my
versity of Mississippi. Ross grew up in own race that I experienced in the
Ohio and now works in the south, so Montgomery museum has given me
he should know from experience. a new level of understanding.
The south has been forced to deal This journey is not like other trips
with its dark past. “There has been a I’ve been on. This one will not be over
more profound change here than in when I land.
some areas in the north,” he says. This
Hotel Bandit
An elusive burglar that repeatedly triggered night security alarms
at the Bungalow Hotel in Cairns, Queensland, was finally identified
by security cameras as a rare and endangered animal: a northern
quoll. The quoll is an tree-climbing marsupial rarely spotted in
urban areas. “Clearly, he likes having a drink at the hotel,”
joked hotel director Stewart Gibson. MSN.COM
readersdigest.com.au 139
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readersdigest.com.au 141
READER’S DIGEST
Tour de Force Stalin’s Wine Skin Care: the
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142 september 2020
RD Recommends
Fiction
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honour the relationship alongside the homicide
between pet and human this offbeat comedy detectives. However,
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and provides poignant killer. This book is a
stories about dogs, privilege. M.Egan suspenseful thriller that
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readersdigest.com.au 143
READER’S DIGEST
Looking Glass
Christina Henry
PENGUIN RANDOMHOUSE
This book is a blast – fairy tales for grown-ups.
Looking Glass, as the name implies, weaves in Alice
in Wonderland’s story after she emerged out of the
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I hadn’t read the previous stories but was still able to
get to grips with this imaginary world where magic
runs as freely as secrets and blood. It’s a fascinating
read for those who love a bit of fantasy.
What Do You Call Kids
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Ashleigh Barton and
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HARPERCOLLINS
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Margaret Wild and Judith Rossell
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Here are a couple of picture books
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whose colour makes her different
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dinosaur-loving boys and girls.
144 september 2020
TA L K S
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.
READ BY Zoë Meunier
A GIFT OF HOPE LETTER IN THE A FRIEND
In 2015, university student WALLET CALLED PIP
Kris Chung donated part of A devoted dog is proving
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This selfless act would have story of love, fate and diabetic alert dog.
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TO LISTEN GO TO:
www.readersdigest.com.au/podcasts
Podcasts
Survival in the Woods
Preschool teacher Pamela Salant set out for a
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survival in a dense wood with deep gorges.
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146 september 2020
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THE
GENIUS
SECTION
Sharpen Your
Mind
IN PRAISE OF
GUILTY PLEASURES
Go ahead and binge-watch some more reality TV.
Our ‘lowbrow’ indulgences aren’t so bad for us after all
BY Michaela Marini Higgs
ADAPTED FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
148 september 2020
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