2022-09-01 Reader's Digest

Inspiration Reader’s Digest

on to her southern identity. I told her and waiting in the fields. I swallowed
I was sorry. When we talk, I cannot pangs of sadness for having missed the
imagine anything that fits her more days just before harvest when endless
perfectly than the sound of her voice rows of fragile, browning stems bal-
as it has always been. ance their fluffy burdens, waiting to
be relieved by gigantic cotton pick-
These days, I feel like a radio oper- ers. When I lived in Crockett County,
ated by someone clumsily twisting the I belligerently declared often and
knob this way, then that, searching for loudly that I would soon be gone, that
a clear signal between what I sound I would never look back. Then, it be-
like and the girl I used to be. Slower, came impossible to stop looking back.
fuller vowels roll off my tongue when
encouraged by an extra glass of whis- My dad has said
key, some great indignation, the
sound of another’s drawl. But if my you can feel the
old self escapes from my lips in my
new life, those syllables flatten back call to home deep
out minutes later. The quick, uncon-
scious retreat to the safety of the un- in your bones.
accent makes me feel as though I’m a
fraud—a girl who refused to heed her In Sarah Broom’s memoir, The Yel-
grandmother’s warning and forgot low House, she writes about her home,
where she comes from. a New Orleans that is unseen by the
tourists who mill about the French
My dad has said you can feel the Quarter. She describes her homecom-
call to home deep in your bones. ing, her hopes “to close the distance
I know exactly what he means. Once, between the me of now and the me
every step I walked from the train sta- of then.” I read that line on a bus that
tion to the office seemed victorious to carried me across concrete bridges
me. But I gradually began to realize and toward ambitious structures of
that I no longer wanted to pretend. iron and glass, and yearned for similar
I became a kind of homesick that led catharsis. I started to hope that I could
me to play old Friday Night Lights reclaim and resurrect a part of myself.
episodes while folding laundry or put
on the Highwomen record and dance So, I decided to move back. I’m
around, singing with all the twang I’ve still searching for what it means to be
got left. On visits to West Tennessee, southern, but now I’m doing it with all
I would spend hours behind the wheel the “y’alls” and the “reckons” I with-
of my parents’ car, pushing my luck on held for so long. RD
the country roads where I learned to
drive, staring at the cotton packed up Jezebel.com (January 21, 2022),
copyright © 2022. g/o media inc.

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Reader’s Digest

The RD

LIST

read, watch, listen

courtesy AmAzon studios, PhotogrAPher: TV to investigate the bats and barriers
Anne mArie Fox. noun Project (tv icon) broken by the women to make the big
A League of leagues in World War II–era Illinois.
Ace pitcher Maxine Chapman (Chanté
Their Own Adams), for one, has to work twice as
hard and be three times as good as her
Starring Abbi Jacobson white counterparts, for even a chance
at a chance. But her skill and love of
Abbi JAcobson tAkes A swing at the game might sway the right people
reimagining the beloved 1992 clas- to go to bat for her. Jacobson’s Broad
sic. In the opening scene, Jacobson’s City chops shine through: The show
character, Carson Shaw, rounds a is best when she and fellow Rockford
corner and hits the dirt—but she’s Peach Greta Gill (D’Arcy Carden) ban-
not headed home. She barely makes ter. (Streaming August 12 on Amazon
a train to join the All-American Girls Prime Video) —Caroline Fanning
Professional Baseball League. The
eight-episode series has more room

illustration by Tim Marrs Rd.com | septembeR 2022 101

Reader’s Digest Patti Perret/Focus Features. NouN Project (Film icoN)

FILM

Vengeance

Starring, and written and directed by B.J. Novak

B.J. Novak messes with Texas in this comedy-drama about city
slicker Ben heading west for the funeral of a former fling. Her brother
Ty (Boyd Holbrook) insists it was murder, based on ... nada. Under the
guise of helping to find the culprits, Ben podcasts Ty’s quest for base-
less vengeance. He describes “a new American reality where people in-
vent conspiracy theories because the truth is too hard to accept.” But it
goes up in flames when Ben’s Prius inexplicably blows up. The tension
(and hilarity) set up by the culture clash (he thinks the family is a
bunch of yokels; they think he’s a yellow-bellied Yankee) softens. Ty
is sincerely concerned: “What if you were driving a real car? With gas
and stuff!” Issa Rae plays Ben’s podcast producer, and Ashton Kutcher
plays a smooth-as-glass local. (In theaters July 29) —Mara Reinstein

102 september 2022

The RD List

PODCAST BOOKS

NouN Project (Podcast aNd book icoNs). t_kimura/Getty imaGes (book shaPes, 2). courtesy PaNtheoN books (Paradise Falls). Radio Play Tuesdays with Paradise Falls
courtesy crowN (tuesdays with morrie) Revival Morrie: 25th
Anniversary By Keith O’Brien
From Broadway Edition
There was something in
Podcast Network By Mitch Albom the water in Love Canal.
And the ground. And the
The Airpods are Originally published in air. In the 1940s, Hooker
alive with the sound 1997, Mitch Albom’s ac- Chemical buried toxic
of Zenith radios. count of time spent with waste in the canal and
Radio Play Revival mentor Morrie Schwartz sold the land for $1—and
features great Amer- was at one time the best- residents suffered its ef-
ican actors from selling memoir in the fects. O’Brien chronicles
the big screen and world. It nearly wasn’t the notorious case of envi-
Broadway perform- published at all. Albom ronmental disaster and
ing great American wrote it to help with bureaucratic negligence,
works of literature. Schwartz’s medical bills, and the actions of citizens
Think Samuel L. and when a book deal who took things into their
Jackson, Michelle seemed impossible, his own hands when officials
Williams, and Har- agent suggested Albom refused to act. Mothers
riet Harris doing pen a letter about why toted kids along as they
O. Henry, Edith he felt so moved to write petitioned. A nun crashed
Wharton, Ambrose about his Tuesday visits. a meeting to confront ex-
Bierce, and more. For the first time, in this ecutives. A scientist risked
It’s all of the golden special 25th anniversary her career to whistle-blow.
age of radio plays edition we can read the It’s an almost unbelievably
without the terror letter that inspired pub- histrionic history. —CF
of The War of the lishers to share this story
Worlds 1938 radio with the world. —CF
scare. —CF

Rd.com 103

Reader’s Digest The RD List

QUOTABLE QUOTES

Spend 30 minutes Decide what is yours from top: Dia Dipasupil/Getty imaGes. WireimaGe/Getty imaGes. Jacopo raule /GettyimaGes
a day doing something to hold and let the
rest go. Oftentimes,
to help you become the good things
the person you in your life
are lighter
secretly would love to anyway.
be, to do the job you
would secretly love to —Taylor Swift,
do. There are people
who are doing it, and musician,
it was impossible for
them at one time too. to GraDuates
of neW york
—Tomi Adeyemi, novelist, university

in teen voGue My secrets to a happy
marriage: Listen to each
other, touch feet in bed I can outeat
even if you’re mad, and any workout.
never, ever ski together.
—Angela
—Ree Drummond, fooD Bassett,
personality, on instaGram
actor,

in instyle

Intelligence is
nothing if it’s
not accompanied
with kindness.

—Christian
Louboutin,

DesiGner,

in vanity fair

104 september 2022 | rd.com

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Reader’s Digest

Brain

GAMES

Sharpen Your Mind

Fact or Fiction?

MEDIUM Determine whether each statement is fact or fiction. To reveal the solution
to the bonus question at the bottom, write the letters indicated by your responses
in the corresponding numbered blanks. Turn the page upside down for the answers.

1. You can find 2. Coco Chanel is 3. Sherlock Holmes
ATMs in responsible for the first says “Elementary,
Antarctica. no-white-after- my dear Watson” in
Labor-Day rule. A Study in Scarlet.

FACT: B FICTION: F FACT: A FICTION: R FACT: C FICTION: O

4. Brad Pitt injured 5. We are all either 6. Baseball
his Achilles tendon introverts or umpires used
while playing Achilles extroverts. to sit in rocking
in the film Troy. chairs.
FACT: I FICTION: D
FACT: A FICTION: S FACT: C FICTION: M

7. Leaves change color 8. Abraham Lincoln 9. Samsung tests emily goodman (fact or fiction).noun project (4)
in the fall because was a licensed the durability of its
their trees get bartender. phones using a robot
less water. that sits on them.

FACT: I FICTION: A FACT: S FICTION: L FACT: T FICTION: E

BONUs QUEsTION Which word, related to communication technology, was added to
the dictionary in 1922? (Need help? Turn to 13 Things on page 34.)

123456789

Answers: 1. Fact. 2. Fiction; Chanel wore white year-round. The custom originated with midcentury American elites.
3. Fiction; he never says it in the works of Arthur Conan Doyle. 4. Fact; art imitates life. 5. Fiction; there is an in-between
personality type called “ambivert.” 6. Fact. 7. Fiction; it’s because the leaves are producing less chlorophyll. 8. Fact.
9. Fact. Bonus Question: Broadcast.

106 september 2022

Brain Games

Quick Crossword 1
2
easy It’s back-to-school season, but
not for these subjects and topics, once- 3
standard offerings that are now largely
absent from public school curricula:

CIVICS 4 5
SEWING 8
LOGIC 6
TYPING
GEOGRAPHY 7
SHOP
LATIN
LIBRARY
COOKING
CURSIVE

emily goodman (Quick crossword). seesaw (darren rigby) Seesaw ?

MediuM Aaron and Rd.com 107
his little sister, Alex,
are on a seesaw. In the
first two pictures, they
are balanced because
the amount of force
they’re applying to
each side (with some
help from their five-
pound cat, Ginger) is
the same. Assuming
each colored section of
the seesaw has the same
length, where should the
cat sit in the final picture
to balance it?

Reader’s Digest It’s not in here. It’s not in the blue tent.
It’s in the yellow tent. It’s not in here.
Happy Campers

easy Your annual family
camping trip usually
involves some sort of
practical joke and, this
year, the prank is on you.
Your family has hidden
your sleeping bag in one
of four tents. Outside
each they put a sign,
but only one sign is
truthful. Can you deter-
mine which sign that is,
and which tent your
sleeping bag is in?

Decoder Animal Kingdom emily goodman (happy campers, animal kingdom). marcel danesi (decoder)

difficult The numbers at the end of each row MediuM All four of the
or column result from adding up the numbers animal species listed
represented by the symbols in that row or column. below are made up.
Knowing this, determine the value of each symbol. Aside from being
imaginary, they share
20 one other trait in
common. What is it?
20
CHANTER GEESE
18 APRIL EMU
SUBMERSIBLE SLUG
23 COPAY TIGER

17

23 18 32 25

For more Brain Games, go to rd.com/braingames.

For answers, turn to page 111.

108 september 2022

Brain Games

WORD POWER 9. arrears n.
(uh-'reerz)
Ahoy, mateys! In honor of International Talk A window blinds
Like a Pirate Day, a silly but real holiday cele- B unpaid debts
brated every September 19, these words in- C suspicions

clude three r’s (as in “Arrr,” the utterance 10. preternatural adj.
that in 1995 inspired two friends to invent (pre-ter-'na-chuh-ruhl)
the day). Once you find your sea legs, follow A exceptional
the current to the next page for the answers. B active at night
C historical
By Sarah Chassé
11. gerrymander v.
('jair-ee-man-der)
A build for emergency use
B joke around
C finagle voting districts

1. recurrent adj. 5. terrarium n. 12. arrowroot n.
(rih-'kur-ent) (tuh-'rair-ee-um) ('air-oh-root)
A trendy A solid ground A poisonous snake
B worthless B haunted house B trailhead
C on-and-off C glass enclosure C starchy plant

2. proprietor n. 6. arbitrary adj. 13. farrier n.
(pruh-'pry-uh-ter) ('ar-buh-trair-ee) ('fair-ee-er)
A owner A based on whim A one who shoes horses
B offspring B contested B amateur boxer
C headmaster C lined with trees C translator

3. derriere n. 7. barnstormer n. 14. retrograde adj.
(dair-ee-'air) ('barn-stor-mer) ('reh-truh-graid)
A small pistol A red-tailed hawk A reversed
B backside B armored tank B immature
C second home C traveling performer C metallic

4. corroborate v. 8. orrery n. 15. precursor n.
(kuh-'rah-buh-rayt) ('or-er-ee) ('pree-ker-ser)
A band together A chicken coop A requirement
B support with evidence B solar system model B ban
C steal from C fuel gauge C forerunner

Rd.com 109

Reader’s Digest

Pirate Parlance in Pop Culture

Did buccaneers of yore really growl “Shiver me timbers”?
Possibly. But actor Robert Newton’s swashbuckling per-
formance as Long John Silver in 1950’s Treasure Island
is responsible for most of our ideas about pirate-speak.
He used the dialect of southwestern England, an area
with a long maritime history, where “arrr” means yes.

Word Power Good judges don’t make to sway the election LMPC/Getty IMaGes
arbitrary decisions; they results.
ANSWERS follow the letter of the law.
12. arrowroot
1. recurrent 7. barnstormer (C) starchy plant
(C) on-and-off (C) traveling performer Powdered arrowroot can
Javier’s doctor prescribed Jorge began acting as a thicken sauces and stews.
a new medication for his barnstormer, starring in
recurrent migraines. shows across the country. 13. farrier
(A) one who shoes horses
2. proprietor (A) owner 8. orrery After a brief stint as a
Are you the proprietor of (B) solar system model jockey, Derek worked as
this fine establishment? The bronze orrery on Ed’s a farrier at a dude ranch.
desk belonged to his fa-
3. derriere (B) backside ther, a noted astronomer. 14. retrograde
The last time I went roller- (A) reversed
skating, I tripped and fell 9. arrears Mercury retrograde,
on my derriere! (B) unpaid debts a period when the tiny
Overwhelmed by her planet’s orbit appears to
4. corroborate arrears, Hannah filed change direction, is often
(B) support with evidence for bankruptcy. considered unlucky.
The detectives reviewed
security footage 10. preternatural 15. precursor
to corroborate the (A) exceptional (C) forerunner
victim’s story. The young quarterback Ragtime music was a
has a preternatural ability precursor to jazz.
5. terrarium to find his receiver.
(C) glass enclosure Vocabulary Ratings
Our pet turtle, Hum- 11. gerrymander
phrey, lives in a terrarium. (C) finagle voting districts 9 & Below:
The city council denies underprepared
6. arbitrary trying to gerrymander 10–12: extraordinary
(A) based on whim key downtown districts 13–15: ultrarare

110 september 2022

Brain Games

ANSWERS

WHERE, OH WHERE? two lengths away from
the pivot on Aaron’s side.
(page 52)
SPECIAL OFFER Happy Campers
C. Jackson Hole, Wyo-
Good, Clean, Family- ming. (The three other The sign outside the
Friendly Humor choices are also home to red tent is the only one
You’ve heard that an Dambo’s troll sculptures.) that can be true without
apple a day can keep creating contradictions,
the doctor away, but BRAIN GAMES so your sleeping bag
we like to think that is in the blue tent.
a chuckle every day (pages 107-108)
can do the same. Decoder =3
That’s why we’re writ- Quick Crossword
ing you a prescription =2
for Laughter, the Best ACROSS
Medicine 2022, an = 5 =10
all-new collection of 2. LOGIC
our all-time funniest 4. CURSIVE Animal Kingdom
jokes, quotes, quips, 6. SEWING
stories, cartoons, and 7. TYPING They are anagrams
columns. Our editors 8. LIBRARY of countries and their
mined 100 years of capitals. (Athens,
archives and packed DOWN Greece; Lima, Peru;
more than 450 of Brussels, Belgium;
these gems into this 1. COOKING Cairo, Egypt)
compilation, which 3. GEOGRAPHY
can be yours for just 4. CIVICS
$10. (We’ll spot you 5. LATIN
the shipping.) Order 6. SHOP
at rd.com/RDSEP.
Seesaw

Ginger the cat should sit

joleen zubek (book) Reader’s Digest (ISSN 0034-0375) (USPS 865-820), (CPM Agreement# 40031457), Vol. 200, No.
1182, September 2022. © 2022. Published monthly, except bimonthly in March/April, July/
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