Readers.Digest.India-April.2022

Reader’s Digest

‘Smart’ AI Helps Rule Out
Bandages Breast Cancer
Are on
the Way Early detection of breast cancer
through mammograms helps save
Usually, if lives. Unfortunately, cancer screen-
you want to ing is about four times more likely
check if a wound is healing properly, to miss detecting cancers in women
you need to remove the bandage, with extremely dense breasts, who
which can be both painful and risky, have twice the risk of developing
giving pathogens a chance to attack. breast cancer as the average woman.
But now, Australian researchers at Now, a Dutch study published in the
RMIT University in Melbourne have journal Radiology has shown that,
developed ‘smart’ wound dressings for patients with extremely dense
that detect biochemical changes in breasts and no detectable lumps,
the skin. The dressings glow brightly an AI-based screening tool currently
under UV light if infection starts to being tested is able to quickly and
set in. In wounds that had previously accurately rule out cancer for 40 per
been infected, the absence of fluo- cent of patients. (The tool—which
rescent light signaled that the infec- uses an automated triaging method
tion has cleared. After more tests, the based on deep learning—was trained
product will soon be made available on data from seven hospitals and
to doctors around the world. tested on data from an eighth.) This
will significantly reduce radiologists’
Dried Fruit Is Beneficial workload and allow them to focus
on complex, less definitive cases.
Adults in the United States who con-
sumed dried fruit had a lower body —BY MARK WITTEN
mass index and blood pressure than
PHOTOS: ©GETTY IMAGES X2 those who didn’t, according to re-
search published in the Journal of
the Academy of Nutrition and Dietet-
ics. Dried fruits are a good source of
fibre and potassium, but not all op-
tions are created equal. Your best
bets include prunes, apricots, man-
gos, and figs—just make sure to check
the ingredient label for added sugars.

readersdigest.in 47

OCTOBER 1939 PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

ANTON,
FRIEND
OF ALL
THE WORLD

In a tribute to his most unforgettable character,
a literary great tells the story of cheerful Anton,

who never had a job—but was always busy

BY Stefan Zweig

48 april 2022

Reader’s Digest
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Reader’s Digest

should be ungrateful indeed And, strange to say, my Kaspar,
had I forgotten the person who was usually wary of strangers,
who showed me two of the responded at once, and, at a sign, put
his head on the man’s knee. Search-
Imost difficult things on earth: ing the dog’s coat with long, sensitive
how, by means of an inner fingers, the stranger finally uttered a
freedom, a man can free himself from satisfied “Aha!” and began what must
the strongest power in this world, the have been a painful operation, for
power of money; and how a man can Kaspar whimpered several times. Yet
live among his fellow human beings he made no effort to wriggle free. Sud-
without making a single enemy. denly the man released him. “Here it
is,” he laughed, triumphantly holding
I came to know this unique something in the air. “Now run along,
individual in a very simple way. One doggie.” As the dog scurried off, the
afternoon, in the little town where I stranger rose with a nod and a “Gri-
then lived, I was taking my spaniel iss Gott,” [God bless] and walked on.
for a walk, when the dog began to His departure was so sudden that it
behave strangely. He rolled frenziedly did not occur to me until later that I
on the ground, rubbed himself should have given him something for
against every tree, whimpered and his trouble, or at least should have
growled incessantly. thanked him. But there was the same
finality and self-possession about his
While I was wondering what going as his coming .
was the matter with him, I became
aware that someone was walking by At home, still pondering the man’s
my side—a man of about 30, poorly odd behaviour, I reported the adven-
dressed, collarless and hatless. A ture to our old cook. “Oh, that was
beggar, I thought, and was about to Anton,” she remarked. “He’s got an
put my hand in my pocket. But the eye for everything.” I asked what was
stranger smiled tranquilly at me out his trade, what he did for a living.
of clear blue eyes as though we were “Nothing,” she said, as if astonished
old friends. “He’s got a tick, poor by my question. “What does he want
chap,” he said, pointing to my dog. with a trade?”
“Come along, we’ll have it out.”
“Well,” I said, “everyone has to have
He addressed me with the ‘Du’ something to live on.”
which in German is employed only
among people who are on intimate “Not Anton,” she said. “Everyone is
terms; but there was such warm friend- glad to give him whatever he wants.
liness in his gaze that I took no offense He doesn’t care about money, he
at his familiarity. I followed him to a doesn’t need it.” Well, this was odd. I
park bench and sat down beside him. knew that in our little town, as in every
He called the dog with a shrill whistle.

50 april 2022

Anton, Friend of all the World

other town in the world, every crust of stall was in childbed and had let him

bread and every glass of beer, every take her place.

night’s lodging and every coat had to Of course, there are plenty of handy

be paid for. How came this spare little men in every town, ready to pick up

fellow with the threadbare trousers to any odd job. The unique thing about

get around this law, and yet remain ut- Anton was that, regardless of how

terly carefree and happy? hard he had worked, he firmly re-

I resolved to investigate his tech- fused to accept more money than

nique, and soon discovered that our he needed for that day. When things

cook had been right: this fellow Anton went well, he accepted no payment

had no kind of settled job. He just wan- whatever. “I’ll come to you later if I

dered about the town all day long— need anything,” he would say.

apparently aimlessly, I soon became aware

but with watchful eyes EVEN THE MOST that this odd, ragged,
that observed every- CYNICAL COULD friendly fellow had
thing. He would stop discovered for himself
the driver of a cart and NOT ESCAPE a new system. He had
show him that his horse FEELING faith in the decency of
was imperfectly har- human beings; instead
nessed. He would no- INDEBTED TO ONE of depositing money
tice the rotting wood in WHO DID THINGS in a savings bank, he
a fence, and call on the preferred to accumu-
owner to suggest that WITHOUT late moral obligations
COMPENSATION.
it ought to be painted. with his fellow towns-

Usually he’d be asked people; he invested his

to do the job—for everybody knew little all in invisible credits—and even

that there was no cupidity in his sug- the most cynical could not escape feel-

gestions, but only sincere friendliness. ing indebted to one who did things for

How many jobs have I not since them as a favour, without thought of

then seen him putting his hand to! fixed compensation.

Once I found him sitting in a shoe One had only to watch Anton walk-

maker’s shop mending shoes, once ing down the street to realize in what

acting as an extra waiter at a party, special esteem people held him. Ev-

once taking some children out for eryone greeted him cordially, every-

a walk. I discovered that everyone one shook him by the hand. And this

turned to Anton in an emergency; simple carefree man in the shabby

on one occasion I saw him selling coat walked through the town like a

apples among the market women, landowner inspecting his estates, with

and I learned that the owner of the a genial and friendly air. He could

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Reader’s Digest

enter any door, sit down at any table; with shrewd eyes, pointing out, as he

everything was his to command. walked through the garden, that here a

Never have I understood so well the bush wanted trimming, there a young

power wielded by one who has mas- tree needed transplanting.

tered the secret of taking no thought Finally he inspected the gutter and

for the morrow, and of genuinely set to work forthwith. Two hours later

trusting in God. he reported that the job was finished,

I must frankly admit that it annoyed and departed—again before I could

me at first, after the episode with thank him. But this time at least I

Kaspar, to have Anton pass me with had told the cook to pay him well.

merely a casual greeting, as though I asked her if he had been satisfied.

I were more or less a “Of course, he’s always

stranger. Evidently he THUS, I LEARNT satisfied,” she said.”
did not wish to pre- THAT THIS I wanted to give him
sume on that little ser- STRANGE six shillings, but he
vice. Yet I felt excluded would take only two.
by this polite indiffer- INDIVIDUAL HAD That would see him
ence from a large and NO HOME. YET through for today and
friendly community. NO ONE WAS tomorrow. But if the
And so the next time EASIER TO GET Herr Doktor, he said,
something was out of IN TOUCH WITH. ever had an old winter
order in the house— coat to spare ...”
water was dripping
I find it hard to de-

from a gutter—I sug- scribe the pleasure it

gested to my cook that gave me to be able to

she send for Anton. offer to this man— the first person I

“You can’t send for him; he never had ever known who took less than

stays long enough in one place,” she was given him, something he was ea-

replied. “But I’ll get word to him.” Thus ger to have. I ran after him. “Anton,

I learnt that this strange individual Anton,” I called down the hill. “I have

had no home. Yet no one was easier a coat for you.”

to get in touch with; a sort of wireless Once more I encountered that se-

telephone connected him with the rene, tranquil light in his eyes. He

whole town. It was sufficient to tell was not in the least surprised that I

the first person you met in the street, should run after him. It was natural

“I want Anton,” and the word would to him that someone who had a coat

pass along, until someone ran across that was not needed should offer it

him. Indeed, that very afternoon he to another who badly wanted one. I

turned up. He looked at everything got the cook to fetch all my available

52 april 2022

Anton, Friend of all the World

old clothes. He scrutinized the pile, Anton, and always with gratitude, for

picked up a coat, tried it on and then few people have given me so much

said quietly, “Yes, this will do me.” spiritual help. Frequently when I

He said it with the air of a gentleman have been worrying about stupid

who has decided to take one of the ar- little money matters I have called to

ticles brought out for his inspection in mind this man who lived calmly and

a shop. Then he glanced at the other confidently for the day, because he

things. “You can give those shoes to wanted no more than was enough

Fritz in the Salsergrasse, he needs a for that one day. And always I have

pair; and the shirts to Jo- thought: “If everyone

sef in the Square, he can were to learn this

patch them for himself. secret of mutual trust

If you like I’ll take them and confidence, there

along for you.” This in would be no police,

the magnanimous tone no courts of law, no

of one volunteering to prisons and no money.

do a favour; I felt I ought Would not our whole

to thank him for dis- complicated economic

tributing my belongings system be remedied

among people who were if everyone lived like

complete strangers to this one man, who gave

me. As he tied the things as much of himself as

in a bundle, he added, FROM 1939 he could, yet took only
“Yes, you’re a good fel- what he needed?”

low. Nice of you to give all these For some years I’ve heard nothing

things away.” And he vanished. of Anton. But there are few people

Strange, no enthusiastic review of about whom I feel less anxiety: I know

any of my books had ever delighted that God will never leave this man in

me so much as this naive praise. In the lurch and, what’s more, men

later years I have often thought of this will not, either.

Cartoon Quips

NOVEMBER 1958

Chairman of the board to other members: “Of course,
it’s only a suggestion, gentlemen, but let’s not
forget who’s making it.”

—SATURDAY EVENING POST

readersdigest.in 53

As Kids See it

1960s “I found a volleyball!” shrieked my
10-year-old. My six-year-old daughter
“HOW MUCH DOES the Earth was late, and came in quietly.
weigh?” asked a seven-year-old boy
in class. The teacher, not knowing “And what did you find, dear?” I
the answer, resorted to the bets of encouraged. “A ring? A bracelet?”
education techniques: “That’s a very
interesting question. Let’s see who “No, Mummy,” she smiled as an-
can find the answer by tomorrow.” other girl followed her in. “I found
That night she made a beeline for a friend.”
the local library and after a consider-
able effort, she arrived at the answer. —MRS B. NEWMAN, NOVEMBER 1970

The next day she asked the class AT THE DINNER TABLE one evening
if anyone had been able to find our teenage daughter was telling us
out how much the earth weighs. about a film she had seen at school.
No one had. The teacher filled with “It was on mental and emotional
pride announced the results of her health,” she said. “And can you tell us,”
research. The class pondered the I asked teasingly, “the exact difference
answer briefly. Then the same small between ‘mental’ and ‘emotional’
boy raised his hand and asked, health?” “Well,” she replied, “the way
“Is that with or without people?” I see it, mental health is how you feel
about geometry; emotional health is
—D. R. K, FEBRUARY 1966 how you feel about the boy who sits
next to you in geometry.”
1970s
—GUTHRIE JANSSEN, NOVEMBER 1970
SCAVENGING THE BEACH after a
crowded holiday weekend is always 1980s
an exciting adventure for my three
youngsters. We live on a cliff overlook- MY SCHOOL ENGLISH students were
ing a small cove, and after one such separating run-on sentences into
weekend my two boys burst into the shorter ones. A sentence to be revised
kitchen with grins from ear to ear. was: “My little brother’s favourite
“Look what I found, Mum!” shouted movie is Return of the Jedi and he pre-
John, holding up one wet swim fin. tends our dog is an Ewok and he tries to
save our house from Darth Vader.”

54 april 2022

Reader’s Digest

A student condensed this to: “My little 2000s
brother has a problem with reality.”
WHEN MY SON was in ninth grade,
—PAULINE DELAMARTER, JULY 1988 we reluctantly agreed to let him
move into the basement. Then I
WE HAD TAKEN OUR daughter to realized how convenient it was to get
the local club where a couple of him to the breakfast table. Before, I
chefs were demonstrating their skill. used to stand at the bottom of the
As the Chinese chef cooked noodles staircase and scream his name. Now
using chopsticks, my wide-eyed all I had to do was flick the basement
daughter exclaimed, “Look, Mummy, light on and off and he was here.
he’s knitting his dinner!”
One morning I flicked the switch
—VINOO CHERIAN, MADRAS, JULY 1986 and nothing happened. I did it
several more times.
SOME OF THE children I examine as
an optometrist need glasses but will “I’m on my way,” my son called up.
do almost anything to avoid wearing “You didn’t have to yell.”
them. Other youngsters, who do not
need glasses, plead with me to prescribe —CAROL CHRISTIAN, AUGUST 2000
them. One nine-year-old patient wanted
to wear glasses very much. When I I HAD BEEN TEACHING my
asked her to read the bottom row of seventh graders about World War II,
letters on the chart, she said, “All right, and a test question was, “What was
I can see the O and the P and the T, the largest amphibious assault of all
but not the N and the Z.” time?” Expecting to see ‘the D-Day
invasion’ as the answer, I found
—R. KINKADE, SEPTEMBER 1986 instead on one paper, ‘Moses and
the plague of frogs’.

—STEVE CALLAHAN, MARCH 2002

1990s AFTER RETIRING, I took up substi-
tute teaching. One day, I asked my
AFTER HAVING HER frisky fourth graders to guess my favourite
four-year-old under her feet all sport. It happens to be pickleball,
morning, a mother suggested, “Why which might explain why they
don’t you go over and see how old weren’t having any luck. So I offered
Mrs Smith is, dear?” Off went the this hint: “It starts with the letter P.”
child, but she was back within min-
utes. “Mum,” she said, “Mrs Smith They threw out pool, poker,
said it’s none of your business how Ping-Pong—none of them correct.
old she is.” Then one boy insisted he had the
answer: “Pole dancing!”
—FRIENDS OF ROYAL PERTH HOSPITAL
NANCY REGAN, APRIL 2017
NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1998

readersdigest.in 55

Reader’s Digest
56 april 2022

PHOTOGRAPH: RAMESH SHARMA NOVEMBER 1986

WHY GOD

HSAaAnzVnaEarDe

The humble, yet remarkable, origins of the
man who became the people’s champion
against corruption and injustice in India

BY Mohan Sivanand

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Reader’s Digest

emkharan, September 1965. An Indian military
convoy rumbles towards the fighting zone. Suddenly,
two Pakistani Sabre jets dropped out of the sky

K and scream in to attack. As bombs begin exploding
around him, Kishan Baburao Hazare, driving a
truckful of soldiers, speeds up. But when a splinter grazes his
forehead, he ducks below the dashboard and jams on the brakes
with his hands. The windscreen shatters and bullets riddle the
man next to Hazare. The 25-year-old driver tumbles out of his
truck and prays fervently as the two Sabers strafe the convoy
again. When they finally disappear, dozens of jawans lie dead.
Of the few survivors, only Hazare escapes serious injury. “You
saved me, God,” Hazare says over and over again. “But why?”

Recently, at the village of Ralegaon biogas plants. Some of its farmers drive
Shindi, I discovered why God saved around on mopeds.
Baburao Hazare 11 years ago. Ralegaon
Shindi wasn’t very different from hun- Even more remarkable is the social
dreds of other villages in this arid part transformation that Hazare has
of Maharashtra’s Ahmadnagar district. wrought. No one drinks in Ralegaon
With water available only during the Shindi, only a handful smoke. There
monsoons, its farmers could barely hasn’t been a crime here in nine years.
grow one crop a year, and 70 per cent of Even the practice of ‘untouchability’ has
the village’s 315 families lived in abject weakened, thanks to Hazare, says the
poverty. Indeed, Ralegaon Shindi’s former collector of Ahmannagar, Rajiv
most distinctive feature was its 40 illicit Agarwal. Scores of other villages here
distilleries that made the village a pop- and in neighbouring districts look to
ular haunt for drunks and gamblers. Ralegaon for inspiration.
Thefts and brawls were commonplace.
It’s hard to believe that Hazare could
Since he returned to Ralegaon Shindi be responsible for all this. He’s a short,
in 1975, Hazare has spearheaded a thin, mild-looking fellow, the kind of per-
movement that has changed all this son you wouldn’t look at twice. Nor is his
forever. Today, Ralegaon Shindi is brisk background the stuff from which leaders
and prosperous, signs of rural moder- are supposed to be made. The son of a
nity abound. Its fields are heavy with poor farmer, Hazare never got beyond
grain. There’s a bank, a boarding school, the seventh class in school. As a young
man, his fiery temper constantly got him

58 april 2022

Why God Saved Anna Hazare

into trouble: once he had the Bombay himself, more people might think of

police after him when he beat up a cop God and lead better lives. But he didn’t

who had been harassing hawkers. have the money. Nor could he leave the

He was known as a troublemaker in army just yet—to qualify for a pension,

the army, too. Soon after he enlisted, he had to serve for several years more.

he discovered that a senior officer was Finally, in August 1975, Hazare

embezzling mess funds. He publicly returned to Ralegaon after retiring from

questioned the officer and was posted the army. His service benefits amount-
tofar-offNefa[now, ArunachalPradesh] ed to `20,000, and he planned to spend

as a punishment. the money rebuilding the village temple.

He hired carpenters and Masons and

COMPLETE CHANGE helped them lay bricks and lug wood.

The story of Hazare’s transformation Few people paid him attention at first,

began in 1964 at a Delhi but as the temple neared

railway station bookstall “IF PEOPLE completion, the villages
after he bought a book ARE CONVINCED began changing. Some
on Swami Vivekananda. THAT YOU ARE offered to donate wood.
Enthralled by the great NOT SELFISH, Many volunteered their
sage’s life and by his THEY ARE ON labour. “This taught me
dictum that the noblest one thing,” Hazare says.
thing a man can do is YOUR SIDE,” “If people are convinced
work for the good of SAYS HAZARE. that you are not selfish,
others, Hazare avidly they are on your side.”
began reading religious

texts and biographies BORN LEADER

of social reformers, and Among those who

after his escape from the Saber jets at joined Hazare were a few young men.

Khemkharan, Hazare became a vege- They called him anna (big brother) and

tarian, gave up cigarettes and liquor and listened with fascination to his dream

vowed to remain a bachelor, devoting of transforming their village. Gradually,

himself to public service. poor youth joined the group, and Hazare

A worthy cause, he realized, lay right suggested they form a Tarun Mandal

in front of him. The upliftment of his (youth club). One night, a few Tarun

own village, Ralegaon Shindi. During Mandal members rushed to the temple

his annual visits home, Hazare had with the news that some drunks from

been appalled by its steady deterio- a neighbouring village had beaten up

ration. Even the village temple had Gulab Bhalekar, a 40-year-old Ralegaon

become badly run down. If I could farmer, because he had not saluted

rebuild the temple, Hazare said to them. Anna seized the opportunity to

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Reader’s Digest

call a village meeting, at which he lashed fact, because many of the villagers had

out against drinking, illicit distilling and worked for the bootleggers, shutting

gambling. “I’m warning all distillers down the distilleries had, ironical-

here,” he said. “Shut up shop.” ly, made several families even poorer.

Some distillers, fearing Anna and As he wondered what could be done,

his boys, readily complied. Others Hazare chanced upon a newspaper arti-

had their liquor dens smashed up. But cle about a state government scheme

Hazare was not content with simply that provided manual labour jobs on

putting an end to the liquor distilling. public works and projects. He and the

“You can drink elsewhere,” he told Tarun Mandal boys quickly rounded up

villagers. “But if anyone here is found about 200 villagers who needed work

drunk, he’d better watch out.” and got jobs for all of them.

He soon proved as good as his word. A

fewdayslater,whenthreemenreturned PERSISTENT PAYS

to Ralegaon drunk after a binge in a This taught Hazare another important

nearby village, Hazare had them tied lesson. The government runs a num-

to the temple pillars and personally ber of rural development schemes, but

flogged them with his army belt. Even because they are poorly publicized, illit-

today, Hazare is unfazed by criticism of erate villagers rarely get to hear about

such behaviour. “Rural India is a harsh them. By finding out what schemes

society,” he says. “If you want change, existed and studying them carefully,

it’s sometimes necessary to be tough.” Hazare could help villagers take advan-

Indeed, no one I met in Ralegaon holds tage of them. Accordingly, Hazare

Hazare’s harshness against him. “I was decided to find out as much as he could

a miserable drunk nine years ago,” about the development projects. He

says 44-year-old Haribhau Mapari, a haunted government offices, talked

Ralegaon farmer. “But to every bureaucrat

after being thrashed, he could, read several

I have not touched “RURAL INDIA newspapers, and built
a drop of liquor. IS A HARSH up files on government
Anna saved me.” SOCIETY,” development schemes.
HAZARE SAYS. “He was extraordinar-
Though drink had “IT’S SOMETIMES ily persistent,” recalls
blighted the lives of NECESSARY TO M. D. Sukhatame,
Ralegaon Shindi res- BE TOUGH.” executive engineer in
idents, Hazare soon Ahmadnagar’s irrigation
realized that a far more Department. “I remem-
important reason for ber him at one mee-
the villager’s misery

was lack of work. In ting, sitting on the floor,

60 april 2022

Why God Saved Anna Hazare

listening intently to a technical discus- soon discovered the reason. A power-

sion on water management.” ful local politician, annoyed because he

Since Ralegaon suffered from acute received no votes in Ralegaon in a recent

water scarcity, Hazare was especial- election, was taking revenge.

ly interested in irrigation techniques.

Reading about a successful water con- TOTAL DEDICATION

servation project near Purandhar, about Hazare, however, was undeterred. He

100 km away, Anna studied their system hired 10 teachers, offered them free

and got engineers to draw up plans for a food and housing in lieu of wages, and

similar facility at Ralegaon and by per- got the school going. Then he system-

suading villagers to do much of the work atically began to lobby officials both at

themselves, he got the facilities built at district headquarters in Ahmednagar

the lowest possible cost. “Building the and at the state secretariat in Bombay,

temple had taught vil- 350 km away. To keep

lagers the benefits of FOR ONE YEAR expenses down during
working together,” says NOTHING his Bombay trips, Hazare
Hazare. “Since then, HAPPENED. slept on newspapers
shramdan (self-help) “FINALLY,” spread out on bus-sta-
has been our way of life.” tion floors, and bathed
Today, 41 per cent of HAZARE SAYS, in the sea. But for one
Ralegaon Shindi house “I DECIDED I’D year, despite 20 visits to
farmland is irrigated, HAD ENOUGH.” Bombay and innumera-
agricultural incomes ble more to Ahmednagar,
have increased five- nothing happened.

fold, and only 30 per “Finally,” Hazare says, “I

cent of the population decided I’d had enough.”

still lives below the poverty line. Not only He descended on a Ahmednagar’s Zilla

have living standards risen, dozens of vil- Parishad office one morning with 250

lagers are now free of debt. “Four years villagers and announced that they are all

ago,” farmer Nana Auti told me proudly, going on a hunger strike. Within hours,
“I was able to pay back `40,000 in debts officials in Bombay sent an assurance

that I had accumulated over the years. thatthemoneywouldbemadeavailable.

Since then, I’ve also built a new house.” Today, the school is run on military

Ralegaon’s self-help efforts are not lines. “That’s where I learnt some disci-

always looked upon kindly. Once, after pline,” says Hazare. Students have to jog

the villagers decided they wanted a high and exercise daily and take extra cours-

schoolandconstructeda10-roombuild- es in English, which, insists Hazare, who

ing themselves, the government refused knows very little of the language itself, is

to provide money for running it. Anna essentialtounderstandmodernscience.

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Reader’s Digest

Hazare has tried to modernize age to him, we know what to do.”

old social customs, too. The Ralegaon Anna wants a lot more for Ralegaon—

Tarun Mandal organizes group mar- watertoirrigatetheentirevillagearound

riages twice a year. Nobody has to spend the year, biogas for every family, a col-
more than `1,000; poor families don’t lege, industries that will keep Ralegaon

have to pay anything at all. Ralegaon educated youth from leaving the village.

group weddings have become so popu- Asalways,herarelyhasasparemoment,

larthatevengirlsfromneighbouringvil- especially now with people from other

lages are sometimes married off there. villages coming to him constantly to dis-

Untouchability, too, is beginning to cuss their problems or to invite him to

lose its force in Ralegaon. Today, the address public functions. While I was

village’s Harijans share the community with him, two Muslims from neighbour-

water tanks with caste Hindus and eat ing Sirur town wanted him to talk at a

with them at the group marriages at the meetingcelebratingtheProphet’sbirth-

village’s annual cattle festival. It’s now a day. Anna accepted readily. When they

convention to give Harijan bullocks the left, he told me, “I don’t know much

pride of place. about the Prophet, but I’ll give them my

All such progress, Hazare believes, message—that to change our nation, we

must be based on a deep religious faith. have to change our villages and to do

Today, as in the very beginning, the that, we have to change ourselves.”

village temple is the heart of Hazare’s

movement. Anna himself lives there Update: Anna Hazare went on to focus

in a small room covered with files and his activism to push for greater govern-

documents. All day long, the temple is ment accountability. He established the

crowded with people attending prayer People’s Movement Against Corruption

sessions, religious dis- in 1991, and led a successful

courses, and meetings. The campaign for a ‘right to infor-

changes in Ralegaon’s have mation’ law in 1997. His July

stimulated people in neigh- 2003 ‘fast unto death, led the

bouring areas to do some- Maharashtra government

thing about their villages, to enact a draft legislation.

too. Raghunath Thange, 29, He later earned nationwide

recently gave up his head- recognition for an indefinite

master’s job at a high school hunger strike in April 2011 to

near Ahmadnagar and is protest the perceived weak-

now engaged in closing ness of the Jan Lokpal Bill (or

down distilleries in villages. Citizen’s Ombudsman Bill),

“We are following in Anna’s as part of the India Against

footsteps,” he says. “Thanks FROM 1986 Corruption movement.

62 april 2022

Reader’s Digest

Campus Comedy

1960s 1990s

IN EXPLAINING a genetics prob- IN 20 YEARS of college teaching, I
lem, our lecturer wrote ‘frut fly’ on have seen every imaginable excuse
the blackboard as one of the mate- for missing exams. My favourite is a
rials we would be using. Ripples of note I received after a pair of doctors
laughter brought this error to his opened a practice near our Louisiana
attention, whereupon he changed Tech University campus at Ruston.
the spelling to read ‘friut fly’, which No sooner had Dr Allen Herbert
engendered more laughter. “Oh and Dr Temple Douglas opened the
bother!” he said, rubbing out once Herbert Douglas Clinic than a student
again and writing with precision: gave me a letter verifying that he had
‘Drosophila melanogaster.’ been too ill to take my exam. It was
signed Dr Herbert Douglas.
—R. V, MARCH 1966
—ROBERT K. TOBUREN, MARCH 1991
1980s
MAP READING WAS our topic in one
MY TWO ROOMMATES were earth science class at Old Dominion
delighted when I purchased a University. The teacher explained lati-
pet parrot and moved him into tude, longitude, degrees and minutes,
our dormitory quarters. They were then asked, “Suppose I asked you to
equally enthusiastic about taking meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, four
turns teaching the bird how to talk. minutes north latitude and 45 degrees,
Over and over again, we repeated the 15 minute east longitude ... ?” After a
words, “Hello, Baby. Want a kiss?” confused silence, a voice volunteered,
“I guess you’d be eating alone.”
This had gone on for about
an hour one day when a note —SANDRA WADSWORTH, DECEMBER 1991
was slipped under our door.
“I JUST DO not understand my par-
An anonymous and perplexed ents,” said a downcast university stu-
individual had written: “We don’t dent. “I told them I needed money to
know who you have in there, but buy a chair and they sent me the chair.”
why don’t you give up? He’s obvi-
ously not interested!” —OCTOBER 1998

—CAROLINE OWINGS, MARCH 1982

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Reader’s Digest
64 april 2022

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES COMPOSITE DECEMBER 1951

BSBTERLOAAIUFNDEGS

The most precious gift to give
or receive is love

BY Fulton Oursler

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Reader’s Digest

ete Richards was the loneliest man in town on
the day Jean Grace opened his door. You may
have seen something in the newspapers about
the incident at the time it happened, although

P neither his name nor hers was published, nor
was the full story told as I tell it here.
Pete’s shop had come down to him beads in the window?” Pete parted the
from his grandfather. The little front draperies and lifted out a necklace.
window was strewn with a disarray of The turquoise stones gleamed brightly
old-fashioned things: bracelets and against the pallor of his palm as he
lockets worn a century ago, gold rings spread the ornament before her.
and silver boxes, images of jade and
ivory, porcelain figurines. “They’re just perfect,” said the
child, entirely to herself. “Will you
On this winter’s afternoon a wrap them up pretty for me, please?”
child was standing there, her
forehead against the glass, earnest Pete studied her with a stony air.
and enormous eyes studying each “Are you buying these for someone?”
discarded treasure, as if she were
looking for something quite special. “They’re for my big sister. She takes
Finally she straightened up with a care of me. You see, this will be the
satisfied air and entered the store. first Christmas since mother died. I’ve
been looking for the most wonderful
The shadowy interior of Pete present for my sister.”
Richards’ establishment was even
more cluttered than his show “How much money do you have?”
window. Shelves were stacked with asked Pete warily.
jewel caskets, duelling pistols, clocks
and lamps and the floor was heaped She had been busily untying the
with andirons and mandolins and knots in a handkerchief and now she
things hard to find a name for. poured out a handful of pennies on
the counter.
Behind the counter stood Pete
himself, a man not more than 30, but “ I e m p t i e d m y b a n k ,” s h e
with hair already turning grey. There explained simply.
was a bleak air about him as he looked
at the small customer who flattened Pete Richards looked at her
her ungloved hands on the counter. thoughtfully. Then he carefully drew
back the necklace. The price tag was
“Mister,” she began, “would you visible to him but not her. How could
please let me look at that string of blue he tell her? The trusting look of her
blue eyes smote him like the pain of
an old wound.

“Just a minute,” he said, and

66 april 2022

A String of Blue Beads

turned towards the back of the store. trying to forget in a self-pitying haze

Over his shoulder he called, “What’s that deepened day by day.

your name?” He was ver y busy The blue eyes of Jean Grace jolted

about something. him into acute remembrance of

“Jean Grace.” what he had lost. The pain of it made

When Pete turned to where Jean him recoil from the exuberance of

Grace waited, a package lay in his holiday shoppers.

hand, wrapped in scarlet paper and During the next 10 days trade was

tied with a bow of green ribbon. brisk; chattering women swarmed in,

“There you are,” he said shortly. fingering trinkets, trying to bargain.

“Don’t lose it on the way home.” When the last customer had gone, late

She smiled happily on Christmas Eve, he

at him over her shoul- THE TURQUOISE sighed with relief. It
der as she ran out of STONES was over for another
the door. Through the GLEAMED year. But for Pete
window he watched BRIGHTLY Richards the night was
her go, while desolation AGAINST not quite over.
flooded his thoughts.
THE PALLOR The door opened
Something about OF HIS PALM and a young woman
Jean Grace and her hurried in. With an in-
string of beads had explicable start, he re-
stirred him to depths of alized that she looked

a grief that would not familiar, yet he could

stay buried. The child’s not remember when

hair was wheat yellow, or where he had seen

her eyes sea blue, and once upon a her before. Her hair was golden yellow

time, not long before, Pete had been and her large eyes were blue. Without

in love with a girl with hair of that speaking, she drew from her purse a

same yellow and eyes just as blue. package loosely unwrapped in its red

And the turquoise necklace was to paper, a bow of green ribbon with it.

have been hers. Presently the string of blue beads lay

But there had come a rainy night—a gleaming again before him.

truck skidding on a slippery road—and “Did this come from your shop?” she

the life was crushed out of his dream. asked. Pete raised his eyes to hers and

Since then Pete Richards had lived answered softly, “Yes, it did.”

too much with his grief in solitude. He “Are the stones real?”

was politely attentive to customers, “Yes. But not the finest quality.”

but after business hours his world “Can you remember who it was you

seemed irrevocably empty. He was sold it to?”

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Reader’s Digest

“She was a small girl. Her name began to ring. The sound of the distant

was Jean. She bought them for chiming, the little package lying on the

her older sister’s Christ- counter, the question in

mas present.” the eyes of the girl and the

“How much are strange feeling of renewal

they worth?” struggling unreasonably

“The price,” he told in the heart of the man, all

her solemnly, “is always had come to be because

a confidential matter of the love of a child.

between the seller and “But why did you

the customer.” do it?”

“But Jean has never had He held out the gift in

more than a few pennies his hand.

of spending money. How “It’s already Christmas

could she pay for them?” FROM 1951 morning,” he said. “And
Pete was folding the it’s my misfortune that I

gay paper back into its creases, re- have no one to give anything to. Will

wrapping the little package just as you let me see you home and wish

neatly as before. you a Merry Christmas at your door?”

“She paid the biggest price anyone And so, to the sound of many bells

can ever pay,” he said. “She gave all and in the midst of happy people,

she had.” Pete Richards and a girl whose name

There was a silence then that filled he had yet to learn walked out into the

the little curio shop. beginning of the great day that brings

In some far-away steeple, a bell hope into the world for us all.

Quick Quips

One blustery weekend I was strolling with my little boy on the
beach. We were scaling shells into the onshore wind and watching them
curve back to us. I don’t know why this was fun. But on that morning scaling
shells seemed like the best of all possible things to do. After a while, I looked
at my watch. It was lunchtime. We left the beach reluctantly. Only after
we sat down to eat did I wonder why I had stopped the game. What was so
important about noon? Why must we be hypnotized by the clock? My boy
and I went back to the beach after lunch but the mood was gone. The shells

and the wind did nothing for us now but blow sand in our eyes.

—max gunther, february 1966

68 april 2022

Reader’s Digest

Virtual Hilarity

1990s 2000s

LAST SPRING I was phoned about LOOKING UP websites on infertility,
a 25th high school reunion in Vir- I found an address that sounded in-
ginia. I told the caller that although teresting. I clicked on the link and was
the name was correct, I was not the taken to a site that said, “This page
man she was looking for, adding that is still under construction.” I looked
I had just attended my 50th college closer and saw in smaller print:
reunion. Later, surfing the Net, I “Check back in nine months and see
found someone in Virginia with what we’ve accomplished.” I book-
the same name. I emailed him, marked the address and went back
explaining that I had been mistak- several months later. Posted was a full
enly contacted about what might page picture of a beautiful baby girl.
be his 25th high-school reunion.
He emailed back: “I’m not the —RUTH GILL, FEBRUARY 2001
right guy either. I’m in fifth grade.”
MY EMAIL TO MY college library
—DAVID M. SANGER, OCTOBER 1998 where I work bounced back to me
with this warning: “The recipient
IF WINDOWS 98 featured server is experiencing problems with
haiku error messages: email and the internet due to an elec-
•Three things are certain: trical outage there. If you should need
Death, taxes, and lost data. help contacting someone there, please
Guess which has occurred. telephone them. Also please remem-
ber that with the electrical outage,
—DAVID DIXON they do not have telephone service.”

• This site has been moved. —MARGARET DAVIS, MAY 2006
We’d tell you where, but then
we’d have to delete you. BEFORE MY HUSBAND went for
surgery on a ruptured disk, I wrote a
—CHARLES MATTHEWS message on his back. As the nurses
moved his gown, they read: “A:\Error
• Printer not ready. reading drive A. Remove disk.”
Could be a fatal error.
Have a pen handy? —TERRY GALLEGOS, AUGUST 2008

—PAT DAVIS (WWW.SALONMAGAZINE.COM )

OCTOBER 1998

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Reader’s Digest
70 april 2022

ILLUSTRATION: SIDDHANT JUMDE APRIL 1985

The Day

Bombay

BLEW
UP

Seventy-eight years ago this month
occurred a great explosion in

Bombay harbour that killed hundreds
and imperilled the city

BY John Ennis

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Reader’s Digest

riday, 14 April 1944, was With orders to dial 290, his sub-lead-
a pleasant spring day in er struggled back down the gangway,
Bombay, then a vital supply now crowded with dock workers push-
blaze for the planned inva- ing to get ashore, and dashed to a tele-
phone. But the telephone had no dial.
Fsion of Japan. The harbour Confused, he ran 160 metres along the
was jammed with ships of dockside, broke the glass of a fire alarm
every Allied flag. Western and Asian and rang the bell. Thus the fire brigade
troops throng the city buying coloured control room received only a normal call
silk, sarees, ivory elephants and incense for two pumps. The hands of the harbour
sticks for souvenirs. In the dockside clock tower stood at 2:16 p.m.
district, people were carrying on their
everyday activities. The Fort Stikine was a 120-metre
floating bomb—a bomb with the fuse
At 12:30 by the clock in the harbour lit. The aeroplanes in her cargo, most of
tower, the dock workers stopped for the stores and some of the ammunition
lunch. On a Norwegian merchant ship, and explosives had been unloaded at
the Belray, Able Seaman Roy Hayward, Karachi. There she had taken on 8,700
going below, noticed what looked like a bales of cotton and quantities of lubri-
whisper of smoke coming from a venti- cating oil, timber, sulphur, fish, manure
lator of the Fort Stikine. This was a 7,200- and resin. The cargo turned out to be a
tonne cargo vessel, which lay in the treacherous mixture. Oil, cotton, timber,
adjoining dock. She had left Liverpool sulphur and resin burn freely. Fish stinks.
seven weeks earlier, loaded with ammu-
nition and explosives, airplanes, stores CONFLICTING ADVICE
and £2 million of worth of gold bars
intended to help stabilize the rupee. Because of the stink, the master of the
Fort Stikine, Captain A. J. Naismith, told
At 1:30 p.m. The dock workers the dockers at Bombay to unload the
returned to the Fort Stikine. As they fish first. When the fire broke out among
entered Number Two hold, they saw the cotton bales, they still had 170 cubic
smoke coming from the port side near- metres of timber on top of them. Above
est the quay. The stevedores scrambled the timber from the ‘tween decks to the
up from the hold shouting, “Fire!” deck,theupperpartofNumberTwohold
was packed with explosives. Below the
Men from a Bombay fire-brigade cotton lay a thick layer of ammunition.
pump on the quay promptly ran with
their hoses to the ship. Not until their Eight minutes after receiving the
section leader was on board, however, alarm,thefirestationofficerarrivedwith
did he remember that, for a fire in a ship two pumps. He sent an immediate call
carrying explosives, his instructions to the control room. Eight more pumps
were to send an immediate Number Two and an emergency tender turned out. At
alarm, which would call out a large force.

72 april 2022

The Day Bombay Blew Up

2:35 p.m., Norman Coombs, chief of the lay astern of the Fort Stikine, grew so

Bombay fire brigade, arrived. Dressed bored watching the firefighting that he

in a suit, he had had no time to change went below to read.

into a uniform. But at last one onlooker saw trouble

In the meantime, Captain B. T. Oberst, ahead. Abel Seaman Roy Hayward, on

an ordnance officer, rushed on board theBelrayhadfoughtfiresintheLondon

and secured a plan of the ship stowage. blitz. He saw the flames from the Fort

Then he hurried to Captain Naismith: Stikine turn a yellow-brown colour, and

“You have enough explosives here to a phrase from his old fire-service drill

blow up the whole of the docks,” he said. book leapt to his mind. “Yellow-brown

“The only way out is to scuttle the ship.” fire—explosives!” He shouted to his

Coombs joined Oberst comrades, “Down!”

in his plea for scuttling, ALL OVER BOMBAY, and fell on his face in
but Colonel J. R. Sadler, BUILDINGS SHOOK, Belray’s gunpit.
general manager of the WINDOWS WERE
docks, disagreed. He SMASHED, DEBRIS Suddenly, a huge
told Naismith that the blaze rode up from the
only safe action was to AND BLAZING Fort Stikine, a flaring
take the ship out to sea: COTTON FELL IN Roman candle reach-
there was only a metre A RAIN OF FIRE ing beyond the top of
between her keel and the mast. A moment
the harbour bed, a dis- OVER SHEDS later came a shatter-
tance so short that the AND SHIPS. ing explosion.
water would not cover
JOURNEYOF MERCY

even the lower part All over Bombay,

of Number Two hold. buildings shook, win-

Captain Naismith, confused by conflict- dows were smashed, debris and blazing

ing advice, made no decision except to cotton fell in a rain of fire over sheds and

try to get in touch with Lloyd’s surveyor. ships. Of the firemen scrambling from

the Fort Stikine, 66 were killed outright

SHATTERING EXPLOSION and 83 injured. The blast created a tidal

For nearly an hour, the firemen poured wave which hurled the 5,000 tonne, 120–

water into the burning ship. During this metre-long Japalanda from her berth

time, most of the dockside workers were and lifted her bow some 18 metres into

unconcernedly about their jobs. The the air to come to rest on the roof of a

Fort Stikine did not display the red flag dockside shed.

indicating that she carried explosives. The explosion played capricious

She sounded no warning blasts at any tricks. White-hot metal, flung haphaz-

time. A sailor on the Japalanda, which ard into the town, picked out victims at

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Reader’s Digest

verandah. A bar of gold crashed through
the roof and lay on the verandah floor.

Meanwhile, on the Belray, Able
Seaman Hayward made his way from the
gunpit to the boat deck strewn with the
injured and dying. He picked up a man
who had lost a leg, carried him down
the gangway and went back for others.
Time after time he made his awful jour-
ney of mercy, placing the injured on the
ground between two intact walls where
they would be relatively safe from the
continual bursts of ammunition.

The memorial outside Mumbai Fire Brigade FRIGHTFUL TOLL PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Headquarters honours the firefighters who
died in the 1944 Bombay harbour explosion. The last man was an Indian seaman who
had lost both his legs. Hayward picked
random. Captain Sydney Kielly, strolling him up and carried him towards a small
with the friend, was cut in half by a piece car on the quay. He had just reached the
of metal plate. His friend was unhurt. car when, from the red glow inside the
pall of smoke that hit the Fort Stikine,
On the dock. C. W. Stevens, a marine there came a second roar, far greater
surveyor, was talking with Captain than the first.
Naismith and Chief Officer Henderson
of the Fort Stikine. Stevens was flung Hayward bundled the man under-
along the quayside. After the blast swept neath the car, then pushed under as far
over him, he stood up to find himself as he could himself, lying there until the
blackened and naked. Nobody saw hail of fragments ended. Then he put
Naismith and Henderson again. Nearly the man into the car and saw him off to
a kilometre and a half from the docks, D. hospital. Whereas the first explosion had
C. Motiwala was sitting on his third-floor burst sideways, losing some of its shock
in the water and the quay-side sheds, the
second bore straight up, bringing flam-
ing metal, timbers and cotton to a height
of 1,000 meters. At the top of its trajecto-
ry, the mass mushroomed and fell over
an area in a 90-metre radius.

When the dust cleared, Norman
Coombs, the fire-brigade chief, saw
that the harbour was ringed with fires.

74 april 2022

The Day Bombay Blew Up

Leaving the docks to the military, he rescue worker had had a drink.

ordered the remnant of his forces into By the light of searchlights from the

the residential district where houses cruiser,HMSSussex,soldiers,sailorsand

were now beginning to burn. harbour officials moved 16 ships from

Alexander Dock into the open sea. Seven

RESCUE EFFORTS of the ships contained cargoes of explo-

The human toll of the second blast sives. Men with no previous experience

was frightful. In two hours, St. George’s handledthetugs.Thisdelicateoperation

Hospital took in 231 victims and treated took 19 hours, but the amateur pilots did

140 more in the casualty department. not lose a single ship.

The chief operating nurse at the hospi- When the damage was added up, it

tal took on some of the sur- was found that all 27 ships

gical work herself to help in the two docks were sunk,

the busy doctors. After the burnt out or badly dam-

injured came the dead. By aged. Three swing bridges

Sunday morning, the hos- over the entrances to the

pital mortuary was packed docks were blown part-

to the ceiling with corpses. ly from their seatings. The

Hundreds of bodies were entrance to Victoria Dock

never recovered. was fouled by a 500-tonne

The work of rescue, fire- ship sunk inside and a 300-

fighting and salvage went tonne waterboat sunk out-

on for days. In a city where side, and the gateway itself

communal tensions ran was blocked by a mound

high, (only a few weeks ear- of tangled masts and rig-

lier, Bombay had been the FROM 1985 ging. All the dock buildings

sceneofbitterrioting),menofallnations were gaunt heaps of rubble. Some 6,000

joined in the common effort. Indian and 2,000 British servicemen

British and Indian soldiers, RAF men worked night and day for six months

and Allied servicemen moved 39,398 moving a million tonnes of debris to get

cases of ammunition weighing up to the harbour working again.

52 kilos each from Alexandra Dock. A What caused the disaster? A com-

party of nurses set up a first-aid post. mission of inquiry appointed soon

They worked all night with only the after the explosion concluded that the

flames to give them light. Red Cross fire was an accident that has most

girls parked a mobile canteen between probably been caused by someone

blazing warehouses. With ammunition smoking in Fort Stikine’s Number Two

exploding around them every few min- hold. 14 April is now observed in India

utes, they stayed until every fireman and as Fire Services Day.

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Reader’s Digest

Life’s Like That

1950s swered, “They all gave us treats but
no one showed us any tricks!”
I WAS WAITING in the college laun-
dry for my clothes where a rather MRS H. T. LUNDQUIST, OCTOBER 1967
grim lipped student had just asked
to see the manager. “May I examine A YOUNG NUN who had not seen her
your equipment?” he inquired. twin brother, a bomber pilot on duty in
Vietnam, for over two years, prayed
The manager seemed delighted to each day for his safe return. Recently
show his washers, driers and man- Sister X was told that a visitor awaited
gles and gave a thorough demonstra- her in the reception room. As she de-
tion. “What is your particular scended a stairway, her brother stepped
interest?” he asked. out into the lobby. With a scream of sur-
prise and delight, she rushed forward
“Well, I’m a first-year engineering and embraced him with something
student,” the youth replied. “I just more than ordinary fervour.
couldn’t imagine what a machine
that pulls buttons off my shirts and At that moment, three older nuns
blows them through my socks crossed the lobby. There was no pause
would look like!” in their progress, no impairment of
poise, just a slight raising of eyebrows.
ROBERT A. HARRIS, NOVEMBER 1953 But as they proceeded down a corridor,
there was this sotto voce comment by
1960’s one of them: “She must know him.”

REFUSING A COCKTAIL at a dinner REV. RUFUS ESSER, OCTOBER 1967
party, a young mother explained, “I
don’t believe in drinking in front of 1970s
the children, and when they aren’t
around, who needs it?” THE CHILDREN of the head of a
prominent family decided to give
MRS DALE R. ENSINGER, JANUARY 1965 him a book of their family’s history.
The biographer they hired for the job
SIX YEAR OLD Margaret, upon re- was warned of one problem—Uncle
turning from a neighbourhood trick- Willie, the black sheep, who had
or-treat tour with an older brother, gone to the electric chair for murder.
seemed puzzled and a bit disap-
pointed. When asked why, she an-

76 april 2022

The biographer promised to han- smiled wearily and said, “Oh, no,
dle the situation: “I’ll just say that ma’am. I feel like I’ve known you
Uncle Willie occupied a chair of ap- all, all my life.”
plied electronics at one of our lead-
ing government institutions. He MRS SHANNON L. DOSS, APRIL 1976
was attached to his position by the
strongest of ties. His death came 1990’s
as a true shock.”
ON HER LUNCH HOUR, my daughter,
WHITNEY N. SEYMOUR, QUOTED BY Brenda, picked me up at work to drive
me home. Before dropping me off,
LEONARD LYONS, NOVEMBER 1970 she had to stop at the courthouse to
take care of a small matter. When we
LAST SUMMER, my children and I arrived, there were no available parking
spent part of our vacation with my spaces, so Brenda quickly turned into
sister and her family. There were the parking lot of the funeral home
nine children, ranging in age from across the street. “You can’t park here,”
eight to 17. We planned cookouts, I protested.
trips to the lake, hikes, roller-skating
parties—anything we could think of “Sure I can,” Brenda replied. “You just
to absorb all that energy and avoid sit here and cry while I run my errand.”
trouble. After a week, I was begin-
ning to congratulate my sister and JEANETTE BARTON, FEBRUARY 1990
myself on our endurance and steady
nerves, when I heard myself saying, SINCE MY PARENTS are as much
“Beverly, you look awfully tired . in love today as when they were first
Why don’t you lie down for a while? married 40 years ago, it was no sur-
I’ll sit here and yell.” prise to watch them glide romanti-
cally across the dance floor at my
BETTY V. MARTINEZ, JULY 1972 brother’s wedding. I got mist-eyed
as Dad steered Mom energetically
DURING SPRING vacation I took my around the ballroom, and it was par-
three small children to a department ticularly touching when he waved
store in Austin, Texas, to buy shoes. away anyone who attempted to cut in.
There was much wiggling, complai- “Mom,” I said during the band’s first
ning and roaming the aisles before break, “it’s great to see that Dad still
each was fitted with two pairs. As I worships the ground you walk on. He
started to write out the check, I said to danced every dance with you!”
the patient young clerk, “Since we’re
from out of town, I suppose you’ll “Oh, no, dear,” she stated matter-
need some kind of identification.” of-factly. “He just missed his fitness
He looked at me and the children, class today and was trying to sustain
his target heart rate for 30 minutes.”

ANN DEL VECCHIO, FEBRUARY 1990

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FEBRUARY 1973 ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES COMPOSITE

The Man
Who Will Not

FORGET

Believing passionately that justice should
know ‘no limits in time or distance’,

Simon Wiesenthal has ferreted out more
than 1,000 Nazi war criminals

BY Joseph Blank

78 april 2022

Reader’s Digest
readersdigest.in 79

Reader’s Digest

s the chief judge recapitulated the defendant’s
crimes, the two outwardly most impassive
listeners in the crowded courtroom in

A Düsseldorf, West Germany, were the accused,
former SS-Hauptsturmführer Franz Stangl, and
Simon Wiesenthal, a private citizen who had tracked Stangl
for 20 years and was responsible for bringing him to justice.

At the opening of the trial, seven constant reminder of Stangl’s innocent
months previously, the prosecutor had victims. Now, silently, Wiesenthal tore
declared, “Stangl is the highest-ranking up the picture.
official of a death camp that West
Germany had ever been able to try.” He felt no elation: “Stangl’s
sentence meant nothing to me. It
In his two-and-half-hour review on was purely symbolic. No punishment
that cold 22 December 1970, the judge could be equated with the enormity
said, “The defendant, as commandant of the crime. The important thing was
of the Treblinka extermination camp that guilt had been established, and
in Poland, supervised the murder of justice done.”
at least 4,00,000 men, women and
children.” The judge’s words gave new DEBT TO THE DEAD
life to an ugly piece of history that
many people wanted to forget. Stangl, Starting the trip back to his three-
who had defended himself with, “I room documentation centre in
only did my duty”, stood at attention to Vienna, Wiesenthal had already
hear his sentence: life imprisonment. forgotten the trial. He still had more
than 300 active cases of wanted
Wiesenthal, a bulky man of mass murderers in various stages
100 kilograms with grey, thinning hair, of investigation. His files contained
a grey moustache and bright, alert eyes, thousands of other names that might
strode quickly from the courtroom. (All never get any attention.
his movements give an impression of
power, of urgency, as if there isn’t ever “It’s a job I’ll never finish,” he
enough time for him to do what he reflected recently. “I’m now 64. I’ll
wants to do.) In the corridor he stopped just go on with the work, one way or
by a waste-paper bin, opened his wallet another, until I stop breathing.”
and extracted a picture of Stangl that
was tucked between photographs of his Since May 1945, when he was
wife and daughter. He had kept it as a freed from the Mauthausen, Austria,
concentration camp by the Allied
Forces, Wiesenthal has been gathering

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evidence against the men and women “Everybody in our families has

responsible for the Nazi extermination been killed,” Wiesenthal told his wife.

of six million Jews and several million “I can’t go back to my profession.

Gentiles during World War II. He How can I build houses until I’ve

has located more than 1,000 of these done what I can to see that people

criminals, an achievement that are safe in them? I can’t forget the

makes him unique as a sleuth. And millions who were murdered. I am

he has done this—except for a year alive. Being alive puts a debt on me.

immediately after the war when he Justice must be done.”

worked for US war- Wiesenthal was

crimes investigators— initially motivated

as a private citizen, Wiesenthal was by revenge, but he
without any legal initially motivated soon realized that
authority, financed only his passion was

by small contributions by revenge, but destructive and futile.

from individuals across he soon realised He tried to explain it
the world and his that his passion to a Jewish partisan
earnings from lectures was destructive leader who wanted his
and writing. files “so that we can

Wiesenthal works and futile. exterminate them as

basically alone. In the they exterminated us”.

beginning he had a staff “No, no,” Wiesenthal

of 30 volunteers and replied. “We will not

poorly paid part-time be like them. We will

assistants. Gradually, these men and use the law. If you kill them, the world

women left for the peace of normal will never learn what they did. There

careers and family life. Even today, must be an accounting. There must be

however, a message from Wiesenthal testimony in court, a record for history.”

will set a nun in Australia, a rabbi in Though Wiesenthal expostulates

South Africa or a lawyer in New York passionately against every such call

on the track of a wanted man. for eye-for-an-eye vengeance, when

Simon Wiesenthal never wanted a death-camp survivor weeps over

to give his life to this grimmest of horrors he has witnessed, Wiesenthal

all detective work. Before the war he weeps too, and that man’s or woman’s

was a young, successful architect in experience becomes part of his

Lwów, Poland. After he and his wife experience. “At times,” he says, “it is

were reunited in late 1945—each had hard for me to separate in my mind

believed the other was dead—they what happened to me and what

talked about their lives. happened to others.”

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This soul-deep empathy has suspicious of all strangers, and to

sustained him in his lonely work, but him this wariness meant that she

it has also driven him to illness and was in some kind of contact with her

terrible insomnia. At night, scenes of husband. Then, in 1948, he learnt

Nazi atrocities used to kaleidoscope that she had requested the courts to

endlessly through his mind. Visiting declare her husband officially dead.

a doctor, he was told, “I can’t do To support her claim she presented

anything for you. You need distraction an affidavit from Karl Lukas of the

from your work. A hobby.” Czechoslovakian Ministry of Agri-

Wiesenthal had culture, who swore

always been idly that he had seen Eich-

interested in the He never can mann dead in Prague
stamps on his mail anticipate the on 30 April 1945.
that came from
scores of countries. course of a “I was sure that
Eichmann had plotted

So, he took up stamp pursuit, or how this move,” Wiesenthal
collecting—he’s now he will find the recalls. “If he were
an expert philatelist— declared legally dead,
and learnt to lose break that all governments would
himself in the art and cracks a case. quit their search for him

history of stamps. It and he would be free.”

was a hobby that was Wiesenthal and

to prove inadvertently a few of his part-

instrumental in locating Adolf time volunteers leapt into action.

Eichmann, who directed Hitler’s whole Within two weeks they had proof

campaign to annihilate the Jews. that Lukas was married to one of

COLD TRAIL Mrs Eichmann’s sisters; they also
produced sworn statements from

Wiesenthal’s patient search for this an SS officer and other witnesses

criminal began in 1946. Although Eich- who had seen Eichmann alive after

mann’s personal dossiers had been 30 April. The court promptly threw out

destroyed on the eve of Germany’s Mrs Eichmann’s petition. Eichmann

defeat—there were no fingerprints, no remained ‘wanted’.

photographs—sleuthing unearthed Although two pre-war photographs

Mrs Eichmann, living under her of Eichmann turned up, the hunt was

maiden name, and her three children. at a dead-end. Then, at Easter 1952,

Neighbours understood that she Wiesenthal lost his only ‘contact’

had divorced Eichmann. Wiesen- with his quarry: Mrs Eichmann and

thal didn’t believe it. She was rigidly her children had vanished. She had

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been issued a passport under her a mistake in identification. We need
maiden name. “Eichmann felt safe a picture more recent than those old
enough to have his family join him,” shots you sent us.”
Wiesenthal figured.
A few months later, Wiesenthal
HONOURABLE NEMESIS read that Eichmann’s father had died,
and he recalled the early years of his
One evening, 18 months later search when he would frequently
Wiesenthal was discussing stamps pursue tips about Eichmann’s
with a fellow collector. “A beautiful presence—only to have the man
stamp just came from Argentina on always turn out to be Otto, one
a letter from an old acquaintance of Eichmann’s four brothers. The
of mine,” the man mentioned. “He’s resemblance between the two must
a former Wehrmacht officer now have been striking.
training Argentine troops. Talks about
meeting people from Germany.” Wiesenthal found the Eichmann
Then he read the letter aloud. family burial plot in Linz, Austria,
Wiesenthal was stunned by the words: and carefully examined the terrain
“… this awful swine Eichmann who for 100 metres around it. Then he
ordered the Jews about. He lives near travelled to Vienna, where he hired
Buenos Aires …” two photographers and told them, “I
need pictures of everybody attending
The Eichmann case was alive! The this funeral. But you must not be
very next day, Wiesenthal sent this seen.” He sketched possible hiding
information, together with copies of places for them.
the old photographs, to the Jewish
World Congress in New York and the Five hours after the ceremony,
Israeli consulate in Vienna. Wiesenthal studied blown-up images
of the brothers’ faces. They very
In late 1959, the Israeli government strongly resembled one another—
wrote and told him that it had located and the pre-war photographs
Mrs Eichmann and her three children of Eichmann.
living with a German named Ricardo
Klement in Buenos Aires. Two Israeli Later, armed with a magnifying
agents visited Wiesenthal to review glass, he pointed out to Israeli
the history of the case. “Klement agents the similar head and facial
has to be Eichmann,” Wiesenthal characteristics. “Let your imagination
told them. “There’s no other reason age Eichmann in accordance with the
why Mrs Eichmann would leave her way his brothers look today, especially
home here and sneak away with the this one, Otto,” Wiesenthal instructed
children to Buenos Aires.” the agents. “What you see in your
mind’s eye is probably a very good
“We must be certain. We can’t make likeness of this Ricardo Klement.”

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On 23 May 1960, Eichmann was call or a casual street meeting. This
arraigned in Israel. From Jerusalem, kind of happenstance produced
Wiesenthal received a telegram: the Hermine Braunsteiner case.
“Congratulations on your excellent Wiesenthal was in a restaurant in Tel
work.” Tried and convicted, Eichmann Aviv in April 1964 when a woman
was hanged on 31 May 1962. recognized him. In considerable
agitation, she blurted out, “I was at
SPURS TO THE HUNT the Majdanek concentration camp
in Poland. There was a guard there
Wiesenthal never can anticipate the named Hermine Braunsteiner who
course of a pursuit, or how he will find used a vicious dog and a lead-weighted
the break that cracks a case. His only whip on women prisoners. She must
lead on Anton Fehringer, a sadistic be made to answer for her crimes.”
guard in the Plaszow concentration
camp in Poland, was that he report- Braunsteiner was a name new
edly came from northern Austria. to him, and he held little hope of
While checking wartime newspapers finding out anything about her. But
for information in a library one day, legal records showed that 15 years
Wiesenthal overheard two genealogi- earlier Braunsteiner had been tried
cal experts discussing family trees. and sentenced to three years in prison
A few days later the conversation for torturing female inmates at the
popped into his consciousness, and Ravensbrück concentration camp in
he sought out a genealogist to ask, “Is Germany. She had been acquitted,
there any particular place in upper however, of charges involving her
Austria where there is a cluster of service at Majdanek, a death camp
families by the name of Fehringer?” where more than 1,00,000 perished.

Within 48 hours the expert Wiesenthal then called on his
reported, “Several Fehringer families worldwide network of friends. He
live in the Krems Valley between obtained incriminating statements
Kirchdorf and Micheldorf.” about Braunsteiner’s actions at
Majdanek from survivors in Poland,
When an aide found an Anton Israel and Yugoslavia. He picked up
Fehringer living in Kirchdorf, her trail at the prison where she was
Wiesenthal instructed a photographer, released, and ‘followed’ her though
“Go to Kirchdorf. Pretend you’re Austria to Germany, where she had met
a tourist. Take lots of pictures, but and married an American construction
get me a photograph of this Anton worker. In 1963 she had obtained US
Fehringer.” The man turned out to be citizenship, and was now in New York.
the Fehringer. He was later convicted.
Knowing that she could never have
On several occasions, Wiesenthal acquired citizenship without denying
has been spurred by a note, a phone

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that she had been ‘convicted of a Stangl was wanted for war crimes. I

crime’, Wiesenthal informed the US know where he is. You’ll have to pay

government, which is now trying to for the information.”

deport her as an undesirable alien. They finally agreed on $6,000 if the

A s ha s hap p e n e d f re q u e nt l y information led to an arrest.

in Austria and Germany, many The tip—that Stangl worked at the

neighbours are sympathetic to the Volkswagen plant in São Paulo, Brazil—

accused, saying “She’s a quiet person proved correct. He was leading a pleas-

who never bothers anybody.” Her ant, inconspicuous life in São Paulo

husband exclaimed in and owned a house,

resentment, “Didn’t “Didn’t you two cars and several
you ever hear the ever hear the guns. A relative had
expression, ‘Let the expression, ‘Let informed him of the
dead rest’?” newspaper story men-

A MATTER OF the dead rest’?” tioning his name—
MORALITY For Wiesenthal, the same article that
the dead can never had brought in the
For Wiesenthal, the rest until justice is Gestapo man. Stangl
dead can never rest wasn’t worried. What

until justice is done. done. And neither could a powerless pri-
And neither can he. can he. vate citizen, sitting in
That’s why he keeps an office some 10,000

scratching for infor- kilometres away, do

mation about Martin to him? Besides, Brazil

Bormann, Hitler’s chief adviser, who, had never been cooperative in efforts to

Wiesenthal is convinced, escaped track down Nazis. He was safe.

to South America. That’s why Franz Locating Stangl, verifying his

Stangl was finally convicted after a identity and finally having him

20-year chase. imprisoned in West Germany took

Stangl had been arrested at the end Wiesenthal three years of patient,

of the war, but escaped and vanished cautious, skilful undercover work.

with his wife and three daughters. No “Secrecy was all-important,” Wie-

break came until 22 February 1964, senthal explained. “Obtain the

when a shabby, shuffling, middle- cooperation of Brazil, but limit

aged man appeared at Wiesenthal’s knowledge of our plans to the smallest

office. He said, “I was a rank-and-filer possible number of people. In the

with the Gestapo during the war. I past, deliberate bureaucratic leaks

read an article in the paper about you had enabled wanted men to escape.”

the other day, and you said that Franz The plan worked. And when

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Wiesenthal was informed of the arrest indicate to me that criminals at large

by telegram, he felt the excitement know they are being sought,” he

of triumph, not for any personal reflects. “I simply have a moral

achievement but “for the fact that obligation to keep after these men.

the capture proved that justice They must know that they are still held

knows no limits in time or distance.” accountable, and none of them at this

Subsequently, the justice moment knows whether

departments of both West or not justice is just

Germany and Austria a step behind him.”

prevailed on Brazil to

extradite Stangl. Editor’s Note:

Each arrest or trial Simon Wiesenthal

greatly increases his usu- died in his sleep at

ally heavy load of mail. age 96 in Vienna in

Some of it is vaguely ad- September 2005 and

dressed: ‘Simon Wiesen- was buried in Herz-

thal, Office of Humanity, liya, Israel. The Simon

Vienna’ or ‘The dirty Wiesenthal Centre in

Jew, Wiesenthal, Austria’. FROM 1973 Los Angeles is named
There are cheques, con- in his honour. Former

gratulations, new information, pleas concentration guard Hermine

to find certain war criminals and, al- Braunsteiner was extradited to

ways, threats. Germany and sentenced to life

The latter make him wary, but imprisonment in 1981. She was

never frighten him. In fact, they released on health grounds in 1996

bolster his dedication. “Threats before her death three years later.

Whodunnit?

NOVEMBER 1970

We are the proud owners of a huge Saint Bernard dog. My father,
who is in the restaurant business, often brings home large beef
bones for the dog to chew on. In fact, our backyard is strewn with
these bones. One day, over the back fence, our neighbour was
showing hi elderly father our Saint Bernard. “Will he bite?” asked
the older man. Told that he would not, the father asked suspiciously,

“Well, then, whose remains are those in the yard?”.”

—Contributed by Kathleen Sturdivant

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Notes from All Over

1930s movie theatres ring a ‘lovers’ warn-
ing bell’ a minute before the house
IN MADRID A BEAUTY contest lights are turned on. Indeed,
has just been staged that ought to a Havana theatre temporarily lost
be a model for all the world to fol- its licence because the projectionist
low; for make-up was ruled out, and had suddenly turned on the lights
the contestants were forced to wash when a film broke—to the embar-
their faces with soap and water in rassment of a famous citizen.
the presence of the judges.
—NOVEMBER 1937
—NOVEMBER 1932

WALT DISNEY’S MICKEY MOUSE 1940s
has become a world citizen. In
France he is known as Michel SIDEWALKS in Louisburg, North
Souris; in Germany, Michael Carolina, are divided into sections
Maus; Japan, Miki Kuchi; Spain, with stripes: two outside lanes for
Miguel Ratonocito, also Miguel loafing, the inside one for walking.
Pericote; Greece, Mikel Mus; A local authority states that the plan
Italy, Michele Jopolino. is working satisfactorily.

—ARTHUR MANN IN HARPER’S, JULY 1934 —JANUARY 1940

AMONG THE THOUSANDS of war 1960s
souvenirs in London’s Imperial War
Museum, one of unusual interest is IN FRANCE, the Catholic Church
the ‘little cupboard from Le Cateau.’ has branded driving faults as sins
For almost four years an English sol- which must be confessed by the
dier hid in this cupboard in a house faithful. Speeding, illegal passing
occupied by German soldiers, his and drunken driving should be in-
food being brought to him secretly by cluded in the confessional among
the Frenchwoman who lived there. ‘sins of pride’. Excess pride, a
spokesman for the French bishop
—AUGUST 1934 explained, is often responsible
for speeding.
IN SOME Latin-American countries,
—TWIN FALLS, TIMES NEWS,

OCTOBER 1965

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88 april 2022

SEPTEMBER 2000

Four young

Amy’s siblings.
No parent
at home.
And just
Choiceone teenager
By Rena Dictor LeBlanc
illustrations by Cornelia Li

readersdigest.in 89

t was nearly midnight by the time
19-year-old Amy Waldroop re-
turned to her cramped Los Angeles

Iapartment, and she was exhausted.

After a full day’s work at a florist shop,
she had put in another six hours
waiting tables before heading home.

Pushing the key into the lock, she A my Waldroop had been born
quietly opened the door so as not dead. Physicians fought and
to wake her younger siblings. She saved this smaller twin of a
stepped into the front room— drug-addicted mother, and she’d had
and froze. The apartment was a to fight for everything in life ever since.
shambles: plates of half-eaten food
were scattered in front of the TV; toys From earliest childhood, Amy took
littered the floor; clothes, shoes and care of her younger siblings. First it
homework were strewn everywhere. was her sister Amanda, four years
younger. Then, when Amy was 10,
Amy’s eyes welled with tears. along came Adam, followed by Joseph
This is just way too much for me, and finally Anthony. With a mother so
she thought. Her worst fears began often high—if not gone altogether—
to race through her mind. Soon she it frequently fell to Amy to feed and
was sobbing. Would the court tell change the babies, lull them to sleep
her she couldn’t care for her family when they cried and care for them
anymore? Would the kids go through when they were sick.
the torture once more of being split
up and sent away? She was so young, Once, when the children all came
almost a child herself, and yet Amy down with chickenpox, Amy ended up
knew everything depended on her. at the drugstore asking the clerk what
Everything. At that moment, she to do. Handed some anti-itch lotion,
wondered if she would ever find the the 10-year-old stared at the instruc-
strength to see it through. tions on the bottle, unable to make
sense of them. Back home she bundled

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her siblings into the shower and after- came knocking, and the young girl’s
ward spread the lotion on them with nightmare unfolded. Amy and
bunched-up toilet paper. They healed. Jessica were to be taken to a juvenile
detention centre.
Jan, their mother, only added to
the family chaos by careering in and Meanwhile, Amy watched, dis-
out of her children’s lives. Sometimes traught, as her other siblings were
they lived in apartments, sometimes trundled out to waiting cars, bound
in shelters or drug-infested motels. for separate foster homes. Looking
into their anguished faces, she could
At school—when the kids at- only manage to say, “I’m so sorry …
tended—they kept mostly to them- I’m so sorry …”
selves, not wanting classmates to
know how they were living. But it inev- The kids, lonely and depressed,
itably showed. Amy and her twin Jes- spent six months apart from each
sica, for instance, went without meals other until they were sent to live
at school because Jan sometimes with their maternal grandmother. Al-
failed to sign them up for the lunch though Jan was forbidden to stay with
programmes. They would sit hungry her children, Amy’s grandmother took
and desolate in the schoolyard as the pity on her daughter and allowed her

AMY WATCHED, DISTRAUGHT, AS HER SIBLINGS
WERE TAKEN TO SEPARATE FOSTER HOMES.

other kids gobbled their sandwiches. to re-enter the children’s lives, plung-
Meals at home were a different ing them back into chaos. At 14,
Jessica left home for good.
challenge: When Jan was around, the
twins were expected to cook. Once, Meanwhile, all the children were
a boyfriend of Jan’s became enraged falling further and further behind in
because Amy did not have dinner school. As a ninth-grader, Amy could
promptly on the table. He grabbed read only at a fourth-grade level. With
the child by the hair and threw her envy she watched the kids who dressed
against the refrigerator. well and excelled in class, and wished
she could somehow enter their world.
The girl suffered other violence And leave hers behind forever.
and finally told her social worker. The
woman was stunned. “My God, why Walking across the school
didn’t you tell me before?” she asked. grounds one day, Amy spotted
a table littered with university
“I thought we’d be taken away,” brochures. She browsed through
Amy replied.

Two weeks later social workers

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pictures of spacious campuses and Amy was summoned to the Vill Park
happy kids—all of it looking impossibly High School. A social worker was
glamorous and unachievable. waiting for her.

But a guidance counselor soon gave “We know your mother has been
her unexpected hope. Amy could at- staying with you,” the social worker
tend university, she was told, and said, “and that Joseph pricked his fin-
for free. It would take a scholarship, ger on a drug needle.” Amy braced her-
though, and for that she’d need much self, knowing what was coming next.
better grades. Amy immediately signed “We’re going to have to put you guys
up for summer school. During her in foster care.”
final two years of high school, she dili-
gently attended classes, then went to “No! Don’t split us up!” the girl
work after school from 3:30 to 11:30, blurted. “Can’t you just leave it the
returned to her grandmother’s place way it is?”
and ploughed through homework till
the early hours of the morning. The social worker shook his head.
Amy’s voice then rose like the howl of a
lioness protecting her cubs: “Why can’t

“WHY CAN’T I TAKE THEM?” AMY BEGGED.
“I CARE FOR THEM ALL THE TIME ANYWAY.”

Amy’s resolve was strengthened I take them? I take care of them all the
further during these tough months time anyway.”
by a boy she met at school, Jerry
Robinson*. For the first time in her life, The social worker hesitated, then
Amy felt that someone really listened said, “Maybe. Once you’re 18, you
to her, and truly cared. Their friend- could apply to become their relative
ship turned to love, and Amy had no caretaker. Then you’d be their foster
doubt that the two would marry and mother until we find a home where all
have children together. of you can be together.”

But during this time, unknown to “I’ll do it,” Amy said. She hadn’t a
the social workers, Jan had come to clue what was involved, but that mat-
live in her mother’s house, throwing tered little. She would just forge ahead,
the family into fresh tumult. Amy’s a day at a time, as she had all her life.
grandmother couldn’t turn her
daughter out of her home, even when And, somehow, she would make
Jan was high on drugs. One afternoon things turn out right.

*Name has been changed to protect privacy. Amy soon realized the full price
of her commitment. One after-
noon she came walking home

92 april 2022

from school, clutching a sheet of pa- fed them, held them when they were
per. It was a letter from the University scared, read them stories, sung them
of California, Los Angeles, inviting her songs. Her dreams for herself, she real-
to come see the lush campus. It was ized, were no match for the love etched
what she’d longed for, a place where in her soul. She crumpled the letter up
no one would know about her awful and threw it away.
background, where she could study
to become someone special—a nurse, One month later, after tediously fil-
perhaps, or maybe even a lawyer. ing piles of paperwork, Amy sat be-
fore a judge in family court. “You’re so
Yet the letter only ripped Amy apart young,” the judge said to her. “Are you
inside. The entire walk home she kept sure you want this responsibility?”
imagining herself at this prestigious
university, kept picturing a life free “There’s no other way to keep my
of the worries and duties she’d family together,” Amy replied simply.
always known. The judge’s ultimate decision was a
remarkable victory for an 18-year-old
Then, as she turned a corner, she girl: Amy was named guardian of her
saw her brothers playing outside her siblings for a six-month trial period.
grandmother’s house, running, laugh-
ing. Adam … Joseph … Anthony. She’d Meanwhile, instead of going to her

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high-school graduation dance, Amy birth-control pills, she became preg-
had searched for a place to live. Finally nant with Jerry’s child. The timing was
she found a run-down one-bedroom horrible, but there was no way she’d
unit. The salary from her two jobs—as consider either an abortion or giving
a florist-shop clerk and as a waitress— up the baby for adoption. Her love
along with her savings and foster-care would enfold this child just as it had
payments from the state of California the others. And so another little boy,
enabled her to pay the first month’s Donavin, entered Amy’s life when
rent and security deposit. she was 19.

Her siblings didn’t make her task any The strain of things built up re-
easier in the months ahead. The boys morselessly. Finally it reached a break-
sometimes ditched school and would ing point that late night when Amy
curse at Amy when they were angry. returned from work to an apartment in
And she had more than a few face-offs shambles. She had left the boys in the
with Amanda. care of Amanda, who had fallen asleep
in Amy’s bed.
“You’re not my mom!” the 14-year-

IF AMY WERE TO ADOPT THE BOYS, THEY
WOULD BECOME LIKE ANY OTHER FAMILY.

old would shout at Amy when things Shaken, Amy felt overwhelmed once photo by rick rickman/matrix/rd archives
grew particularly tense. more by the enormousness of all she
had taken on. But she knew she had
One day Adam rebelled at doing his no choice: She could never let her sib-
reading assignment for school, hurling lings be ripped away from one another
his book across the room. Only after again. To make it as a family, she’d just
some coaxing did he tell Amy what have to get them to work together.
was really going on. “Every kid in the
class can read,” Adam said, bursting “All of you, get in here right now!”
into tears, “and I can’t.” Remembering she yelled, trembling with frustration.
her own shame about reading, Amy
began taking all the kids to the library. The three boys stumbled into the
And for many weeks afterward she set room. “How could you do this?” she
aside special time to tutor each of them asked, her words coming in a torrent.
separately. Adam took pride in the way “You know they’re checking up on us.”
his reading skills improved.
Within a few minutes, the wave of
As always, though, a fresh obsta- anger ebbed. “Guys,” she said more
cle appeared—one that came as a gently, “all we have is each other. If you
huge shock to Amy. Despite taking want to stay together past six months,
we’ve got to show we’re responsible.

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We’ve got to keep this place neat.” Amy, with her brothers Adam, Joseph and
“And you need to watch your tongues. Anthony, and her son Donavin.

Also, don’t eat all the food as soon as I a visiting social worker dropped a
buy it, or there won’t be any next week. bombshell. “We’d like to get the boys
And you have to be bleeding before out of foster care and adopted into
you can miss school.” Startled, the kids homes,” she said.
agreed to begin pulling their weight.
Sensing that the family was about
Unfortunately, Jerry soon asked that to be split apart yet again, Amy
Amy choose between a life with him replied, “Fine, then. Call it adop-
and their child, or continuing to care tion if you want, but they’re not
for her siblings. She chose—and their going anywhere.”
relationship ended.
To her surprise, the social worker
If anything, Amy grew more tena- took her terse remark seriously.
cious with every setback. And her ef- She explained that if Amy were
forts were rewarded when the court to adopt the boys, they would
allowed her to continue as guardian. become like any other family. They’d
To the boys, this was an enormous be free to live their lives without
comfort. But Amy’s relationship with constant monitoring.
her younger sister continued to sour.
At 15, Amanda finally went to live That night at dinner Amy told the
with an aunt. boys about the idea.

Now left with Donavin and the three “Cool!” Joseph said. And with playful
boys, Amy dangled a prize before them:
“If we save enough for a deposit, we’ll
get a house of our own,” she said. “And
we’ll even get a dog.” Nothing could
have been more tantalizing to them.

Amy’s relief at remaining the kids’
guardian was undermined by the
pressure she always felt to measure
up. The boys were still dependents of
the court. Social workers still looked
regularly over her shoulder and asked
the boys humiliating questions: “Does
she feed you well? Does she ever try
to harm you?” There was no way
she could be sure her siblings would
never be taken away again.

Or so she assumed, until the day

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exuberance he threw a piece of corn at Andler responded, “thank you. You

Adam. His brother flicked it back, and saved three kids.”

pretty soon corn was flying. Amy rolled

her eyes. They didn’t have far to go to On a lazy spring day, in a mod-
be like any other family. est Los Angeles neighbourhood,
Amy stood in front of a neatly
Once she began struggling with the

rules and paperwork for adoption, kept one-storey house. She watched

Amy felt intimidated and her brothers playing

often lost. At last, in a hea- basketball, and heard

ring in March 1999, the the playful bark of their

family appeared before dog, Tahoe. The young

Judge Gail Andler, who woman had made good

terminated the parental on her promise: They

rights of Jan, the father had rented a home, a

of Adam and Joseph and real home, and the boys

the father of Anthony. had gotten their dog.

This was a major step to- Above all, Amy relished

wards full adoption. The knowing that her family

judge’s eyes filled as she was now a world away

addressed Amy. “I’m very FROM 2000 from the mean streets
proud of you,” she said. they had once known. As

“Not many family members would do if on cue, she heard the tinkling music

what you’re doing, especially for this of an approaching ice-cream truck.

many children.” And, like any mother, she went to

Judge Andler then turned to the round up her kids.

three boys. “The next time I see you,

you’ll be heading for adoption. How After this story was originally published

do you feel about that?” in September 2000, hundreds of readers

“And we won’t ever have to leave sent donations to help Amy’s fledgling

the family?” Joseph asked. family stay on its feet. She went on to

The judge shook her head. “The successfully raise her brothers, and her

plan is for you to be a family forever.” son. In 2004, a movie version of Amy’s

The final step came in November story, called Gracie’s Choice: A Story

1999. Amy’s siblings sat on either of Love, debuted on US television. For

side of her in Judge Andler’s court many years Amy worked as an investi-

as the young woman signed three gator at a law firm that handled foster

separate papers—one for each of care cases, abused children and adop-

the boys. As the proceedings ended, tions. She is now married and works at

Amy thanked everyone. “No,” Judge a high-tech firm in California.

96 april 2022