Reader's Digest Canada - 012.2020

decisions, monitoring and taking every- followed instructions on how to adapt
thing into account. But an artificial pan- Sydney’s CGM. Suddenly, she was able
creas, also known as “the closed loop,” to pair Sydney’s CGM with a regular
uses a piece of code to connect them, smart watch, giving her the ability to
mimicking a real pancreas. Once con- check Sydney’s blood-glucose numbers
nected, the loop would work in the wherever she was. She was even able to
background like any other organ. set up an alarm to warn her whenever
Sydney’s levels were trending too low.
It sounds like the stuff of science fic-
tion. Officially, it will be at least another Two years later, she heard about a
few years before people with diabetes group of amateur coders from the U.S.,
can obtain an artificial pancreas. But, most of them Type 1 themselves, who
unofficially, well, that’s a different story. were fiddling around with insulin
pumps and CGMs, looking for ways to
ONCE CONNECTED, AN improve the devices. The amateur cod-
ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS ers pooled their discoveries and created
an iPhone program called Loop (an
WORKS IN THE Android version, called OpenAPS, was
BACKGROUND LIKE also created around the same time).
ANY OTHER ORGAN. Loop is not available in the App Store or
through any official channels—no doc-
i first met Kate Farnsworth and Pina tors will prescribe it. Users need to find
Barbieri in November 2017. The moth- the instructions online and build the
ers are based in the Greater Toronto Loop app themselves. This bit of free
Area and both have teenage daugh- code, paired with a hacked-together
ters—ages 13 and 15, respectively, at insulin pump and CGM, is an artificial
the time—with Type 1 diabetes. Farn- pancreas. Farnsworth knew that Sydney
sworth tells me about the fear she felt needed to have it.
when her then eight-year-old daugh-
ter, Sydney, was diagnosed in 2012. I feel uneasy about entrusting my
She began looking everywhere for life to homemade software thrown
information—and hope. together by some DIY hackers. The
technology sounds revolutionary—if
In May 2014, she found a Facebook it actually works—but it also feels like
group called CGM in the Cloud, an giving up control. After living with
international community of over diabetes for 33 years, I have trouble
30,000 members with a do-it-yourself believing that a few lines of code can
ethos. Through the group, Farnsworth understand my body better than I can.

“When Sydney started on Loop, my
entire role as a parent changed. It went

rd.ca 49

reader’s digest

from me micromanaging her diabetes doctor. As I listen to Farnsworth and
to the system doing almost every- Barbieri, I wonder if I’ve been thinking
thing,” Farnsworth says. She no longer about diabetes all wrong.
needed to wake up in the night worry-
ing about Sydney going low; Loop took i spend the next few months reading
care of it. “Every night she goes to bed, posts in the Looped Facebook group,
I sleep through the night, and she which, at the time I joined in January
wakes up usually at the same number,” 2018, had about 6,500 members world-
she adds. “It’s amazing.” wide. Approximately 1,000 of them are
already “Looping.” Others, like me, are
“Yeah, she actually gets some sleep,” simply curious. Farnsworth explains
says Barbieri. that since Loop has given her and Syd-
ney so much, she feels compelled to
Suddenly, an alarm goes off. It’s Bar- give back to the community: she’s the
bieri’s smart watch. Her daughter Lau- creator of the Looped Facebook group
ra’s blood sugar is 17.3, which is very and is one of the two volunteers who
high. Barbieri texts her: “You okay?” run the page, spending hours each
week answering questions and offer-
I’M SKEPTICAL THAT ing advice.
A FEW LINES OF CODE
The more I learn about Loop, though,
WILL UNDERSTAND the more hesitant I feel. For one thing,
MY BODY BETTER Loop requires having an insulin pump
that can be hacked and reprogrammed,
THAN I CAN. and these are rare: when medical-
device developer Medtronic realized
Laura: “Yeah, taking more insulin.” there was a security flaw in its products,
Barbieri: “Good.” it changed its design. This change makes
This exchange between mother and Looping with new pumps impossible,
daughter floors me. I’ve always felt that meaning would-be Loopers need to
there’s something intimate in a blood find old, out-of-warranty devices. They
sugar level: shame if you’re too high, also need to order a RileyLink from the
pride in perfect 5s or 6s, anxiety if United States—a Bluetooth device that
you go too low. It’s like having a daily lets an iPhone communicate with a
report card on how you’re living your pump. After all of that, they need to
life. Managing the disease was my build the Loop app themselves.
responsibility, and I’d tell myself that I
needed the privacy. I’ve never shared So I’m not quite sure what to say
my numbers with anyone other than my when Barbieri calls to tell me that she
and Farnsworth would like to organize

50 december 2020

a Loop-building session with me and a insulin pumps than any other medical
few others. Barbieri has an old, Loop- device on the market, with Health
able pump I’m free to use. I can have Canada concluding they may have
her daughter’s extra RileyLink so long been a factor in 103 deaths and over
as I replace it. The entire cost of this 1,900 injuries from 2008 to 2018. Such
life-changing artificial pancreas? $250. potential risk only becomes magnified
Amazed by the generosity of a virtual when you leave things to a computer
stranger, I thank her. But when she asks algorithm. “The closing of the loop
me to commit to a date, I’m evasive. introduces new patient hazards,” Lad-
ner adds, “and we need to be con-
Days pass, and the dream of the vinced that it’s safe.”
closed loop clings to my imagination. I
contact Health Canada’s Graham Lad- After I hang up the phone, I head
ner, scientific evaluator of the Medical back to the Looped Facebook group.
Devices Directorate, to ask about the I’m not sure what I’m looking for. Con-
elusive artificial pancreas and whether firmation? A perfect solution? I read a
we’ll ever see an approved version on mother’s comment about frustrations
the market. Ladner explains an insulin managing her child’s diabetes. Fellow
pump is usually a class III medical Loopers offer a chorus of support and
device, but once you “close the loop” advice. I choke up, break down and cry.
by having the pump automatically Maybe it’s the exhaustion of living with
communicate with a CGM, it becomes diabetes for three decades. But as I
class IV, meaning more restrictions read the various Facebook comments,
and more difficulty getting approval. I’m amazed by the care people take in
Just like humans, machines can make volunteering their time, feedback and
mistakes, too. insights. Which is why I decide to do
it. Will the Loop be better than what I
If I’ve closed the loop and am using have? I don’t know. But, for the first
an artificial pancreas, my CGM could, time, I won’t have to do it alone.
for example, erroneously say I have a
blood glucose level of 16.5. In truth, I it’s a saturday morning when we all
may actually be at 7, but in a closed- meet to build me my very own Loop.
loop system, the pump will automatic- Farnsworth hands me an old purple
ally give me too much insulin. I’ll end Medtronic 554 pump. Barbieri passes
up with severe low blood sugar and me a lighter-sized box: the RileyLink.
could lose consciousness. Once connected, these two devices will
work alongside my CGM and the Loop
Even in normal use, insulin pumps code to create my artificial pancreas.
can be dangerous. According to a We gather at a table. Farnsworth leads
November 2018 CBC investigation,
more people have died because of

rd.ca 51

reader’s digest

us through all the coding steps. A mes- i’ve now been on Loop for over two
sage appears on my laptop screen: years. I wake every morning to near-
“Please understand this project is perfect blood sugars. The Looped
highly experimental and not approved Facebook group has grown exponen-
for therapy.” tially since then, surpassing 23,000
members. In April 2019, the Omnipod,
By the end of the afternoon, I’ve another commercial pump, became
built my first app and transferred it Loop compatible. And, in a gesture that
onto my phone. We connect finicky shocked many, Medtronic recently
wiring to tiny battery packs and flick announced that it will work with the
on our RileyLink switches. When I tap FDA and competitor Dexcom to let
the Loop icon, I see graphs highlight- their insulin pumps and CGMs speak
ing my glucose trends, active insulin, to one another via Bluetooth and
insulin delivery time and carbohydrate an app called Tidepool—essentially
intake. My CGM numbers appear on Loop gone legit.
the top row. To the right, it shows how
much insulin the algorithm is adjust- With so much potential change on
ing. To the left, a small circle glows the way, I ask Farnsworth what’s
green. It means I’m Looping. My arti- going to happen when a government-
ficial pancreas is alive. approved artificial pancreas as good as
Loop—or better—is finally available. I
In the days that follow, Barbieri and ask if it will bother her to lose this close
Farnsworth continue to guide our community she’s helped create. “Hon-
group. At first, I feel overwhelmed and estly,” she says, “I would love to be put
am constantly worried I’m going to out of my volunteer job.”
forget something. Sometimes the
RileyLink craps out and the Bluetooth I’m not sure how I will feel when that
goes down, and I feel panic in the day comes. After all, Loop has changed
moments before it reconnects. There’s my relationship with my health and
no question that the system isn’t per- with myself—life is more than just
fect. But after my first night’s sleep, I a report card, diabetes more than a
wake up to a perfect blood glucose of mere flaw.
5.0. And then it happens the next
morning. And the next. © 2020, JONATHAN GARFINKEL. FROM “HACKING DIABETES,”
THE WALRUS ( JANUARY 7, 2020), THEWALRUS.CA

Rise and Shine

There is no sunrise so beautiful that
it is worth waking me up to see it.

MINDY KALING

52 december 2020

Your new
leaving the house ritual.

Severe hypoglycemia can happen anytime, anywhere.
Always bring BAQSIMI® with you, the first and only nasal glucagon.

It’s easy to use, so anyone can help you in an emergency.

THE UNEXPECTED SHOULDN’T HOLD YOU BACK.
ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT BAQSIMI.

Learn more at BAQSIMI.ca

BAQSIMI is a medicine used to treat severe low blood sugar. This is called severe
hypoglycemia. It is used in adults and children 4 years and older that take insulin for diabetes.
It is used when the person is unable to swallow sugar. Always read and follow the label.

BAQSIMI® is a registered trademark owned or licensed by Eli Lilly and Company, its subsidiaries,
or affiliates. PP-GN-CA-0075. © Lilly LLC 2020. All rights reserved.

reader’s digest

Mama
Bear

Arctic explorer James Raffan tells the story
of a polar bear and her cubs—and their
struggle to survive in a changing climate

FROM ICE WALKER: A POLAR BEAR’S JOURNEY
THROUGH THE FRAGILE ARCTIC

54 december 2020

ENVIRONMENT

reader’s digest

N anu, a nine-year-old female 32 per cent fat, keeps these tiny, help- (PREVIOUS SPREAD) DESIGN PICS INC./ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
polar bear, lives on the Hudson less newcomers alive and powers their
Bay lowlands, south of Chur- exponential growth.
chill, Man. Her den, which she dug out
of a stream bank before the ground By the time they are three weeks old,
froze, is nearly two metres in diameter their fine hair is replaced by a dense
and half a metre higher than the narrow undercoat and longer guard hairs. After
exit tunnel. Air heated by Nanu’s body 25 days, the soles of their little feet start
and breath forms a bubble of warmth developing hair as well, completing
that rises into the space. While the tem- the insulation they need for moving
peratures outside can be in the minus around the den.
20s in January, the well-insulated cave
can be brought to just below freezing Before their eyes open early in the
with nothing more than her presence. second month, they learn to navigate
with other developing senses, often
Though she hasn’t eaten for six with Nanu’s gentle guidance. They start
months, she’s able to nourish her cubs to differentiate the textures, smells,
in utero and still keep her metabolism sounds and rhythms in the den. When
quiet enough to conserve energy for at they are two months old, their ears
least three more months of fasting to open and they begin to hear more. By
come. That’s because, in addition to her their third month, they are able to raise
own considerable insulation—five cen- themselves up on their hind legs.
timetres of thick, downy underfur com-
bined with a full mantle of long, hollow The cubs double in size monthly—
guard hairs—every bear has a layer of going from two to four pounds in Jan-
fat just below the skin. uary, from four to nine in February. By
March, when they start to explore the
To save energy, Nanu is able to lower inside of the den, they are in the 24- to
her body temperature slightly from its 26-pound range and increasingly aware
normal 37°C. In her state of suspended of their surroundings.
animation in the darkened confines of
the den, she delivers two blind, deaf, The constant proximity of the three
toothless, downy-haired young who bears creates a family bond that will
are less than one per cent of her size, see them through to the separation
with no body fat to speak of. that is at least two years off.

The cubs, Sivu and Kingu, are OUTSIDE, THE AIR is dry and supremely
immersed in the fur of her belly, where cold. The cubs may perceive the pres-
the sound of their mother’s heart is as ence of a fox rousting small mammals,
present and familiar as it was when like lemmings, that eke out a living in
they were in utero. Mother’s milk, with the tundra grasslands under the snow.
One day, the sound of a helicopter

56 december 2020

dropping grid stakes for a mining claim is now happening much more rapidly
in the area startles the cubs, and they than any living plant or animal’s ability
cluster back into Nanu’s bosom. to respond. Nanu and the cubs are liv-
ing in circumstances that will challenge
By March, the cubs are getting their their very survival.
lower incisors and canine teeth. In this
third and final month in the den, the THE ADULT BEAR who punches through
cubs’ hearing is starting to become to the April sunshine has lost 100
much more acute. They can now detect pounds from her former ample self.
a fox walking over the den. And, as they Stiffly, Nanu drags herself out of the
pounce and roll together, they try out den, shakes vigorously and stands fully
different voices and calls. upright for the first time in five months.
She turns to the den, chuffing for the
With all this activity, Nanu must cubs to follow. Working her way uphill
rouse herself from her sleepy state to for a few dozen metres, she stands on a
scrape the frost that builds up on the gravelly ridge looking first one way and
walls. From time to time, she pokes at then another. Scanning the distance.
the air vent. Sniffing the air. She knows instinctively
how vulnerable she and the cubs are.
After the equinox on March 21, when
the sun is visible for 12 hours, the days That first trip out of the den lasts no
lengthen quickly. Soon it will be time more than half an hour. Over the next
to get the three of them on their way to
COURTESY OF SIMON & SCHUSTER CANADA the bay, 70 kilometres away. There is
nothing but uncertainty ahead
for Nanu, as there has been for
every emerging mother bear
before her.

By March’s end, Nanu is fully
awake. The cubs, fearless little
furballs with claws and teeth, are
ready to enter the wider world.

Until recently, the speed of
change—in hunting traditions,
the seasons, the weather, the local
conditions—was such that the
bears could mostly adapt. With
the dawn of the industrial revolu-
tion and the climate change that
has accelerated in lockstep with
technological progress, change

rd.ca 57

reader’s digest

week, Nanu and the cubs work their The cubs play less now because when
way up the ridge, stopping at a place they are not walking or nursing, they are
where the wind has scoured the ground, sleeping. And when they walk, they feel
exposing alpine grasses. She grazes on the sun as it moves from in front to
these to reduce her hunger and to beside and then behind them as the
reawaken her digestive system. days progress. For Nanu, it is a familiar
sensation, like melodies of a long-
Forays in these early days build and remembered tune.
tone the cubs’ muscles for their jour-
ney to the ice, which is about to begin. Kingu will likely never come back
But these walks are also about ready- this far inland. As a male, he will den
ing Nanu’s own body for the long trek during the harshest months of winter.
back to the bay. Sivu, by contrast, will learn to come
here by heart, by the look and feel of
NANU WALKED A the place—the ground-hugging spruce
SIMILAR ROUTE WITH on the beach ridges, the faint smell of
diesel from the trains running up and
HER OWN MOTHER down from Le Pas to Churchill, the
ALMOST EIGHT YEARS pungent dens of foxes.

AGO TO THE DAY. Suddenly Nanu stops with every mus-
cle in her body flexed and ready. The
Finally, Nanu decides it is time to cubs, too, tumble to a stop. Nanu sniffs
move. In the 10 days since she opened and utters a high-pitched grunting
the den, the scent of the sea has arrived sound that the cubs have never heard
on the wind, particularly from the east. before—at least not at that intensity.
Silhouetted against the strengthening Nanu stands and sniffs, first in one
sun, the three bears walk away, the cubs direction, then in another and another,
roaming between Nanu’s feet, getting finishing with a long stand facing down-
sidetracked with smells and other dis- wind. In the distance, three grey wolves
tractions, being called back. are making their way toward them.

The route they are taking is similar Encouraging the cubs to keep close,
to the one that Nanu first walked with she stands resolutely so that the wolves
her mother almost eight years ago to can see her before taking a few vigor-
the day. It isn’t long before they are ous running steps in their direction.
crossing a pattern of beach ridges, She then continues walking toward the
each one a little lower in elevation wolves, cubs behind her. Undaunted,
than the previous one. driven by a mother’s combination of
fear, caution and courage, Nanu chooses
to pose a threat of her own.

58 december 2020

COURTESY OF SIMON & SCHUSTER CANADA Again, she stands, radiating the con- familiar scents are old oil, which may
fidence of size. This time the wolves stop have washed in from a summer boat
and then lope off in the other direction. at sea, and the acrid plastic flotsam
increasingly brought here by the slow
At this point in their lives, the cubs rotations of the Hudson Bay gyre.
have no real capacity to run. Nanu will
never leave them, except to fight on At the beach, Nanu breaks into a short
their behalf, so her ability to escape from canter. Stopping suddenly, she flops
a threat is compromised as well. The onto her back and rolls for a long time
best she can do to protect the cubs is to as the cubs clamber all over her. She
encourage them to listen and stay close. gets up and sniffs along a crack in the
ice. She disappears momentarily down
DAY SIX, in spitting grey snow, they through the crack and reappears with a
crest a ridge, and the cubs, riding on tawny snake of bull kelp that she drags
their mother’s back, sniff the air and up on the ice. The kelp is full of algi-
sense that something is different. For nates and fibre that will fill her digestive
the first time, Sivu and Kingu notice the system and ready it for the meal to
odour of muddy ice on the foreshore come. The little ones tire of it quickly
flats of Hudson Bay. Mixed with the and butt their way in for milk instead.

rd.ca 59

reader’s digest

They continue out onto the ice. Nanu that seems to belie the size and strength
stops and sniffs and stands much of her paws, she scrapes away some of
more often than she did while they the snow covering the thin layer of ice
were on the land. She and her cubs are on the inside of the lair.
entering a dangerous world of male
adult bears. Kingu is going to sleep, but Sivu is
soon back beside her mother. Nanu
The threat from these males is pushes Sivu to her side and then, in a
extreme. If they aren’t attacking a trio sitting position, she stiffens. Sivu takes
like this for nutrition in a lean year, one look at this and settles down qui-
then they are after the cubs to kill etly as well.
them, in the hope that this might bring
the female back into estrus. As hungry Nanu can hear the quiet mewing of
as Nanu is, she has to be ever vigilant. the baby and its movements inside the
lair. But that is not the meal she is hop-
She works every scent on the breeze, ing for. Eventually, she feels the puff of
assessing the ice for signs of seal hab- condensed air come up through the air
itation. There are smells everywhere of hole, followed by the hollow swoosh of
seals, bears, foxes and the sights and water below and the slip of a wet mother
sounds of returning birds. seal crawling up onto the ice.

The voice of a raven and the piercing In one smooth movement, forelegs
squawks of a glaucous gull draw Nanu’s braced, Nanu rises up and crashes
attention to a place far along a pres- down through the top of the agloo,
sure ridge. She finds the remains of a front feet followed by her head. Then,
ringed seal baby. It is mostly just furry to Sivu’s amazement, she recoils back
skin left behind, but she eats that and above the surface of the ice with a seal
keeps moving along the crack. Sud- four times the cub’s size.
denly she stops. She has located an
agloo, a seal’s breathing hole in the ice. When it stops moving, Nanu rips
through the grey-silver fur and into the
Nanu nudges Sivu and Kingu a few rich blubber that she has been craving.
metres away and does her best to get In no time, the cubs are dabbling inside
them to lie still while she moves back the carcass as well. Life on the ice has
to prepare for the kill. begun in earnest.

She can hear that there is a young FROM ICE WALKER BY JAMES RAFFAN. COPYRIGHT © 2020
seal inside. With precision and care BY JAMES RAFFAN. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF SIMON
& SCHUSTER CANADA.

Not So Idle Thoughts

It may be those who do most, dream most.

STEPHEN LEACOCK

60 december 2020

LAUGHTER Why would they call
it a grapefruit? There
the Best Medicine already is a grape fruit.
It’s called a grape. Some-
Ladies, if he gives you: A highway patrolman one messed up here.
12 drummers pulled alongside a
11 pipers speeding car on the — @PERFECTSWEETIES
10 lords highway. Looking at the
Nine ladies car, he was astounded Too Talented
Eight maids to see that the elderly Dolly Parton writing
Seven swans woman behind the “I Will Always Love
Six geese wheel was knitting. You” and “Jolene”
Five gold rings in the same day is
Four calling birds The trooper cranked mind-blowing. It would
Three French hens down his window and be like if Da Vinci fin-
Two turtle doves yelled to the driver, ished the Mona Lisa,
One partridge in a “Pull over!” then turned around in
pear tree the same day and
“No!” the woman wrote “Jolene.”
He’s not your true yelled back, “Cardigan!”
love. He’s wanted in — @WENZLERPOWERS
multiple states for kid- — REDDIT.COM
napping and unlawful Send us your original
possession of birds. The dentist just asked jokes! You could earn $50
me to open up and now and be featured in the
— @_ELVISHPRESLEY_ I can’t stop crying. magazine. See page 9 or
rd.ca/joke for details.
— @MOMJEANSPLEASE

KATHERINE FOGLER THE BEST JOKE I EVER TOLD

By Coko Galore

After 30 years in Canada, I finally feel Canadian.
I am now passive-aggressive.

Galore is a Toronto-based comedian and the artistic
director of the Bad Dog Comedy Theatre. Follow her
on Twitter at @cokogalore.

rd.ca 61

reader’s digest

KNOWLEDGE

A PLANNER’S

Guide TO
Dying

Preparing for the end now can save
your loved ones plenty of heartache—
and money—later on. These practical

tips will help get you started.

BY Emily Landau

illustrations by cornelia li

rd.ca 63

reader’s digest

Get Your House care and life support, what should hap-
in Order pen to your body, and how you want to
be celebrated. An advanced care plan
1 prepare a will eliminates the guesswork involved in
Death is one of those end-of-life decisions and, once some-
things many of us avoid one’s gone, allows people to grieve
thinking about until it’s instead of scrambling to make funeral
absolutely necessary—it’s decisions. “If you have life insurance,”
often too sad, too scary, too MacDonald says, “you should probably
morbid. A 2018 Angus Reid have end-of-life planning.”
survey showed that more
than half of Canadian adults
don’t have a signed will or
personal directives. When
asked why, many respond-
ents said they thought they
were too young. But you can
save your family extra heart-
ache by planning and bud-
geting for your end-of-life
decisions early. Ian Mac-
Donald, an independent
funeral planner in Halifax,
believes the purpose of a
funeral is to help the living.
“You’re helping them transi-
tion from life with someone
they love to life without,” he says.

2 form an advanced care plan
At the same time you’re moving
forward in life—saving up for your first
house or your kids’ education—you
should be planning for the end of your
life. Even in your 30s, it’s smart to have
an advanced care plan, which outlines
what you’ll tolerate in terms of medical

64 december 2020

3 save for PRICE A burial plot and marker
your funeral CHECK might cost another $7,000,
depending on how desir-
Like most milestone events,

how much a funeral costs It can be able the real estate is. Many
depends on how elaborate cheaper to life insurance policies
it is. Even a mid-range shop online include funeral insurance,
funeral can cost as much for urns. while some people instead
as a downpayment on a make their own arrange-
house—and many people This one, from ments with funeral homes,
casketoutlet.ca,

don’t want to surprise their costs $175. prepaying into a trust.

loved ones with the bill. Whatever you decide, it’s

Prices vary, but Brett Wat- useful to do some research

son, president of the and go in with an idea of

Funeral Services Associa- what you’d like—no matter

tion of Canada, estimates the average how uncomfortable it may seem. “This

funeral-home package—including is an industry that’s there for profit,”

embalming, a casket, flowers, music says MacDonald, “and you want to get

and catering—costs around $10,000. good value for your money.”

Green Your Death

A growing number of Canadians are making their end-of-life plans more envi-
ronmentally friendly. Direct cremation, for example, skips the embalming
process, which often requires toxic chemicals. It costs an average of $2,500
and can involve scattering the remains or burying them in a biodegradable
urn. Alkaline hydrolysis, or flameless cremation, uses water, pressure and
sometimes heat to dissolve the remains. Finally, there’s direct-to-earth burial,
which also dispenses with embalming and involves depositing the remains
straight into the plot, either in a shroud or a biodegradable casket.

rd.ca 65

reader’s digest

Hire a Death Doula initially left Peddle with a crushing fear
of illness and death. “I know what it’s
Chelsea Peddle is a death doula: one of like to feel lost and to not know what
dozens of professionals in Canada who benefits and resources are available,”
provide emotional and practical guid- she says, “or even how to be with
ance for people near death and for their someone who’s dying.”
families. She earned her credentials
at Dawson College, in Vancouver, but About half of Peddle’s clients today
was originally set on this path at age 15 are in palliative care. Many are under-
when her father died of an aggressive going treatments, such as chemother-
brain tumour. The experience had apy, for terminal illnesses. Every one
of them is simply trying to wrap their

head around the process of
dying. She acts as a sound-
ing board, directs them to
resources, and helps them
cope with the big emotions
that come with knowing
you’re going to die. “Some-
times there’s a sense of
unfairness,” she says, “but
a lot of the time there’s also
this amazing level of
acceptance.”

Facing death is often
harder for the families.
One of Peddle’s clients, for
example, was recently car-
ing for her sick mom in the
U.S., living away from her
family in Victoria, B.C., and
felt guilty and conflicted for
wanting the whole thing to
be over already. Peddle
helped her process those
tough feelings and release
the shame she was holding.
“She had no idea that it was
an entirely normal way to

66 december 2020

Personalize Your Memorial

Gregory Williams, a home on Haida Gwaii tattoo of a spirit face
tattoo artist, carver, in B.C. She went into on his throat—the
musician and member remission once but placement represents
of the Haida nation died in 2013, when she her love of singing and
based in Skidegate, was 10. “When she music, and the subject
B.C., has always been passed, I thought my represents her move
fascinated by tattoos. heart was going to from the physical to the
“For me,” he says, “tat- stop,” Williams says. spiritual realm.
tooing is understand-
ing our past, living for Like many people, “At times it’s difficult
the present and dream- he saw an opportunity for me to do anything
ing of the future.” to use the art he loves to because I feel guilty
cope with his grief. about why I get to live,”
Williams’ daughter, Williams got several Williams explains.
Kaiya, was diagnosed tattoos in honour of Looking at the tattoos
with neuroblastoma, Kaiya, mixing his reminds him to live for
an aggressive cancer daughter’s ashes into his family. “They give
that targets nerve cells, the ink. One forearm me the strength that I
at age five. Kaiya was tattoo depicts a raven, need to not only move
smart, spunky and which represents his on, but to remember
stubborn. She loved family’s clan and Kaiya’s Kaiya for who she was
art and music and her heritage. He also has a as a person.”

feel,” Peddle says. “She was so relieved wills. “The veil on death has been
that it didn’t make her a horrible per- pulled back,” she says. “The fact that
son and that she wasn’t alone.’” death can visit anybody, regardless of
their age, is more apparent now.”
During the pandemic, Peddle has
had to figure out new ways to do her PRICE CHECK
job: she can’t sit by a client’s bedside
or visit their homes. Instead, she’s Most death doulas charge
learned to build a level of trust and
communication over video sessions. $30-$80
At the same time, she’s noticed more
people facing the inevitability of death, per hour.
creating advanced care plans and

rd.ca 67

reader’s digest

Don’t Leave Loose Ends

THE ESTATE PLANNER THE MILLENNIAL
MANUAL
Willful.co
Founder Kevin Oulds created Willful, Joincake.com
his Toronto startup, in 2017 after his The sleek and sunny end-of-life
uncle died and left him to deal with planning service designed by MIT
a complicated estate. Using Oulds’ brainiac Suelin Chen is largely
web service, will creation is as fast, targeted at 20- and 30-somethings
cheap and secure as online banking seeking a head start on their end-of-
or grocery shopping: you answer life planning. Users fill out a profile,
specific questions about your assets, dating-site style, selecting how
family status and life situations, and they want to deal with their medical
then the app generates a legally care, legal documents and social
sound estate plan. The whole process media accounts. Cake is also
takes about 20 minutes—and all but stacked with breezy, approachable
eliminates the need for stratospheri- resources to educate users about
cally priced estate lawyers, who may matters like life insurance and power
charge between $200 and $500 per of attorney. Free.
hour. From $99.
THE MESSAGING
THE DIGITAL LOCKBOX SERVICE

Everplans.com SafeBeyond.com
Gone are the days when family mem- This site gives users the chance to
bers had to ransack boxes and bank contact their loved ones from beyond
accounts to sort out their loved ones’ the grave—no Ouija board required.
affairs. Instead, Everplans serves as a With Safebeyond, clients can create
one-stop shop where meticulous personalized videos, voice messages
planners can securely store all of their and letters for their families and
essential documents for their families friends to be delivered once they’re
to access after they die. Financial gone, either immediately after their
information, digital passwords, life death, on a specific date (say a wed-
insurance policies—they all go here ding or birthday ), or even a public
and can be accessed by designated goodbye to be released on social
executors. US$75 per year. media. From US$4 per month.

68 december 2020

step 1: the criteria

Not every patient is eligible
for MAID. First, patients
have to be at least 18 and
determined by a physician
to be mentally competent.
Next, they must have a
grievous or irremediable
medical condition. “That
means they have to be in an
advanced state of decline
that cannot be reversed,
they have to be experien-
cing unbearable physical or
mental suffering and their
natural death has to be rea-
sonably foreseeable,” says
Helen Long, the CEO of
Dying With Dignity Canada.

Pick the Right Time step 2: the assessment

Four years ago, the federal government Anyone who wants a
passed Bill C-14, the landmark legisla- physician-assisted death is
tion that empowered Canadians to required to make a written
seek medical assistance in dying, or request confirming they’re
MAID. And last year, more than 5,600 mentally competent and not
people availed themselves of this right. subject to undue influence.
But what does the legislation mean for Depending on the region, an official
patients and caregivers? Here’s a look form may be required. The request also
at the ins and outs of physician- requires two witnesses who meet cer-
assisted death. tain criteria—for example, they must
not benefit financially from the MAID-
requester’s death. After the form is
completed, you can see a doctor or, in
some provinces, a nurse practitioner.
You will also need to undergo two
assessments with whoever you choose
to make sure you meet the criteria.

rd.ca 69

reader’s digest

step 3: the location Don’t Let a Pandemic
Get in the Way
MAID can take place wherever the of Your Send-Off
patient is most comfortable. According
to the federal government, 35.2 per There’s currently a pandemic prohibi-
cent of MAID patients died in their tion on packed funeral homes, drop-in
homes in 2019, while 36.3 per cent shivas or any other form of traditional
died in hospital, 20.6 per cent died in grieving. To give mourners a chance
a palliative care facility and 6.9 per to say goodbye to their loved ones,
cent died in a residential care facility. funeral planners are coming up with
creative, comforting and surprisingly
step 4: the procedure moving new memorial services. Here’s
a sampling:
Before going ahead with MAID, you’re
typically required to wait at least 10 the robot
days to ensure it’s what you want.
Then, if you still decide to complete the Humanoid robots can clean our bath-
procedure, you need to find a doctor rooms, serve us sushi and, in the age
who’s willing to do it. The medications of COVID, stand in for us at funerals.
for MAID are administered intrave- At places like the Turner and Porter
nously and designed for a peaceful and Funeral Home in Toronto and the
painless death. Many physicians use a Saskatoon Funeral Home, remote
cocktail of midazolam, propofol and mourners can use an on-site droid,
rocuronium: the first puts the patient which is basically a tablet mounted on
to sleep, the second sends them into a a scooter, to zip around and chat with
deep coma and the third is a muscle
blocker that stops the heart.

step 5: the end

A scheduled death can allow people to
say goodbye in the way they want.
According to Helen Long, a MAID is
often like a celebration of life—except
the guest of honour gets to be there. “A
friend of my dad had a classic car, and
he and his son went for one last drive
around the neighbourhood,” she says.
“Once a person makes a decision, it’s
often a very freeing experience for
them. It gives them back their control.”

70 december 2020

the deceased’s loved ones via the tab- drive-in funeral service in the parking
let’s webcam. R2D2 would be proud. lot. The service is broadcast via an FM
radio station. Afterward, cars line up
the zoom funeral and proceed through a multi-step vis-
itation: first stop is signing the condo-
These days, the phrase “Zoom funeral” lence book (there’s plenty of hand
is almost redundant—nearly every sanitizer on deck); then they roll up to
memorial service is available via live the casket to pay their respects for a
stream or video conference. When the minute or so before moving on.
pandemic hit, former Shopify staffer
Effie Anolik saw an opportunity in the the processional
Zoom boom. Her startup, PlanAFu-
neral.com, works directly with families Just because we can’t all grieve together
and funeral planners to organize live- in person right now doesn’t mean we
streamed and recorded memorial can’t still support neighbours and
services: she and her staff will create a friends. Back in March, Father Paul
custom service, deliver invitations, set Lundrigan, a Catholic priest, was pre-
up slide shows and videos, organize siding over a funeral in Flatrock, a New-
speakers and—best of all—handle all foundland hamlet with a population of
that pesky tech. around 1,700. Restrictions at the time
meant only immediate family could
the drive-through attend. As they drove to the gravesite,
they noticed that there were about 70
In 2020, we’ve figured out how to do cars lined up along the route, flashing
pretty much anything from the com- their lights in a gesture of shared grief
fort and COVID safety of our cars: visit as the hearse passed them by. If we’re
art events, gawk at zoo animals and, facing more lockdowns in the near
yes, mourn our dead. At Tubman future, a processional is a heartwarm-
Funeral Home in the village of Kars, ing way to show solidarity.
near Ottawa, mourners can attend a

rd.ca 71

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WORLD WIDE WEIRD

BY Rebecca Philps

pierre loranger Hive Mined of usable honey—a operation, during which
Last February, a wildlife sweet reward for a job she played the scales,
removal crew was called well done. “Bésame Mucho” and
to an unoccupied apart- “Summertime.”
ment in Richmond, Music to Her Ears
Virginia, to deal with an Last fall, Dagmar Public Announcement
eight-foot-long beehive Turner, a violin player When Steffen Schwarz,
wedged between the in the Isle of Wight a part-time farmer from
first and second floors. Symphony Orchestra, Germany, decided to
Rich Perry, the owner of learned that a brain propose to his fiancée
Virginia Wildlife Man- tumour she’d had last year, he had his best
agement and Control, treated six years earlier man program a seed
estimates it would have was growing again, drill to leave empty areas
taken the bees three or close to an area that in his cornfield. Once
four years to build their controls the fine move- the crops grew around
indoor mansion. This ment of her left hand. those spaces, the
wasn’t the largest She needed surgery, words “Willst du mich
extraction ever under- and Professor Keyou- heiraten?,” or “Will you
taken by the company. mars Ashkan, a brain marry me?,” would be
“We removed a huge tumour specialist at written across an area
honeybee hive from the King’s College Hospital 200 by 100 metres.
side of an 1800s school- in London, was the per- When the corn grew tall
house here in Virginia son to do it. His plan: enough, he persuaded
that was around twice rouse Turner during the his girlfriend to fly a
the size,” says Perry. The surgery and ask her to drone over the field. Her
hive in the apartment play her violin to ensure reply to the surprise
was still slightly active; they didn’t damage any proposal? A big yes.
the team, which spent crucial tissue. Turner
two and a half hours was awake for about
removing the nest, sal- two and a half hours
vaged about 20 pounds during the successful

rd.ca 73

HEART

How I created a sanctuary for teenagers in my library

BY Angela Jouris Saxe FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL

photograph by johnny c.y. lam

74 december 2020

reader’s digest

Angela Jouris Saxe at her local
branch in Tamworth, Ontario.

reader’s digest

W henIgotmyfirst Anna Karenina or lost in the exciting
library card in and strange worlds of Ray Bradbury.
the mid-1950s,
my love for the When I studied English literature at
institution blos- university, I thought it best to build my
somed. own library. And later, when I taught
From the age of eight, I was allowed English at a high school, I continued
to walk from my house in Mount Royal, to collect books. Forty years into my
Que., across the wooden footbridge collecting, I realized that all those
over the CN rail line to where the books had become a part of the house,
municipal library was housed directly like wallpaper or wood panelling. Sud-
above the police station. Once the denly I saw them as vanity and an
librarian gave me my membership insidious aspect of consumerism. Why
card, she suggested that I might enjoy did I have to keep every book? I held
a series of books written by Laura on to a select few and donated the rest.
Ingalls Wilder, starting with Little House My home library is now filled only with
in the Big Woods. books that have enriched my life and
are of interest to my family and friends.
The memory of curling up in an arm- I regularly prune my collection. A new
chair and disappearing into the far- book rarely stays with me for long.
away world of pioneer life is still vivid
today. I was from a Greek household, Toward the end of my teaching career,
so the details of homesteading in the I became a teacher-librarian. This posi-
American West were exotic: chopping tion reignited my love and apprecia-
down trees to build a house, planting tion for how wonderful it is to be sur-
crops, the isolation, it all fascinated rounded by books. And the school
me. Time disappeared. No longer library indulged my passion for books
restricted to the here and now, I was even more.
free to imagine myself as a pioneer girl.
I was addicted. I had a generous budget, and I
searched for books that would interest
But the municipal library’s collec- my teenage audience and hopefully
tion paled in comparison to what was spark a love of reading in them. Fantasy.
available to us at high school. There, I Science fiction. Horror. Graphic nov-
read novels written by the authors we els. I couldn’t keep the Twilight series
were studying in class: Charles Dickens on the shelves—too many kids wanted
and Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain and to borrow them. Biographies of sports
Emily Brontë. heroes were in hot demand. Students
raced to the library as soon as it opened
During the summer months, I was (even in our digital era) to take out sev-
caught up in Gone With the Wind and eral books of their favourite manga

76 december 2020

series. I suggested Three Day Road, De students searched for books on spe-
Niro’s Game and The Ghost Road to cific topics instead of using computers:
senior boys for their independent study sexually transmitted infections, drugs,
assignment, and the girls loved Lul- LGBTQ+ issues, mental-health issues.
labies for Little Criminals, A Compli- I realized that computer screens were
cated Kindness and Fall on Your Knees. too visible, so I bought more books on
I bought books that students asked for those topics.
and ones that I wanted to read.
I bought sofas and easy chairs. The
THE LIBRARY WHERE conference room doubled as an art gal-
I WORKED BECAME lery and a meeting place for students to
talk about ideas, play chess, start knit-
AN INCLUSIVE PUBLIC ting circles and make posters for their
SPACE, HOME TO clubs. The library became an inclusive
EVERYBODY. public space, democratic and safe for
everyone. The circulation rates for books
I quickly realized that the library rose five to 10 per cent every month.
wasn’t just a place to do research; stu-
dents came for other reasons, as well. I My years as a teacher-librarian—non-
noticed that some students lined up first judgmental, resourceful and always
thing in the morning, returned at break accommodating—were the most
time and spent the whole lunch hour rewarding of my career. Even though
tucked away in a carrel. These were the I was an authority figure, I wasn’t
loners and the marginalized, the ones involved with student assessments and
who felt safer in the library than in the evaluations or restricted by the rigid
hallways or in the cafeteria where they structure of the curriculum. I was free
could be bullied or harassed. to make the library a comfortable and
exciting place to learn.
There was the young man who hid in
the stacks reading philosophy books, Whether libraries are located in
refusing to sign them out for fear of schools or in communities, I believe
being ridiculed at home. A young they provide students and the public
woman, who read every book on human with an opportunity to engage with the
anatomy and diseases, dreamed of past, the present and the future; all
being a doctor, but her family was too that is required is a modicum of curi-
poor; she would have to find full-time osity. Libraries are vibrant and fluid
work after graduation. I noticed that places that help us to adjust to the
world, and their doors must be kept
open to everyone—for free.

© 2019, ANGELA JOURIS SAXE. FROM “WHY I CREATED A
SAFE SPACE FOR TEENS IN MY LIBRARY,” THE GLOBE AND
MAIL ( JULY 31, 2019), THEGLOBEANDMAIL.COM

rd.ca 77

LIFE LESSON

I started playing the trumpet
at 42. Why learning new skills
as an adult is easier—and
more fun—than you think.

OLD
SCHOOL
last february, before the world went
BY Rebecca Philps into lockdown, I sat in a cramped wait-
ing room with about 10 other people,
illustration by beena mistry all under age 12. “I’m dyyying!!” I texted
my friend, shaking with silent laughter.
78 december 2020 “What am I doing here?!”

Here was a music academy, and I
was about to take my first trumpet

reader’s digest

reader’s digest

lesson. Learning to play was something experience that you can connect with
I had talked about for years, for no rea- to help learn new material.
son other than I thought it would be
fun. But it wasn’t until my husband gave “The wonderful thing about being
me a trumpet for Christmas that I got older is that you have more time and
the final push to give it a try. opportunity to try new things,” says Dr.
Marnin Heisel, a clinical psychologist
I was floundering. In three years I’d and professor at Western University
had two kids, left a full-time job to free- whose research focuses on psycholog-
lance, and we’d moved across the coun- ical resiliency and well-being among
try. I wanted something that was invig- older adults. It’s easier to convince
orating, a little out of left field and, most yourself to cut loose and have fun.
importantly, just for me. “Some people step back, take a look
and say, ‘My life isn’t as fun or fulfilling
I’ve never mastered a musical or meaningful as it could be. And the
instrument before and had lived with main thing stopping me is me.’”
the quiet shame of being called tone
deaf since I was a kid (I’m not, for the If you’re stuck on what to do or where
record). But there I was at 42, throwing to start, Heisel suggests a simple tech-
my lot in with a bunch of preteen mini nique: adult show and tell. It’s easy.
Mozarts. I was simultaneously nervous Imagine you had to present a meaning-
and thrilled by the idea of starting ful or sentimental object to a group of
something new. strangers that tells them something
about your story or your personality.
It had been years since I’d tried a Consider why you love it. Then ask,
hobby in which I had no background, what sort of fulfilling pastime can I
no connections, no baseline know- build around it? You’re more likely to
ledge. I was curious to see if I could dive into a new activity if you already
hack it. As it turned out, I could—and have a positive association with it.
with a few simple tips, so can anyone.
There are physical benefits, of
EMBRACE DISCOMFORT course, to choosing hobbies and activ-
AND HAVE FUN ities that get you moving, and physical
activity, in turn, has beneficial effects
As adults, we’re reluctant to go outside on executive functions and memory.
of our comfort zones. We may fear Most crucially, chasing hobbies that
looking foolish or making mistakes. offer positive and meaningful experi-
But there are advantages to being ences makes us happier and could also
an adult learner. If you’ve chosen to make us more adaptable to the inevi-
explore a hobby, it’s because you gen- table changes in life, says Heisel.
uinely want to. You’re motivated to “When we look ahead to the future,” he
learn. And you bring a wealth of

80 december 2020

adds, “most of us are also concerned MAKE A CONNECTION,
with life satisfaction and enjoyment, AND DON’T GIVE UP
not just warding off cognitive impair-
ment, as important as that may be.” If new hobbies don’t in and of them-
selves have a social element, it often
GO WITH THE FLOW doesn’t take much to make them
social, says Heisel—and it can help
Once you find a hobby that you hap- to keep you invested and having fun.
pily look forward to doing, more ben- If you want to learn to paint, learn to
efits will come—especially if you tap paint with other people. If you want
into “the flow.” That’s the term coined to garden, get to know the horticultur-
by prominent psychologist and author ist at your local garden centre. If finding
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to describe a physical community is too challeng-
when you’re fully immersed in a chal- ing (and these days it can be), go
lenging, absorbing activity—time flies, online, find a group, build social con-
self-consciousness disappears and the nections and try new things, all while
world around you melts away. staying comfortably close to home.

Sixty-six year old Rob Doggett rec- Here’s how it works for me: I now
ognizes that flow every time he climbs take trumpet lessons over Zoom, which
on his Suzuki dual-sport motorcycle. holds me to playing at least once a week
“Being on the road, it’s exhilarating,” he (I’m accountable); my teacher is an
says. “The wind whistles in my helmet, impossibly patient and lovely person (I
and I’m laser-focused on everything feel supported); when I started in Feb-
around me. There’s no time for day- ruary, I promised my son that I’d learn
dreaming. It tests everything: attention to play “Happy Birthday” for when
to detail, alertness, mental stamina.” he turned three in May (I gave myself
a goal and a deadline); and I even par-
Doggett, a retired restaurant owner, ticipated in an online summer recital
learned to ride when he was in his (I connected with a new community,
mid-50s. He’d always been drawn to under pandemic conditions no less).
motorcycles but wasn’t comfortable
taking on the risk of riding until his I know playing trumpet won’t solve
three children were grown. It’s now my existential middle-aged-mom cri-
part of a collection of activities—golf, sis, but it’s loud and it’s fun and I like
curling, umpiring rec-league baseball, that I can toot-toot my way through a
handiwork—that he does to stay active “Happy Birthday” serenade for special
in retirement. “The more active I am, people. Plus, I’m investing in future
the more reason I have to get out of fulfillment, a more balanced life and
bed in the morning,” says Doggett. “It long-term fine-tuning for my brain,
keeps me young.” which all feels pretty great.

rd.ca 81

reader’s digest

Three hundred and fifty-five years ago, two
cunning coureurs de bois persuaded King Charles II

to back their beaver pelt trading scheme.
The incredible origins of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Voyageurs at Dawn,
an 1871 painting by
Frances Anne Hopkins

SOCIETY

BY Stephen R. Bown

FROM THE COMPANY: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE HUDSON’S BAY EMPIRE

rd.ca 83

reader’s digest

In the summer of 1665, Médard pair’s tales of a great sea that they (PREVIOUS SPREAD) FRANCES ANN HOPKINS/E011154434_S1/LIBRARY ARCHIVES CANADA
Chouart des Groseilliers and claimed to have seen with their own
Pierre-Esprit Radisson, two cour- eyes. He correctly surmised that the
eurs de bois from North America, king’s financial advisors would want to
sailed upriver on the Thames hear their incredible tale and its prom-
toward the sprawling metropolis of ise of riches.
London. They had a business proposi-
tion to discuss with English financiers, They disembarked and were taken
after having been snubbed by author- for a series of interviews with promin-
ities in New France and merchants in ent members of the royal court, culmi-
New England. The two men stood at nating with an audience with King
the railing, sniffed the air, and smelled Charles II. Charles was a flamboyant
smoke as the buildings on the outskirts hedonist known as the Merry Monarch
of the city drew near. because of the gaiety and social liveli-
Mounds of rotting refuse were ness of his court. The son of Charles I,
heaped outside the city gates, the whole who had been beheaded in 1649 at
place infested with small black rats— the conclusion of the English Civil
rats that were the hosts of fleas, and War, the younger Charles had spent
fleas that bore the bubonic plague bac- 11 years in exile in France and the
terium. Plagues had ravaged the city Dutch Republic while England was
every generation or so since the 1300s, bowed under the weight of the dour
but 1665 saw the worst outbreak in a and repressive Puritan rule of Oliver
century. At its height, in the fall of 1665, Cromwell. He had returned to become
the Black Death killed more than 7,000 the king of England, Scotland and Ire-
people each week in London alone. land only a few years earlier, in 1660.
The stench of death permeated the
air, and carts lumped with corpses A man of good humour, fond of cele-
trundled down detritus-strewn roads. bration, sumptuous furnishings and
Clutching perfume-doused handker- fine clothing, Charles was a subject of
chiefs to their faces, the duo continued gossip, particularly for his numerous
upriver to the city of Oxford, where the mistresses, seven of whom bore him a
royal court had fled to escape the pes- total of 12 children. But Charles was
tilence. The men were taken ashore also an astute statesman, acknowl-
by Colonel George Cartwright, King edged for reviving the Royal Navy,
Charles’s commissioner who had first reforming laws and taxes to encourage
met them when he was in Boston after commerce and overseas trade, and
the British conquest of New Amster- supporting the arts and sciences. The
dam. Cartwright was astonished at the Restoration period was the beginning
of an age of unbridled optimism, ripe
for new ideas and bold undertakings.

84 december 2020

But Charles’s dissolute ways were a other grizzled and contemplative; Gro-

financial burden. His numerous mis- seilliers was approximately 20 years

tresses and children and the mainte- older than Radisson. Both had spent

nance of Whitehall Palace (then the bulk of their lives on the fringes of

Europe’s largest, sprawling over 23 acres French colonial settlement along the

of grounds) were a great drain on the St. Lawrence.

nation’s purse. Charles saw mercantile A ship’s captain described Radisson:

opportunities as a means to satisfy his “Black hair, just touched with grey,

insatiable desire for money to fund hung in a wild profusion about his

his grandiose dreams. The expansion of bare neck and shoulders. He showed a

trade and commerce became national swart complexion, seamed and pitted

concerns, and the king formulated by frost and exposure in a rigorous cli-

many of his national policies, including mate. A huge scar, wrought by the tom-

wars, through the lens of commerce. ahawk of an Indian, disfigured his left

He was also receptive to a plan that cheek. His whole costume was sur-

could make him money while damaging mounted by a wide collar of marten’s

the prospects of the French, with whom skin; his feet were adorned by buck-

England was frequently at war, by skin moccasins. In his leather belt was

undercutting their trade from the St. sheathed a long knife.”

Lawrence. The English knew that the Groseilliers had first made his way

prosperity of the French colonial out- to New France in 1641, when he was

posts was based on a highly profitable around 23. After the Iroquois drove the

trade in quality furs. Other members Huron from their traditional lands by

of the English court also perked A painting of the Nonsuch, one of the HBC
up at the scheme put forth by ships, returning to London in 1669.
the two French travellers, a

scheme that promised to shaft

COURTESY OF THE HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY the French in the fur trade while

making a profit for themselves.

The plan was the genesis of one

of England’s most storied com-

mercial enterprises.

although partners in many
escapades, Groseilliers and
Radisson were very different.
They were brothers-in-law, one
young and charismatic, the

rd.ca 85

reader’s digest

the early 1650s, Groseilliers set out was treated kindly and adopted. He
roaming west toward Lake Superior, learned to hunt and was trained in
searching for them in an effort to warfare before being taken on raiding
re-establish ties to the fur trade. forays against neighbouring peoples
to the west.
Radisson was between the ages of 11
and 15 when he arrived in New France But he longed for his former life.
in 1651. According to his own some- One day he was travelling with a hunt-
times fanciful reminiscences, he was ing party of three Mohawk and a cap-
not in the community for more than a tive Algonquin. The Algonquin captive
few months before he was captured by persuaded him to help kill the three
a roving band of Mohawk while out Mohawk while they slept by crushing
hunting birds. He was taken captive to their skulls. “To tell the truth,” he
their settlement along the Mohawk admitted, “I was loathsome to do them
River in New York, a village of at least mischief that never did me any.” Yet he
a thousand people in dozens of great nevertheless “tooke the hattchett and
communal longhouses surrounded by began the execution which was soone
farms. Although the family was headed done.” The two quickly fled the scene
by a man who boasted 19 European of the murder, but after two weeks of
scalps, young Radisson, owing to his travelling north through the woods,
facility with their language and his they were tracked down and recap-
professed desire to learn their ways, tured by the Mohawk. The Algonquin

Pierre-Esprit Radisson (below)
and a painting depicting a 1672
public sale of traded furs.

86 december 2020

(FAR LEFT) COURTESY OF DOUBLEDAY CANADA; (LEFT) COURTESY OF THE HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY man was quickly killed, and Radisson French River to Lake Huron and then
was saved only because he disavowed west along the south shore of Lake Supe-
any role in the murders. rior, following the well-travelled route.
The two brothers-in-law and their Huron
He again fled in 1653, but this time companions ranged far and wide in the
south along the Hudson River, and then Great Lakes region beyond the territory
successfully back to New France, where through which Europeans had ventured.
he met with his brother-in-law. Radis- The curious duo continued travelling
son, now in his early 20s and also an west of the Huron lands along the south
experienced traveller, convinced Gro- shore of Lake Superior and beyond.
seilliers to hire him for an expedition
planned for 1659. Radisson had grown THEIR KERNEL OF
accustomed to adventure and its atten- AN IDEA FOR A
dant hardships and would never settle
down to a conventional life. TRADE NETWORK
WOULD TRANSFORM
Despite political opposition from
various people in the administration NORTH AMERICA.
of New France, Groseilliers secured a
vague permit to leave the community They overwintered southwest of
and negotiated a profit-sharing agree- Lake Superior in what is now Minne-
ment. When Governor d’Argenson sota, where they were invited to parti-
demanded they take two servants with cipate in a great “Feast of the Dead”
them, Radisson, suspecting they would celebration. Over 1,000 people came
hinder his movements and spy on his together in a great camp where the fes-
activities, replied insolently that he tivities included smoking ceremonies
would gladly take the governor along, and ritual gift giving, feasting, drum-
but not his servants, whereupon the ming, dancing and singing, games and
governor grew angry and forbade him sporting contests. The two men now
to leave Montreal. dug deep into their supplies for goods
they had hauled all the way from Mon-
This was only a minor setback, and treal and displayed them, both to trade
the brothers-in-law decided to leave and as gifts, an enticement for future
under cover of darkness. When a group trade. Many had seen these items from
of Huron and Odawa offered to allow the east before, but not the strange
Radisson and Groseilliers to accom- people who produced them. Items
pany them on their return journey west, presented by the Frenchmen included
to make a larger group for safety against
marauding Iroquois, Radisson and Gro-
seilliers agreed, and they secretly canoed
up the Ottawa River and down the

rd.ca 87

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hatchets, knives, kettles, combs, mir- seeds, coloured embroidery—and of
rors, face paint and little bells and course to share news of the land.
brass rings for the children.
Radisson and Groseilliers formed the
From the Cree who had travelled kernel of an idea that would eventually
from the northern forests they traded transform northern North America:
for the glossiest and largest beaver they could tap into this well-developed
pelts they had ever set eyes upon, and intercontinental trade network that
heard tales of great rivers that flowed was lacking in certain goods—primar-
north to a frozen sea, a “salt sea,” per- ily metal tools, implements and weap-
haps the very sea that maps showed ons—that even now were not present
had been navigated by English mari- in large quantities among the mix of
ners a generation earlier. Around goods generally available.
campfires in the evenings they heard
tales of massive herds of bison on the in early summer the two travellers con-
plains and “the nation of the beefe,” as tinued their journey by returning east,
they called the Sioux farther west. this time tracking the northern shore
of Lake Superior and then canoeing
THEY PADDLED BACK downstream following rivers through
TO THE ST. LAWRENCE the northern evergreen woodlands,
LEADING 60 CANOES travelling with parties of Ojibwa and
then Cree over the established por-
LOADED WITH A tages, trails and river systems. Groseil-
MOUNTAIN OF FURS. liers and Radisson were quickly realiz-
ing just how interconnected things
The two travellers learned of the were outside the orbit of the fledgling
great trade fairs in the Mandan villages settlements of New France.
along the upper Missouri River. People
from thousands of kilometres away, Along the shore of James Bay, near
from all directions of the compass, the mouth of what is now called the
congregated to haggle and barter for Rupert River, they came upon the rudi-
goods such as northern furs, pipe- mentary hut that the English explorer
stone, buffalo robes, grease, ochre, Henry Hudson had constructed in
obsidian, eagle feathers, porcupine 1610, an “old howse all demolished
quills, fine leather, pottery, dried corn, and battered with boulletts.” If Hudson
wild rice, tobacco, dried herbs, pre- had been there before, ships could
served fish, precious stones, decorative navigate there again. The early English
mariners from a generation or two
before had been searching for the
source of an inlet to a mighty inland

88 december 2020

sea or a route through the continent to men set off for Boston—the next best
the nearly mythical South Seas and the place to seek sponsors for their grand
Spice Islands. What Groseilliers and and audacious scheme. That was
Radisson found instead was an El where they met Colonel George Cart-
Dorado of rich and thick furs from ani- wright, who extended an invitation to
mals that lived in lands with long, dark cross the Atlantic and present their
winters and deep snows. case to King Charles himself.

When the duo paddled back to the They had a plan that was sure to
St. Lawrence on August 24, 1660, lead- interest the English court: to use ships
ing 60 canoes and perhaps 300 Indig- to exploit the vast beaver preserves
enous traders, and loaded with a surrounding Hudson Bay, bypassing
mountain of furs, they were celebrated New France altogether and dealing
as heroes. But Governor d’Argenson, directly with the Cree who dwelt in the
out of jealousy and the intransigence heartland of the beaver. Ocean-going
of vested interests, insulted them as ships could easily transport a greater
mere provincials and seized a good quantity of furs than flotillas of canoes
portion of their furs on the grounds with time-consuming portages.
that they had been trading without a
licence. The adventurers retained Perhaps they could even cut off the
barely one-fifth of their earnings, and fur supply to the St. Lawrence, dama-
Groseilliers was even tossed in jail ging French political and economic
briefly. Having claimed a large sum interests and making a profit for them-
of their profits, the governor then selves in the bargain. It was almost too
promptly left for France that fall. good to be true.

Spurned by their own government ©EXCERPTED FROM THE COMPANY: THE RISE AND FALL OF
and annoyed at the corruption and THE HUDSON’S BAY EMPIRE BY STEPHEN R. BOWN.
restrictions on their activities, the two COPYRIGHT © 2020 STEPHEN R. BOWN. PUBLISHED BY
DOUBLEDAY CANADA, A DIVISION OF PENGUIN RANDOM-
HOUSE CANADA LIMITED. REPRODUCED BY ARRANGE-
MENT WITH THE PUBLISHER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Positive Influence

We have to inspire people and give them a sense of hope. We have to bring
people along, not ridicule and tear them down.

MASAI UJIRI

If you have wonderful moments, don’t second guess them. Just enjoy them.

MARTIN SHORT

Cynicism can often be mistaken for wisdom.

SARAH POLLEY

rd.ca 89

reader’s digest

HEART

StAar

Is Born

A chance encounter with A FEW YEARS AGO, at a medical labora-
a waiting room songstress tory clinic in Waterloo, Ont., an elderly
woman sat on the edge of a waiting
pulled my dad out of his room chair belting out the Celine Dion
Alzheimer’s fog tune “My Heart Will Go On.” Other than
a slight rhythmic rocking of her torso
BY Deborah Stock to the Titanic theme song, she was
motionless, with her eyes shut and her
FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL arms crossed elegantly over her chest.
illustration by dorothy leung With little effort, she was able to send
her sweet, high-pitched voice explod-
ing into every corner of the clinic.

rd.ca 91

reader’s digest

I had fun watching how people person’s patience and erode restraint,
reacted. There was a lot of shifting in Dad had experienced a few challen-
seats and a couple of stony sideways ging encounters in the past. I couldn’t
stares, but mainly they awkwardly help but think that this melodic little
averted their eyes and tried to pretend woman was playing with fire.
that there was nothing out of the ordi-
nary going on. Business as usual. This MY DAD DIDN’T
sort of thing happens all the time. SMILE, NOD, OR EVEN
ACKNOWLEDGE THE
I was at the clinic with my father,
who was getting a routine blood test, SINGER. IT DIDN’T
when the woman first arrived. She set- DETER HER ONE BIT.
tled into the seat directly across from
my dad. Because she was so tiny, she HER SINGING BEGAN gently, like a
was forced to perch on the edge of the quiet hum. I glanced over at Dad to see
chair so her feet could touch the floor. his response. His smile was gone, and
The position made it seem as though he was staring right at her. She was
she was sitting forward to engage in staring back. I couldn’t read his
conversation with him. She smiled at expression initially, but it seemed to be
him and he smiled back. something like confusion. This wasn’t
an unusual state for him, and I won-
I was concerned about how my dad dered if he was actually seeing her
would react to the possible encroach- at all or if he was lost somewhere deep
ment on his space. He was 77 years old in his mind, not really aware of her
at the time and had been living with presence at that point. Or maybe he
Alzheimer’s for several years. He came was trying to establish whether this was
into adulthood in the Swinging ’60s, someone he should know.
but he was definitely a product of the
’50s. He was a brilliant, introverted, Dad had never been one to partake
card-carrying Catholic military man comfortably in unnecessary conversa-
who was suckled and plumped on tion. Traditionally, he would relin-
guilt, obligation and humility. When quish that task to my mother, who took
he was healthy, he tolerated people’s over the responsibility with her own
eccentricities dutifully but with a brand of enthusiastic relish while he
healthy dose of silent reproach. Pri- sat contentedly on the outskirts as a
vacy and personal space were defi- silent but engaged participant. If we
nitely his thing, and he considered it had been more astute, we probably
wholly bad mannered to bring undo
attention to oneself. Since Alzheimer’s
has a tendency to play havoc with a

92 december 2020

would have recognized his declining Instead, he was starting to look
condition earlier. We would have entertained. His face softened, and the
noticed that, on the odd occasions tension eased in his brow. He no lon-
when he was drawn into a conversa- ger looked confused.
tion, he’d become increasingly reliant
on her to finish his thoughts or answer PEOPLE WILL TELL you that Alzheimer’s
questions directed to him. Without is a thief, that it steals your loved ones,
missing a beat, she would fill in all the slowly, day by day. There is, without a
blanks whenever he paused, and our doubt, so much heartbreaking truth in
attention was shifted away from him. that statement. The loss is painful and
unrelenting. But during certain experi-
It also took us some time to realize ences with my dad, things have hap-
that he had begun to abandon any pened that allowed me to see a side of
effort to nod politely or insert an him that I never knew existed. I will
obliging smile in appropriate places. hold onto those quiet moments when,
We just thought he was getting a little unsolicited and for the first time ever,
cranky in his old age. he held my gaze and told me tender
stories about when he was a child or
That’s what was happening now: regaled me with tales of his time in the
no more smile, no amiable nod, no air force, as if he knew that he didn’t
acknowledgment of any kind. Just a have much time left to show me who he
stare. This didn’t deter the diminutive really was. In a quiet and unexpected
songstress one bit, and her singing way, that’s also what happened for me
slowly got louder. By the time she got that day in the clinic. Alzheimer’s some-
to the chorus, “Near, far, wherever you times seemed to be peeling back the
are…” it was full-tilt belting. She was in onion of my dad’s true self, and while I
a meditative, eyes-shut, torso-rocking, hate that he struggled with this disease,
inner-diva-embracing trance. I love the sweet man I’ve met.

Now Dad looked a little stunned. When her song ended and the wait-
I tried not to laugh. It wasn’t that I ing room became silent, the woman
didn’t appreciate this woman. In fact, opened her eyes. My dad was still look-
I kind of loved her. I wanted to be her ing directly at her.
friend. But the thought of my tightly
wound, somewhat prudish dad being “That was beautiful,” he said.
serenaded in a packed medical lab by And she smiled and said, “Thank
this itty-bitty Celine Dion was just too you.”
delicious. Still, I watched cautiously,
waiting for any sign of an impending © 2019, DEBORAH STOCK. FROM “THE ODD ENCOUNTER
irritated outburst and was considering THAT PULLED DAD OUT OF HIS ALZHEIMER’S FOG,”
my options on how best to intervene. THE GLOBE AND MAIL (OCTOBER 22, 2019),
THEGLOBEANDMAIL.COM

rd.ca 93

HEART

The

Button Box
Bought at auction, a vintage cookie tin
reveals a lifetime of memories

“GOING, GOING, GONE, for $3 to bidder BY Karen Grissinger
number 43, the lady in the last row,
white hat.” The auctioneer called out my FROM COUNTRY WOMAN
auction number and location. I had just illustration by maria amador
won the bidding for a 1950s cookie tin
full of memories at an estate sale outside box. As a girl, I’d always enjoyed dig-
McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, near the ging through it, just as my own daugh-
farm where my husband and I live. ters enjoyed looking through mine.

Delighted at my victory, I took the I listened to the auctioneer’s patter
box and gave it a shake. The contents as more objects were bid on and sold.
rattled. I pried off the lid and took a I bought some lovely embroidered pil-
peek. Inside were dozens—or maybe lowcases and a few other things. Soon
even hundreds—of buttons, pins and my eye caught the movement of a swing
other items, all glittering in the sunlight. on the front porch of the house. A petite
It reminded me of my mom’s button

94 december 2020

reader’s digest
rd.ca 95

reader’s digest

older woman watched the happenings we had a good marriage,” she told me.
in her yard, her eyes wandering over “That’s the way it was in those days.
the crowd, looking for the familiar faces Someone always looked out for the wid-
of friends and neighbours. ows and children.”

As I carried my purchases to my car, As we sifted through the box together,
I stopped to chat with her. We made we found hairpins ranging from black
small talk about the large number of to brown to shades of grey and even
people that had gathered and the prices white. Each colour noted the passing
her things were bringing. She told me of time and its effect on her hair. When
she was selling almost all her posses- I pulled a small key from the box, I
sions because she was moving to a nurs- heard the sharp intake of her breath. It
ing home in town. was the key to a music box that played
a special love song, she said. She’d lost
Her eyes fell to the button box, and it years ago. From my hand to hers, I
when she looked up, they were glisten- passed the key to her memories.
ing with tears. I asked whether she
minded if I sat with her awhile. She slid We found a Sunday school pin hold-
over to make room for me next to her ing a bar for perfect attendance in
on the swing. every year except one. She explained,
“The year my mother was sick with
I took the lid off the tin, and her cancer, I stayed home on Sundays
gnarled hand lifted a handful of buttons with her so my father could get to
and then slowly dropped them back into church. He never missed a Sunday until
the container. Her fist closed around a he died, 15 years ago.”
delicate pearl button, now yellow with
age. She smiled as she told me about Garter clips, wooden nickels, snaps
the birth of her first child and the spe- and ruby buttons took her further down
cial pearl-buttoned christening outfit memory lane. I learned about her wed-
that would be worn by five more babies ding, the birth of her children and much
before time wore the garment thin. more of the life she’d led for 89 years.

I noticed a large, dark brass military After our chat, I set the woman’s box
button and asked her about it. “From of memories down on the swing and
my first husband’s uniform,” she said. slid my hands into hers. I knew we
“It’s one of the few things I had to would talk again, when I went to visit
remind me of him when he didn’t her at her new home. And I knew that
return home alive.” when I reached my own home, my
heart would pull me to my sewing
They had been married seven room, where I would rediscover my
months before he left to serve his coun- own lifetime of memories in my own
try in the Second World War. “I mar- button box.
ried his best friend two years later, and

96 december 2020

DOWN TO BUSINESS noticed she’d been paid
less than usual, and she
confronted her boss.

“How come you
didn’t say anything
when you were over-
paid?” her supervisor
inquired.

The employee
replied, “Well, I can
overlook one mistake,
but not two in a row!”

— GCFL.NET

Lorne was an amateurbiotic. In Case of Emergency
There was a safety
meeting at work today.
The presenter asked
me, “What steps would
you take in the event of
a fire?”

“Big ones” was the
wrong answer.

— REDDIT.COM

SUSAN CAMILLERI KONAR The Truth Hurts is a good quality.” Poor Sport
A guy went in for a job The man replied, I quit my job working
interview and sat down for Nike. I just couldn’t
with the boss. “I don’t care what do it anymore.
you think!”
The boss asked, — REDDIT.COM
“What do you think is — HUMOURTHATWORKS.COM
your worst quality?” Are you in need of some
One day, an employee professional motivation?
“I’m probably too received an unusually Send us a work anecdote,
honest,” the man said. large paycheque. She and you could receive
decided not to say any- $50. To submit your
“That’s not a bad thing about it. The fol- stories, visit rd.ca/joke.
thing,” said the boss. lowing week, she
“I think being honest

rd.ca 97

reader’s digest

Forty people gathered at a
hotel high in the Italian Alps.

Then came the earthquake,
the devastating avalanche—

and the race to find survivors.

BY Joshua Hammer FROM GQ

illustration by steven p. hughes

98 december 2020