Reader's Digest - 04.2020

W hen a group in Minneapolis– NBA, not the Miami Sunshine or the
St. Paul started an Ultimate Miami Delightful Beach Weather.
Frisbee team, it could have
chosen a name to honor the two cities, And then there are the teams
like the Twins. Or something about the named after potentially deadly natu-
region’s heritage, like the Vikings. Or a ral disasters endemic to their re-
celebration of the great outdoors, like gions. The San Jose Earthquakes,
the Timberwolves or the Wild. the Colorado Avalanche, the Miami
Hurricanes, and the Iowa State Cy-
Instead, the Minnesota team in the clones. What attracted you to Ames?
American Ultimate Disc League is The chance of encountering a deadly
called the Wind Chill. twister!

It’s a curious thing, that some pro- There’s the Chicago Fire of Major
fessional teams choose names not League Soccer, named after an event
from their city’s best features but that killed about 300 people. It’s not
instead, arguably, from their worst. even the first team by that name, as
It doesn’t seem as if the windchill, there was a Chicago Fire in the old
which regularly dips deep into nega- World Football League of the 1970s.
tive territory in the Twin Cities, would
be a local selling point. IT’S THE MIAMI HEAT
OF THE NBA, NOT THE
Ben Feldman, a team co-owner, has
an explanation: “In Minnesota, we MIAMI DELIGHTFUL
experience some of the most brutal BEACH WEATHER.
windchill temperatures in the winter
months, and we want our opponents Perhaps the name refers to some-
to feel that very same pain when they thing else? Nope. The soccer team’s
step onto the field to play against us.” website notes that the moniker was
revealed on the 126th anniversary of
Fair enough. But what about the the famous fire. But don’t worry; the
New York City affiliate of the Premier Atlanta Blaze of Major League La-
Ultimate League? With so many great crosse assures us that its name makes
things to choose from in the city, the “no allusion to the burning of Atlanta
team picked the New York ... Grid- during the Civil War.”
lock. Perhaps the logic is wanting op-
ponents to feel pain similar to that of Plenty of teams are named after
being stuck in stop-start rush hour scary animals from their regions.
traffic. Few people in Florida would relish
an encounter with a gator, but the
Surely these teams could have
done something nice for their tour-
ism boards by trying to sugarcoat their
names. But it’s the Miami Heat of the

rd.com 49

Reader’s Digest Department of Wit

University of Florida chose the ani- region may continue. Perhaps we can
mal as its mascot. Names like that and look forward to the Los Angeles Mud-
the Arizona Rattlers of arena football slides, the New York Noise, and the
might be justified for the fear they San Francisco High Cost of Living. RD
theoretically strike in the hearts of
opponents. new york times (july 30, 2019), copyright © 2019
by new york times, nytimes.com.
That doesn’t quite explain minor
league baseball’s Savannah Sand
Gnats, though. The Island Packet,
which covers news in Hilton Head,
South Carolina, writes, “Sand gnats
leave awful little welts where they rip
skin to drink blood.” Go, team!

The old XFL had several odd names,
including two that seemed to high-
light their areas’ history of organized
crime: the New York–New Jersey Hit-
men and the Chicago Enforcers.

As teams seek more and more color-
ful names to stand out in a crowded
marketplace and sell merchandise,
the trend of highlighting the worst of a

- - - vvv- - -

Artificial or Elizabethan? That Is the Question

Researchers at IBM used artificial intelligence to analyze more than
2,600 Shakespearean sonnets, then asked the AI to use what it had “learned”

to create its own poem. Can you tell which of these stanzas is by the Bard?

A: With joyous gambols gay and still array
No longer when he twas, while in his day

At first to pass in all delightful ways
Around him, charming and of all his days

B: Thy glass will show thee how thy beauties wear
Thy dial how thy precious minutes waste

The vacant leaves thy mind’s imprint will bear
And of this book this learning mayst thou taste

answer: the machine wrote a; shakespeare wrote b.

50 april 2020

Reader’s Digest

Humor in

UNIFORM

“Highlight the battleship-gray.”

Soon after arriving at While serving as chief before I could get
basic training, we medical officer at Fort out, he pointed to
were marched to the Ritchie in Maryland, I the other end of the
base barbershop, attended a nearby building and said,
where we were told wedding. Since it was “The band entrance
we’d find a clipboard a formal affair at a is that way.”
with our names on it. country club, I went —Gordon
“Next to your name,” in my officer’s dress VanOtteren
the sergeant said, blue uniform. Grand Rapids, Michigan
“initial it.”
Once at the club, Got a funny story
Everyone seemed I drove up to the about the military or
OK with this order ex- entrance, where the your military family?
cept for one confused doorman promptly It could be worth $$$.
recruit. “Sergeant,” he came to the passenger For details, see page 3
said, “what if we don’t door and assisted or go to rd.com
have any initials?” my wife out of the /submit.
—Matthew Nazarian car. He then made his
Ocala, Florida way to my side. But

Cartoon by Danny Shanahan rd.com 51

Reader’s Digest

Diabetes Drug
May Help Treat
Breast Cancer

News From the In a new study,
researchers treated
WORLD OF certain types of breast
MEDICINE cancer cells in the lab
with metformin, a
THE RISK OF NOT medication used to
TRYING NEW FOODS help lower the blood
sugar levels of people
There’s actually a scientific term for the with type 2 diabetes.
fear of tasting unfamiliar dishes: food With less sugar to
neophobia. It’s not just the name that can feed on, these cells
be scary. A study from Finland and Estonia developed a sugar
found that people with this trait eat lower- “addiction,” which
quality diets overall and have an increased made them work
risk of type 2 diabetes—regardless of their harder to break down
age, sex, or weight. To add more variety the sugar. That extra
to your diet, you’ll need to be persistent. effort in turn made
“An individual may need to try a new food the cancer more vul-
10 to 15 times before getting accustomed to nerable to treatment
it,” says study coauthor Heikki Sarin. with anticancer drugs.
Researchers found
that when metformin
was combined with
a cancer treatment,
the cancer cells’
growth slowed by
76 percent. This new
approach is particu-
larly promising for
treating triple-negative
breast cancer, an ag-
gressive form of the
disease that doesn’t
respond well to exist-
ing treatments.

52 april 2020 | rd.com Photograph by The Voorhes

Thanks to BetterWOMAN,

I’m winning the battle for

Bladder Control.

ANTIBACTERIAL Frequent nighttime trips to
CLEANERS MAY the bathroom, embarrassing
HELP FUNGI leaks and the inconvenience
FLOURISH of constantly searching
for rest rooms in public –
In a study comparing rural and for years, I struggled with
urban homes, researchers found that bladder control problems.
while the city apartments generally After trying expensive
had fewer bacteria, they actually had medications with horrible side effects, ineffective
more fungi. The study’s authors exercises and uncomfortable liners and pads,
speculate that this may be due to city I was ready to resign myself to a life of bladder
dwellers’ use of antibacterial clean- leaks, isolation and depression. But then I tried
ing products. BetterWOMAN®.

“Maybe they’re scrubbing away When I first saw the ad for BetterWOMAN, I was
all the bacteria,” says Laura-Isobel
McCall, PhD, one of the study’s skeptical. So many products claim they can set
coauthors, “and now you have
this big open surface for fungi to you free from leaks, frequency and worry, only
grow on.”
to deliver disappointment. When I finally tried
While fungi have been less well-
studied than bacteria, researchers BetterWOMAN, I found that it actually works!
have found that certain strains cause
infections. Consider this permission It changed my life. Even my friends
to take it easier on spring-cleaning
this year. have noticed that I’m a new person.

And because it’s all natural, I can

enjoy the results without the worry

of dangerous side effects. Thanks :_ :..
to BetterWOMAN, I finally fought

bladder control problems and I won!

ALL NATURAL

Clinically-Tested Herbal Supplement

Reduces Bladder Leaks* • Reduces
Bathroom Trips* • Sleep Better All Night*

• Safe and Effective • Costs Less than
Traditional Bladder Control Options
Live Free of Worry, Embarrassment, and

Inconvenience

fcafotodigital/getty images Better Products -~- .." " .,,,..
for Better Aging!
~lcmurv CutCUltlin
Tested. Natural.
Effective. Trusted.
Now available
to you – call or
check online.

BLADDER MEMORY JOINT

Limited

Time Call Now & Ask How To Get A

Offer

FREE BONUS BOTTLE

CALL TOLL-FREE 1-888-635-5332

or order online: BeBetterNow.com

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not
intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Use as directed.
Individual results may vary. ©2020 Interceuticals, Inc.

Reader’s Digest News from the World of Medicine

MANY HEART Neck Scan sciepro/getty images
PROCEDURES ARE Could Diagnose
UNNECESSARY Alzheimer’s

G ot coronary artery disease? Think twice In a study of almost
before opting for a stent or bypass surgery to 3,200 people ages 58 to
improve your blood flow. Confirming the re- 74, those who had the
sults of a smaller study in 2007, a recent one found most intense pulses in
that for people with stable heart conditions, these the blood vessels in the
procedures are no better than medication neck (as measured by a
at reducing the risk of having a heart five-minute ultrasound)
attack or dying from heart disease. were up to 50 percent
more likely to suffer
Researchers followed 5,179 men symptoms of dementia
and women in 37  countries, all over the next 14 years.
of whom had stress-test results More intense pulses
indicating they had clogged ar- might damage blood
teries. Participants were given vessels in the brain,
lifestyle advice and prescribed leading to Alzheimer’s.
medication such as aspirin,
cholesterol-lowering drugs, or When REM
blood pressure–lowering drugs to Sleep Hurts
improve heart health.
According to a recent
Once dangerous blockages were experiment, people
ruled out, half the participants were become even more dis-
asked to continue with their lifestyle changes tressed about upsetting
and medication alone. The other half were assigned experiences if their REM
to undergo either bypass surgery (in which doc- sleep is fragmented. Re-
tors reroute blood flow around blockages) or an searchers believe that’s
angioplasty (in which doctors inflate a tiny balloon because REM sleep is
and/or place a stent in the artery to help widen it). the only time the brain
stops producing nor-
Contrary to what many in the medical commu- adrenaline, allowing it
nity expected, rates of heart attacks, heart-related to convert the events of
death, cardiac arrests, and hospitalizations for the day into memories.
worsening chest pain or heart failure were similar Without REM sleep,
regardless of treatment over the next four years. The bad feelings stay fresh
invasive procedures did provide one benefit: Those in your mind. RD
who had them felt chest pain less often.

54 april 2020 | rd.com

START YOUR DAY

PAIN FREE
with

Frankincense&Myrrh· NEUROPATHY

Fast relief for pain, numbness,
weakness and tingling.
GUARANTEED!

TFMWM~~ Frankincense

I'AII'. Rl ll l l Myrrh

. , ( !. . . . . . . ..

• P'rl loU"~
• Ju;t'••«
o """"olio ...

Pain relief in 15 minutes or less 081543900-190093 amazon
WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS.
cvs
www.frankincensemyrrh.com
mei•J• er
Manufacturers Coupon Expires 12/31/2021
~
3.00 RD420
INDEPENDENT
$ OFF PHARMACIES

:KHQ \RX EX\ 21( Á R] ERWWOH

Frankincense & Myrrh® NEUROPATHY

Find in the diabetic care aisle

Retailer: Wise Consumer Products Co. will reimburse you for the face value of this coupon plus $0.08
handling provided you and the consumer have complied with the terms of this offer. Invoices proving
purchase of sufficient stock to cover presented coupons must be shown upon request. Any other
application may constitute fraud. Coupon void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Consumer
must pay any sales tax Cash value 1/100¢. Reproduction of this coupon is expressly prohibited.
Mail to: Dept. Wise CPC, PO Box 42400, Blue Ash, OH 45242

COVER STORY

THEY GOT AWAY WITH

MURDER

Five whodunits that continue to confound the law

By Bill Hangley Jr., Andy Simmons, and Marc Peyser

56 april 2020 Photographs by Joleen Zubek

Reader’s Digest

WHO KILLED THE body parts. In the distance, she saw
BLACK DAHLIA? children on bikes. “It just didn’t seem
right,” she said later. “I thought I’d bet-
A former Los Angeles police ter call somebody.”
detective is sure he knows
who the murderer is, and the Within an hour, the overgrown lot
suspect is too close for comfort. was crawling with cops and report-
ers, all gaping at a dismembered
W inter mornings in Los corpse. The body of the victim—a
Angeles can be chilly, and small woman, about 118 pounds, dark
so it was as Betty Bersinger hair, five foot six—had been meticu-
pushed her daughter’s stroller along lously severed at the waist and emp-
the weedy sidewalks of Leimert Park tied of blood, and it was covered with
on January 15, 1947. In those days, LA bruises and violent lacerations. The
was full of half-finished developments woman’s liver hung from her torso.
like this: gap-toothed mixtures of Her mouth had been sliced from ear
bungalows and empty lots, construc- to ear. It was, said one eyewitness,
tion stalled by the war. “sadism at its most frenzied.”

As she approached 39th and Nor- All signs pointed to an agoniz-
ton at about 11 a.m., Bersinger spot- ing death at the hands of a disturbed
ted amid the tall grass and shattered soul—perfect fodder for LA’s rapacious
glass what she thought was a broken news biz. The victim, Elizabeth Short,
mannequin just feet from the street. was on every front page within hours:
A cloud of insects hung over pale an unemployed Boston girl with no
fixed address who’d once been named
SPECIAL “Cutie of the Week” while working the
PX at a nearby Army base. The owner
.... ..) aily Police Bullet in of a drugstore the aspiring actress fre-
.... , ..,., fl ,., .. ' ..... quented mentioned the floral nick-
name some of his male customers had
WAH 0 IHFOI ATIOH OH ELIZABETH SHORT for her, and the papers soon slapped
BctwHn 0 January 9 and IS, 1947 “Black Dahlia” on every story they ran.

lapd via fbi (flyer) For weeks, police and reporters fu-
riously chased one lead after another:
_ ...... ... _.....- . .......__....b ,,_... -••• I--·- lt.tlo \<OI I• · - -- " ' " - '.., . •••• ..,,_boyfriends, pimps—even folk singer
Woody Guthrie was fingered. The
.. --..--.._......._.".-..,":...~'_,"·._.'~,'"_,:"t,o:I' -: - weeks turned to months, the months
to years. The headlines faded. Even
the newspapers faded, replaced by

rd.com 57

Reader’s Digest

television. Officially, the case remained Father and son: George Hodel, at age 38 new york daily news archive/getty images (george hodel), rd photo studio
open. Unofficially, it ripened to legend, (left), and Steve Hodel (photo border). damian dovarganes/shutterstock (steve hodel)
spawning novels and films, a grisly re-
minder that all is never as it appears in came to accept that his beloved fa-
Hollywood. ther was anything but a model citizen.

No one knows that better than Steve Even so, when Tamar suggested
Hodel. Just five at the time of the mur- that George had been a violent killer,
der, he wouldn't learn much about it Steve’s first instinct was: “Impos-
untill999, when his halfsister, Tamar sible.” But as a police officer, he knew
Hodel, with whom he'd just recon- that only one thing mattered—the
nected, dropped this bombshell about evidence. “We go through life with
their recently deceased parent: "Steve, so much BS. To absolutely know the
did you know our father was a suspect what-is of something is the ultimate,”
in the Black Dahlia murder?” Steve he says. So he started digging. He con-
was shocked, not least because he was cluded Tamar was almost certainly
a retired Los Angeles police detective. right, given the evidence he uncovered:

As a boy, Steve knew his father as a ◆ Multiple sources said that George
powerful and charismatic but some- knew Short; the two probably met at
what distant figure. The son of Russian his health clinic, which specialized in
emigrants and a musical prodigy with treating venereal diseases.
an IQ higher than Albert Einstein’s,
George Hodel had started college at ◆ Just before the killing, George
15 and eventually became a physi- purchased cement in 50-pound bags.
cian and a chief medical official for Police found empty 50-pound ce-
the city of Los Angeles. He married a ment bags at the crime scene. (Steve
well-connected Hollywood beauty and believes that George killed Short else-
befriended luminaries, including the where and used the bags to transport
surrealist artist Man Ray. her to the park.)

“He’d walk into a room and all ◆ George was one of the few people
heads would turn,” Steve says. “He’d trained in the procedure used to sever
take control and mesmerize people.”

Steve was still a boy when his par-
ents divorced and George moved away.
The two reconnected when Steve was
a young man, and the son learned that
his father had a troubling side—an
unhealthy obsession with sex, a deep
disregard for women, and a powerful
need to control and manipulate. Steve

58 april 2020

Cover Story

tatiana/getty images (blood drip) Short’s body—an unusual, delicate for the brass,” says Steve. In an in-
technique known as a hemicorporec- famously corrupt era when would-be
tomy, in which the body is cut in two starlets such as Short counted for little
without breaking a bone. or nothing, it’s entirely plausible that a
well-connected man like George Hodel
◆ The killer sent letters and some could have made a murder investiga-
of Short’s possessions to the news- tion disappear.
papers soon after the murder; the
handwriting was a close match to Many agree with Steve’s hypothesis
George’s. about the Black Dahlia—“I have no
doubt,” says one senior LA prosecutor.
George initially came to the cops’ at- Others have their own theories, one
tention in 1949, after being charged in being that a bellhop murdered Short
the sexual assault of his own daughter, because she knew of his schemes to
Tamar. Witnesses claimed to have seen rob hotels. As Los Angeles newspaper
George molest the teen, but defense
attorneys argued that she had made “SUPPOSIN’ I DID KILL
it up to get attention. The jury acquit- THE BLACK DAHLIA.
ted him. By 1950, Steve learned, police
were investigating George for the Black ....THEY COULDN’T
Dahlia killing. They bugged his Laurel
Canyon mansion and recorded hun- PROVE IT NOW.”
dreds of hours of conversations. At one
point, police heard what sounded like columnist Steve Lopez puts it, “Once
an unidentified woman being beaten you step inside the cloud of mystery
to death and buried, though they never surrounding the Black Dahlia murder,
acted on it. Later, police heard the doc- there’s no way out.”
tor come close to confessing to Short’s
murder: “Supposin’ I did kill the Black Today, Steve Hodel toils on in Los
Dahlia. They couldn’t prove it now.” Angeles, trying to uncover the unde-
niable facts about his twisted father.
But, Steve learned, instead of ques-
tioning George about Short, the police “I loved Dr. Jekyll, the good part.
suddenly quit the hunt. And nobody He could have cured cancer, done so
tried to stop him when he left the much for humanity,” he says. “But Mr.
country in 1953 to spend the next Hyde was the stronger character.”
40 years in Southeast Asia.
Hodel realizes that he carries some
Why did the LAPD let him slip away? of his father’s traits—the better ones,
Steve has a simple theory: His father he hopes. “What my dad gave me was
had dirt on practically everybody, and the strength and the doggedness,” he
he used it. “He’s performing abortions says. “Those genes that served him in
for the rich and famous, for the cops, darkness serve me to pursue the truth.”

rd.com 59

CAPITOL MURDER

What did the
congressman know?

O n May 1, 2001, Chandra Levy, Condit’s office. Chandra had a date. domnicky/getty images (blood drip)
a 24-year-old college student The relationship reportedly grew
who’d just ended an internship
with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, quickly. Chandra confided to another
left her Washington, DC, apartment friend that her unnamed boyfriend
building and disappeared. Five days had promised to give up his seat in
later, after not hearing from their the House, divorce his wife, and start
daughter in all that time, Robert and a second family with her. Based on a
Susan Levy called the DC police from
their home in Modesto, California. As CHANDRA CONFIDED
police searched Chandra’s apartment, THAT HER BOYFRIEND
Susan looked through her daughter’s
phone bills, which she and her hus- WAS GOING TO
band paid. One number kept coming DIVORCE HIS WIFE.
up. They called it and were soon con-
nected with the office of Gary Condit, F It
their congressman.
similarly cryptic conversation Chandra
Chandra met Condit, 53 at the had with her mother, the Levys were
time, while visiting his office with a convinced that Condit had played
friend. He was warm and friendly, a role in Chandra’s disappearance
going so far as to personally give and shared that view with the media.
them a tour of the Capitol. By the Soon, reporters were camped outside
end of the day, the friend had a job in his home and office. Even some in the
DC police department suspected the

60 april 2020

Cover Story Reader’s Digest

shutterstock (levy). joe marquette/shutterstock (condit), The intern, the congressman, and the or even detect any important clues.
rd photo studio (photo border). greg mathieson/ flyer that blanketed Washington in 2001 However, the crime scene did re-
shutterstock (capitol)
congressman. Condit’s lack of direct- mind police of a series of attacks that
ness didn’t help him. When asked by had taken place at Rock Creek around
police whether he’d had an affair with the time of Chandra's disappearance.
Chandra, Condit replied coyly, “I don’t Two female joggers had been grabbed
think we need to go there, and you can from behind and dragged into a re-
infer what you want from that.” mote part of the park. They were for-
tunate enough to have fended off their
On May 22, 2002—386 days after attacker, a 19-year-old El Salvadoran
Chandra Levy had gone missing—a immigrant named Ingmar Guandique,
man walking his dog near a wooded who was convicted of those crimes
trail in Washington’s Rock Creek and serving a ten-year prison term.
Park stumbled upon what he at first When a jailhouse snitch alleged that
believed to be a sun-bleached turtle Guandique had confessed to killing
shell. It was Chandra’s skull. Her re- Chandra, he was charged with her
mains had been exposed to the ele- murder and, in 2010, tried, convicted,
ments for so long that an autopsy and sentenced to 60 years.
couldn’t determine the cause of death
Then a twist: A friend of the snitch
gave authorities secret recordings
in which he admitted to lying about
Guandique’s confession. Guandique
was released and deported to El Sal-
vador, and the identity of Chandra’s
murderer was once again a mystery.

By then, Condit’s career had dis-
solved. Two months before Chandra’s
body was discovered, he lost his Dem-
ocratic primary in a landslide. To this
day, no evidence has surfaced linking
him to her death, and he has stead-
fastly refused to say whether he had
an affair with her.

In Northern California, Chandra’s
grave is unmarked. The family will
put up a stone only once her killer is
found. And Robert Levy told the Wash-
ington Post what it will say: “My God,
my God, why have you forsaken me?”

rd.com 61

THE ATLANTA CHILD MURDERS

The question lingers: Who killed the 24?

F or two years, from the sum- “Every day, every night, it seemed
mer of 1979 to the summer of like they were finding bodies,” Sheila
1981, African American parents Baltazar, whose stepson, Patrick Bal-
in Atlanta were terrified. During that tazar, 12, was killed in 1981, told the
span, at least 24 black children and New York Times. “And we were just
teens vanished from the streets only to trying to hold on to our babies.”
turn up later as corpses. The first two,
14-year-old Edward Smith and 13-year- President Ronald Reagan ultimately
old Alfred Evans, were found by a sent Vice President George H. W.
woman rummaging through roadside Bush to Georgia to be briefed on the
woods for aluminum cans and bottles. murders. But the killer has never been
Seven-year-old LaTonya Wilson, one found.
of six children who disappeared over
the summer of 1980, could be identi- At least, not officially. Many Atlanta
fied only from her teeth and clothing residents believe they know who the
when her remains were found nearly killer is—and he is already in prison.
four months after she went missing. On May 22, 1981, police were staking
out the James Jackson Parkway bridge
when they heard a loud splash in the

62 april 2020

Cover Story Reader’s Digest

bettman/getty images (williams), rd photo studio (photo border). w ayne Williams has always denied any to charge him, former Fulton County
tatiana/getty images (blood drip) involvement in the murders. prosecutor Joseph Drolet told llAlive
in Atlanta, because Williams was al-
Chattahoochee River below. The only ready serving two life sentences for
person driving across the bridge at killing Payne and Cater.
the time was a 23-year-old failed mu-
sic producer named Wayne Williams. But not everyone is comforted by
The officers stopped and questioned that conclusion. Some residents think
Williams, then let him go on his way. Williams is innocent and that the Ku
Klux Klan was involved. A few of the
When the body of 27-year-old Na- parents contend that their children
thaniel Cater floated to the river’s were killed in some kind of govern-
surface two days later, Williams was ment conspiracy directed by the CIA
arrested and ultimately convicted of or the CDC, which is headquartered
murdering him and another black in Atlanta. Celebrated author James
man, 21-year-old Jimmy Ray Payne. Baldwin insisted Williams was sim-
Both men had been asphyxiated, ply a convenient patsy for city leaders
which was a leading cause of death in desperate to quiet the whole affair,
the child murders. Investigators found lest it tarnish Atlanta’s rising fortunes
carpet fibers and dog hairs on Payne
and Cater that matched those on ten SOME RESIDENTS
of the murdered children. Perhaps BLAMED THE KU
most telling of all: Williams was jailed
on June 21, and no more children •.KLUX KLAN;
were killed after that day.
OTHERS, THE CIA.
So did Williams murder some, or
even all, of the children? The authori- --
ties thought so, but they saw no need
in the 1980s, especially of the black
middle class.

But the murders may not stay un-
solved for long. Mayor Keisha Lance
Bottoms, who was a frightened nine-
year-old at the time of the last killing,
has ordered the police department to
reopen the case. “This is about being
able to look these families in the eye,”
Atlanta police chief Erika Shields told
the Times, “and say we did everything
we could possibly do to bring closure
to your case.”

rd.com 63

THE TOWN THAT
SAW NOTHING

A man was murdered in
broad daylight. Why isn’t
anyone talking?

T he most hated man in Skid- ready with an alibi. If none of that
more, Missouri, was a thief, a worked, a little bit of intimidation
bully, an arsonist—a jack-of- would do the trick. Once, a farmer
all-horrible-trades. He had no qualms who caught McElroy stealing two
about sticking a gun into an innocent horses filed charges but recanted af-
man’s belly and pulling the trigger, ter McElroy smashed in his face with
which he did. And he always got away a rifle butt.
with it. That is, until July 10, 1981.
The legal system seemed impo-
Ken Rex McElroy, 47, once de- tent against McElroy. When a farmer
scribed as “a big brute of a guy with named Romaine Henry surprised
slicked-back hair like Elvis,” was a McElroy on Henry’s land, McElroy shot
short-tempered man with a long rap him in the stomach. Henry survived
sheet. His criminal résumé listed live- and pressed charges, but McElroy pro-
stock rustling, assault, harassment, duced witnesses who swore he was
and attempted murder. He rarely home at the time of the shooting. A
faced time, thanks to the talents of jury found McElroy not guilty.
a cunning lawyer, Richard McFadin,
and a loyal cadre of friends always McElroy’s fortunes changed in
July 1980, when the local grocer,

64 april 2020

Cover Story Reader’s Digest

mayor and the sheriff gathered at
the American Legion hall to discuss
what to do. When someone ran in
and announced that McElroy had just
entered the nearby D&G Tavern, the
group descended upon the bar, sur-
rounding him. McElroy, undaunted,
grabbed the six-pack of beer he’d

THE PEOPLE FELT
BETRAYED BY THE LAW.

THIS TIME, THEY’D
HAD ENOUGH.

7

bettman/getty images (2), rd photo studio (photo Ken McElroy (top) and the truck in which bought. Then he and his wife saun-
border). domnicky/getty images (blood drip) 60 people didn’t see him get killed tered out of the D&G and into the
parking area, where he climbed be-
Bo Bowenkamp, accused McElroy’s hind the wheel of his Chevy Silverado,
eight-year-old daughter of stealing his wife by his side. By then, up to
candy. An enraged McElroy sought 60 men had drifted out of the bar
out Bowenkamp and fired a shotgun and neighboring businesses. Others
round into his neck. The 70-year-old peered out from behind the curtains
survived, and McElroy was arrested of store windows.
and tried. The jury convicted McElroy
of second-degree assault. He was sen- McElroy turned the key in the ig-
tenced to two years, then released on nition. But before he could put the
bond pending appeal. Two years for pickup in reverse, someone—or
shooting a man? Released on bond? maybe it was several someones—
The people of Skidmore felt betrayed started firing. The truck’s rear window
by the legal system yet again. This shattered. McElroy slumped over,
time, they’d had enough. dead. Everyone on the street that day
claimed to investigators not to have
On the morning of July 10, 1981, seen a thing.
a mob that allegedly included the
While some would call what hap-
pened to McElroy justifiable, McFadin
echoed what others believed when he
told the New York Times, “The town
got away with murder.”

rd.com 65

JONBENÉT RAMSEY

Did she know her murderer?

T he death of a beauty queen is strangulation with a macabre weapon tatiana/getty images (blood drip)
guaranteed to make big news, called a garrote.
and the murder in the Ramsey
house was especially shocking. It The fact that little JonBenét had won
happened on Christmas in 1996, in several beauty contests—including
an upscale neighborhood of Boul- Little Miss Colorado—added a layer
der, Colorado. The Ramseys were a
picture-perfect and prominent local OMINOUSLY, A
family of four. John Bennett Ramsey PRACTICE RANSOM
owned a successful software com- NOTE WAS FOUND
pany. His wife, Patsy Ramsey, was
a former Miss West Virginia. But IN THE HOUSE.
she was not the beauty queen who
was found dead in the basement, of twisted curiosity to the tragic
her mouth covered with duct tape, story. Pictures of JonBenét with full
her wrists bound with an electrical makeup and blond highlights wearing
cord, her body wrapped carefully, fancy costumes and gowns filled TV
almost lovingly, in a white blanket. screens and magazines for months.
The murder victim was the Ramseys’ Some wondered what kind of parents
six-year-old daughter, JonBenét. The would objectify a little girl like that.
cause of death was a broken skull and The tabloids had a field day: Maybe

66 april 2020

Cover Story Reader’s Digest

ric feld/ap/shutterstock (ramseys), rd photo studio (photo border) JUSTICE for that outside of
JONBENET?......._..,, the family or the
business. Most
HEWTWISTS IN A2G-YEAR MYSTERY ominously, a

The tabloids chased the Ramseys for practice ransom
years, but they were never tried. note was found
elsewhere in
Patsy had killed her daughter in a fit the household.
of rage over some kind of imperfec- The Ramseys proclaimed their in-
tion, such as wetting the bed. Maybe nocence, and police found evidence
JonBenét’s nine-year-old brother, that could arguably point in other di-
Burke, was consumed by jealousy rections. In the basement, there were
of his beautiful sister. Maybe John two windows left open, a third that
had been abusing his daughter in was broken, and an unlocked door.
some way. Police went on to discover a string of
robberies in the neighborhood in re-
When the police searched the Ram- cent months. There were also 38 reg-
seys’ stately Tudor home, they found istered sex offenders living within two
a potentially telling piece of evidence miles of the Ramsey’s house. Maybe
resting on the kitchen staircase: a ran- JonBenét’s pageant career had at-
som note. Written in neat but slightly tracted a predator. Or maybe the killer
rushed print, it began: “Listen care- knew the family. For a time, suspicion
fully! We are a group of individuals fell on a former housekeeper and a
that represent a small foreign faction.” neighbor who played Santa Claus.
The writers demanded precisely Still, the spotlight never moved far
$118,000. Suspiciously, $118,000 was from the Ramsey family, and in 1999
almost exactly the amount of a grand jury indicted John and Patsy
John Ramsey’s year-end bonus. on two counts of child abuse that re-
Not many people would know sulted in the death of their daughter
(though not murder itself ). But the
Ramseys were never tried: The dis-
trict attorney believed the charges
were unprovable. Separately, the DA
announced that JonBenét’s brother,
Burke, was not a suspect either.
After a long struggle with ovarian
cancer, Patsy Ramsey died in 2006,
at age 49. She is buried next to her
daughter in Marietta, Georgia. RD

rd.com 67

Reader’s Digest

11 11 11 111111

HEALTH & MEDICINE

11 11 11 111111

Old
advice: Pain
pills, high-tech
tests, shots, and
surgery. The latest
science: Harness your
brain, lace up your
sneakers, and
go low-tech.

By Sari Harrar rd.com | april 2020 69

Illustrations by James Steinberg

After Marty Huggins fractured her her opioid pain
lower back four years ago, she says relievers, nothing
she spent “two years lying on a fuzzy helped.
brown sofa in our family room. I was
afraid I would hurt my back if I moved What did it
even a little.” The pain forced the take for Huggins
65-year-old from Stafford, Virginia, to to finally tame
retire from her job as a physical edu- her pain? She
cation teacher and competitive jump changed her
rope coach, and she stopped going brain.
to the gym completely. But despite
countless visits to specialists, who per- She started by
formed tons of tests, gave her dozens researching pain-
of steroid shots, and regularly offered management
programs and
ultimately found
the Chronic Pain
Rehabilitation
Program at the
Cleveland Clinic, which was near
the home of one of her daughters.
Huggins enrolled in several classes
on how the brain and body interact.
She learned how to relax with mind-
fulness meditation and to tame her
fear and anxiety about her back pain
with cognitive behavioral therapy
(CBT). She also discovered the impor-
tance of good sleep and overcame her
hesitation to start exercising again.
Huggins even began taking an antide-
pressant, not because she was clinically
depressed but because the medication
helped turn down the volume on the
pain messages sizzling through her
nervous system.
“Now I hike Shenandoah Mountain.
I go boating and fishing on the Po-
tomac River with my husband and our
grandchildren,” she says. “You really
can calm your body down and change

70 april 2020

Health & Medicine Reader’s Digest

your brain to lessen the pain. I’ve never for example, 342 people with chronic
spent another whole day on that sofa!” lower-back pain were randomly
divided into three groups. Patients
Could the cure for chronic and in one group got “usual care”—
short-term back pain start with sim- whatever treatment and advice their
ply changing your attitude? The idea individual doctors provided. Along
sounds crazy. Back pain causes real ag- with receiving any medical care
ony for 58 million Americans and fuels needed, a second group practiced
an $87 billion treatment industry of mindfulness meditation and yoga
high-tech scans, spinal cord injections, and the third went to CBT classes
opioid painkillers, and surgery. And yet for eight weeks. About 44 percent
the evidence continues to mount that of people in both the meditation
these approaches may not help—and and the CBT groups had significant
could even make things worse. pain improvement after six months,
compared with just 26 percent of the
In the first study of long-term opi- “usual care” group.
oid use for back pain, published
in March 2018 in the Journal of the “Mind-body therapies and physi-
American Medical Association, par- cal therapy are often as effective as or
ticipants who took opioids had higher more effective than surgeries and in-
pain levels a year later compared with jections, despite seeming less ‘medi-
those who took acetaminophen or a cal,’” says Dr. Jimenez. “They’re also
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. safer.”

COULD THE CURE They’re not recommended in every
FOR BACK PAIN START case, of course. Some pain does re-
quire more invasive, and immediate,
WITH CHANGING treatment. If your back pain comes
YOUR ATTITUDE? with bowel or bladder problems, or
if you have progressive muscle weak-
“Long-term use of opioids can ness in your legs—for instance, if your
actually worsen pain, along with knees keep giving out or you keep
causing dependence,” says Xavier tripping—call your doctor right away
Jimenez, MD, medical director of the or go to the emergency room.
Cleveland Clinic program that helped
Huggins. Meanwhile, the latest re- “If the pain radiates down your
search from prominent pain experts leg or causes numbness and tingling
is revealing how surprisingly effec- in your leg or foot, see your doctor.
tive low-tech strategies can be. In a It could be a compressed nerve root
2016 University of Washington study, that needs attention,” says back pain
researcher Anthony Delitto, PhD,
PT, dean of the School of Health and

rd.com 71

Rehabilitation Sciences and professor or spinal problems that need to be
in the Department of Physical Ther- addressed,” says pain scientist Beth
apy at the University of Pittsburgh. Darnall, PhD, an associate professor
in the Department of Anesthesiology,
Back pain that lasts 12  weeks or Perioperative and Pain Medicine
more is considered chronic. If the at Stanford University School of
cause isn’t obvious (a fall or a car Medicine.
accident, for example), don’t just treat
the symptoms with, say, an NSAID If your back pain is new, continue
such as ibuprofen. It’s important to your daily activities, but take it easy
work with your doctor to figure out when exercising. Most of the time,
what’s going on. “Pain can be a signal you’ll start feeling better within three
of ongoing tissue or nerve damage days. Once you’re on the upswing, talk

72 april 2020

Health & Medicine Reader’s Digest

to your doctor about incorporating helping with weight control, and—
the following strategies to help you bonus!—triggering the release of feel-
stay pain-free. good brain chemicals. In a 2013 Israeli
study of 52 nonexercisers ages 18 to
•••• 65 with lower-back pain, a treadmill-
walking program did as much as
Exercise on Your Own or in back exercises to bolster supportive
Physical Therapy “core” muscles and improve the pa-
tients’ ability to perform day-to-day
Walking and other activities can im- activities.
prove your back by strengthening
muscles, relieving tension and stress, Don’t like walking? “Try an ellipti-
cal trainer, a bike, swimming, or any
other activity that’s fairly easy on your
back but lets you move,” Delitto sug-
gests. “If you feel some discomfort, try
to continue for 10 to 15 minutes. Then
reassess how you feel a few hours
later. Chances are, you’ll feel better
than before your exercise session.”

Other research suggests that yoga
may be as good as physical therapy for
chronic lower-back pain. In fact, yoga
and tai chi are among the nondrug
therapies that the American College
of Physicians recommends back-pain
sufferers try before turning to pain
relievers, especially prescription-
strength ones. In one recent national
survey of people with back pain,
90 percent who tried yoga or tai chi
experienced relief, compared with
64 percent who simply followed their
doctor’s advice.

If you’re nervous about exacerbat-
ing your back pain when you exercise,
ask your doctor for a referral to a phys-
ical therapist. In a May 2018 study,
researchers found that people with
lower-back pain who tried physical

rd.com 73

Reader’s Digest

therapy before other treatments were nervous system so it doesn’t react as
89 percent less likely to need opioids strongly to pain. CBT, which helps you
and 15 percent less likely to end up in spot negative thoughts and craft posi-
the emergency room. tive alternatives, can stop the cycle of
fear.
••••
“Thoughts like ‘I can’t do any of the
Harness Your Mind things I love because of my pain’ can
be replaced with thoughts like ‘There
Pain scientists are looking closely at are many things I can do today de-
an all-too-common mind-set called spite my pain’ and ‘Even though I feel
catastrophizing. “It’s normal to pro- challenged right now, I can use sev-
tect your back when it hurts,” Delitto eral strategies to help calm and soothe
explains. “But for some people, this myself,’” Darnall explains.
leads to worry that any movement will
do more damage. So people stop ex- DISRUPTED SLEEP
ercising, stop going to work, stop do- MAY AFFECT PAIN
ing everyday activities. That leads to SENSITIVITY AND
weaker muscles, stiffer joints, weight INFLAMMATION.
gain, and depression and anxiety.”
It doesn’t take much time to make
Catastrophizing plays a major role a difference. In a 2014 study of
in whether acute back pain becomes 76 women and men with a variety of
chronic and how well people respond chronic pain problems, Darnall found
to treatment. It has also been linked that just one two-hour session of CBT
to greater dependence on opioids. helped participants catastrophize less
Catastrophizing may even feed into within a month.
“central sensitization,” a cruel feed-
back loop in which the brain inter- ••• •
prets little twinges as agony.
Make Deep Sleep a Priority
“Research shows that when catas-
trophizing is treated, pain inten- Nearly six in ten people with back
sity decreases. Daily functioning pain say it interferes with sleep, which
improves. And the structure of the sets off a vicious circle. “Sleep is our
brain in areas involved with pain pro- body’s way of natural recovery,” notes
cessing actually changes, so that the Kevin Ho, lead researcher of the Uni-
benefits persist,” Darnall says. versity of Sydney’s Musculoskeletal

Mind-body therapies such as medi-
tation, progressive muscle relaxation,
and deep breathing help calm your

74 april 2020

Health & Medicine

Research Group. “Emerging evidence In other research, exercises that
suggests that disrupted sleep may strengthen core muscles in the torso
upset body processes, including pain reduced back pain, improved sleep,
sensitivity and inflammation in the and helped relieve depression and
brain and spinal cord.” anxiety.

A recent University of Sydney re- ••••
view of 24 studies involving more than
1,550 women and men took a closer Add Low-Tech Soothers
look at how much sleep can help back
pain. It found that people who tried Recent research has confirmed that
CBT or took melatonin or eszopiclone massage and heat not only feel good
(brand name Lunesta) had a 35 per- but also can deliver lasting relief for
cent improvement in sleep and a chronic lower-back pain. In a study
14 percent improvement in pain. published in the journal Pain Medi-
cine, participants got ten massages
Just adjusting your sleep position over the course of 12 weeks. Half
could help. In a 2016 Portuguese reported clinically meaningful pain
study of 20 women in their 60s with improvement during that time, re-
lower-back pain, those who slept on gardless of the type of massages they
their sides with a pillow between their enjoyed, and most continued to feel
legs or on their backs with a wedge better at 24 weeks.
pillow under their knees reported
significantly less back pain after four Similarly, by boosting blood flow
weeks than a control group that didn’t to the area, heat wraps, patches, and
change their nighttime positioning. creams help ease back pain caused
by muscle aches, according to a 2016
analysis in the Journal of Chiroprac-
tic Medicine. In addition, studies
have shown that massage and heat
help people get and stay more active,
which also eases pain.

Over-the-counter transcutaneous
electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
devices use a low-voltage electrical
current to increase blood flow. In a
2019 Harvard University study, back-
pain sufferers who used a TENS device
experienced significant drops in pain
and improved quality of life. RD

rd.com 75

111111 111111 Desirée
Mieir
NATIONAL INTEREST
Desirée had no
111111 111111 idea how finan-
cially stressful
WHY ARE being married to
a service member
MILITARY would be. “When
FAMILIES the twins were
ON FOOD born, there were
STAMPS? times we would
make pasta for a
***** couple of dollars
and stretch that
Some of America’s bravest out for half the
are going hungry. Why aren’t week. Then we’d
we doing more to help them? think of some
other simple dish
to last the rest of
the week.” The
family isn’t eligible
for food stamps,
so the food pantry
Desirée frequents
is a lifesaver.

By Cynthia McFadden, Christine Romo,
and Kenzi Abou-Sabe

from nbc news

Photographs by John Francis Peters

76 april 2020 | rd.com

Reader’s Digest

Reader’s Digest National Interest

esirée Mieir has four children under the age of
ten, including a set of eight-year-old twins, and
a husband in the Navy who has been deployed for

Dseven months. She knew life as a military spouse
would have challenges, but she never imagined
that the biggest one would be feeding her kids.

“Today was not a good sale day,” wouldn’t say we’re check-to-check,
Desirée says as she and the kids leave but pretty darn close,” says Me-
their local San Diego supermarket. lissa Carlisle, whose husband, like
When you’re on a tight budget, she Desirée’s, serves in the Navy. “If a tire
adds, “you kind of have to get creative. blows, that’s it. We don’t have much
Some days we go to a food pantry.” in the bank. People have this illusion
that we [in the military] are rolling in
That’s right: To put food on the ta- dough, but we’re not. We’re just really
ble, the Mieirs, along with thousands good with the little bit of money that
of other military families around we get.”
the country, rely on the kindness of
strangers. Data from the 2017 annual Cen-
sus Bureau survey shows that 16,000
At Dewey Elementary School, a
truck full of fruits and vegetables “I WOULDN’T SAY
arrives every two weeks, courtesy of WE’RE CHECK-TO-
a hunger-relief organization called CHECK, BUT PRETTY
Feeding San Diego, a member of Feed-
ing America. A team of volunteers DARN CLOSE.”
quickly sets up a distribution line in
the gym where families—military active-duty service members received
folks, the newly unemployed, the food stamps that year. But that num-
homeless—will pick through non- ber doesn’t include the thousands of
perishable items such as beans, rice, military families around the country
and flour along with the fresh produce, who are not eligible for food stamps
all of which are free to those in need. because they make too much money
to qualify and yet routinely rely on
“I knew we wouldn’t be wealthy,” charities or loans from family to get
Desirée says about life in the military. by. In fact, a survey from Blue Star
“But I thought it would be a lot more
manageable. I didn’t know I’d have to
try this hard.”

Her one solace: She’s not alone. “I

78 april 2020 | rd.com

COCONUT Akiko Lame

Lame and her
husband, a Navy
officer, relied on
support from the
U.S. government’s
WIC food program
during the four
years they were
stationed in Japan.
They no longer
needed assistance
when they moved
back to the States
in 2017, but when
a friend asked
Lame whether she
wanted to help fel-
low military fami-
lies by volunteering
at Feeding San Di-
ego, she said yes.
For the past year,
she has been work-
ing there at least
once a week. “I’m
very happy to be
with them, helping
the people,” she
says. “Everybody
says thank you.”

.I~ I{ •

( -.".,

Reader’s Digest

Families, a military-spouse support and a transient life—moving from
group, says 13 percent of military base to base—that makes it challeng-
families report trouble making ends ing for spouses to build careers when
meet, compared with 7 percent of they don’t know when and where
civilians. their families will be transferred next.
Desirée Mieir was a phlebotomist
Their struggles are caused by a va- back home in Oklahoma. But once her
riety of factors: the high cost of living husband, Dan Mieir, was stationed in
in cities such as San Diego, difficulty San Diego, they estimated they would
qualifying for federal food assistance,

Hungry Mouths to Feed

Military spouses start lining up early outside the Feeding San
Diego food pantry at Dewey Elementary. One problem these
families face is that the Pentagon has yet to grapple with the
military’s changing demographics, Amy Bushatz, the executive
editor at military.com, told NPR. “You’re no longer looking at
a 17- or 18-year-old kid right out of high school with no family
who’s receiving that base-level pay. You’re looking at somebody
in his or her late 20s who might have a couple of kids.”

National Interest

pay more in childcare than they’d allowance is treated as income, and
make if Desirée joined the workforce. that additional “money” is often
enough to make a family ineligible for
That lack of a second income is a federal food assistance known as the
big hit for the Mieirs. As a communi- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
cations officer in the Navy, Dan makes Program (SNAP), as is the case with
$34,279 a year before taxes. That’s just the Mieirs.
under the national poverty level for
a family of six. The military does pay Enlisted service members do re-
for their housing, but the housing ceive a food allowance, about $373
per month, but that sum is intended
for the member alone, not his or her
family, and it does not increase if one
has dependents.

At Dewey Elementary School,
which the Mieirs’ three eldest chil-
dren attend, Principal Tanya McMillin
sees food insecurity on the students’
faces every day. “We are 80 percent

AT DEWEY
ELEMENTARY, 70% OF
THE KIDS GET A FREE
OR REDUCED LUNCH.

military and 70 percent free and re-
duced lunch,” she says. “So, essen-
tially, members of our military are
paid so poorly they qualify for free
lunch and breakfast.” As a result, she
has students with parents on the front
line who go to bed hungry sometimes.
“It’s shocking.”

Vince Hall, the CEO of Feeding San
Diego, says that much of the problem
is geographic. “Many of these families
are the hardest-working people I’ve

rd.com | april 2020 81

Reader’s Digest

ever met,” he says. “They’re focused In 2019, Feeding San Diego provided
on skipping meals so that their kids 2.3 million meals to military families.
have something to eat. I take great
pride in the work that we do here, available to us,” she says. “We’ve met
but I take no pride in the fact that our with financial counselors provided
country stations families in San Diego by the military. We have done that
and doesn’t pay them enough money work.” And yet she and her husband
to live in San Diego.” still barely scrape by.

But it’s not just San Diego. Records Former Navy fire controlman Crys-
from the Department of Defense re- tal Ellison left food insecurity behind
veal that during the 2018–2019 school only when she left the service. For
year, a third of children at DOD-run most of the 13 years she spent man-
schools on military bases in the United aging complex weapons systems and
States—more than 6,500  children— high-powered radars, she had to rely
were eligible for free or reduced on loans from her in-laws to feed her
lunches. At Georgia’s Fort Stewart, family.
over 65 percent were eligible. Mazon, a
group that combats hunger, has found “I found it embarrassing,” she ad-
that there are food pantries on or near mits. “I felt like, you should be able to
every military base in this country. provide for your family and not lean
on anybody else. That’s what you’re
“There’s nothing wrong with going supposed to do as an adult.” It was
to a food pantry when you need emer- especially difficult when she was a
gency help,” says Josh Protas, Mazon’s junior sailor and the pay was lower.
vice president of public policy. “But “If you didn’t have enough money
there’s no reason that those who are saved up, you were definitely in the
serving in the armed forces should hurt locker.”
have to do that on a routine basis.”
Ellison is now in the private sector
For its part, the DOD sees the prob- and no longer struggling financially,
lem of food insecurity in the military
as being minimal. Troops are well
paid, they insist; there’s a subsidized
grocery store on each base; and
families can avail themselves of the
financial-literacy training the military
provides.

Desirée Mieir did seek financial
help from the military. She says
it didn’t help. “My husband and I
have taken advantage of resources

82 april 2020

National Interest

***WHAT A MILITARY SPOUSE

WANTS YOU TO KNOW

Desirée Mieir loves her four young children, her sailor husband,
and her country. But she feels the financial burden every day.

Nonmilitary friends embarrassing.’ I don’t health insurance I do,
don’t get it: “The mind- think that way anymore.” because a lot of Ameri-
set of many Americans cans don’t. Still, a lot
is, If you work hard, It’s about priorities: of things a typical subur-
you’ll be fine. If you tell “How can we have new ban family should be able
someone from outside billion-dollar warships to do, my family can’t.
of the military community when our sailors are We’ve never been to
that you shop at a food struggling to eat? I used Disneyland.”
pantry, they’re like, ‘Oh, to see on the news,
are you mismanaging ‘Support the troops.’ Through it all,
your money?’” Then why don’t they pay she has learned
them enough to live more about empathy:
The guilt is crippling: comfortably?” “I no longer take things
“For a while there for granted. As a result,
were lots of tears on We yearn to be I’m really aware of
my part: ‘What am I middle-class: “I’m people who have less
doing wrong? This is grateful that I have the than others.”

but she wishes more Americans knew sleeveless dress and holding a sign
that food insecurity among the lower that reads, “Hey Sailor, after 212 days,
enlisted ranks of the military is a this Missus Needs Kisses.”
problem. “We’re giving 100 percent to
the country, and the country doesn’t Later that day, Dan sneaks into
give it back.” his twins’ classroom at Dewey El-
ementary. The second they spot their
On the morning of May 20, the USS father, they leap up from their desks,
Stockdale, a guided-missile destroyer, run past their schoolmates, and
slowly docks at Naval Base San Diego. jump into his open arms, shrieking,
Jubilant sailors disembark. One of “Daddy’s home!” Two beautiful
them is Dan Mieir. Among the throng words, which, for today, push away
of loved ones waiting is Desirée, wip- all the worries. RD
ing away tears of joy, anxiety, and ex-
citement. She’s wearing a flaming-red nbcuniversal archive (july 12, 2019), copyright
© 2019 by nbcuniversal archive, nbcnews.com.

rd.com 83

f

A

A

1•

I

I

84 april 2020 r Illustrations by Nomoco

r

l l lm- Reader’s Digest

HUMOR

• 111111~111

•

/---· .
• . . .• .~ -~~ ·i_1.

. .#~ IJ ·1

How I Know It’s

SPRING

It’s not the calendar that alerts me. In my small town,
the telltale signs are the ones that melt my heart.

By Philip Gulley

from the saturday evening post

rd.com 85

0

t~ ...

very year, I circle the vernal equinox on our refrig-
erator calendar so the first day of spring won’t slip
by unnoticed. I’m not sure why I depend upon the
calendar to announce spring’s arrival, since it has so
little bearing on the matter. Spring comes when it’s
good and ready; sometimes well before its appointed
day, sometimes well after.

For years, spring in our town was Queen to an out-of-town outfit who
heralded by Leon and Jo Martin, who kept it open year-round, it threw off
owned the Dairy Queen. Every year, our town’s circadian rhythms some-
after their winter sojourn to Florida, thing terrible. We’re still not sure
they would post the words “Now Hir- when spring begins.
ing” on their sign. I would walk past,
see the sign, see Leon and Jo ready- Well, that’s not entirely accurate.
ing for their spring opening, and feel When the implement store on the
winter’s icy veil lift from around me. west edge of town, where Johnston’s
It was as accurate an indication of IGA grocery store used to be, stops
spring as any calendar, and when they selling snowplows and starts selling
died and their children sold the Dairy lawn mowers, that’s a pretty good sign
winter’s grip has loosened.

86 april 2020

Humor Reader’s Digest

If they should drop the ball, Frank takes a week off in February to treat
Gladden is sure to stand at our his wife to a cruise, you can bet he’ll
Quaker meeting and announce that still be wearing his coat while float-
volunteers are needed for our spring ing around the Caribbean. No matter
fish fry. Frank’s announcement is as where he is, his internal thermostat is
reliable as any clock and invariably set for Indiana.
tinged with worry and regret that this
might be the last year of the fish fry if There are other signs of spring if
volunteers aren’t forthcoming. one is watchful. The deer lighten in
color, the dog sheds, the buds swell,
“We’re not getting any younger,” he the snow melts on the south hillside,
announces to the congregation. Frank and the bloodroot in our woodlot
is 82 years old, but he’s been saying pushes out its petals. The calf ap-
that since 1961, so we Quakers aren’t pears, tethered to its mother by bonds
alarmed. The Fairfield Friends Fish of hunger. The farmer casts the ma-
Fry is as constant as sunrise. If Jesus nure upon the field, thoughtfully pro-
were to return on the clouds the day vided by the aforementioned calf and
before the fish fry, the men would sol- mother. Who needs a calendar when
dier on, undeterred. a calf is nearby?

But let us suppose both the imple- Nothing seems impossible in
ment store and Frank Gladden neglect spring—a cure for cancer, wisdom in
their duties and we are cast adrift, Washington, weight loss. Anything can
oblivious to spring’s arrival. We would happen, and often does. I proposed to
then have to look and see whether Bill my wife a dozen times in the winter
Eddy, our town’s plumber, was wear- and was denied each time, so I waited
ing a coat. until spring and popped the question
a 13th time, an unlucky number. But
When the first leaf withers and falls even superstition takes a back seat
to the ground in autumn, Bill pulls to the glories of spring, and she con-
on his tan Carhartt coat and doesn’t sented. Engaged one spring, married
remove it until spring. I’ve known Bill the next. Between that and the Dairy
since we were in first grade together, Queen, what more could one want? RD
so I am well acquainted with his
habits. He wears that Carhartt every- saturday evening post (march 21, 2018), copyright
where, inside and outside, and if he © 2018 by philip gulley, saturdayeveningpost.com.

---------- "~" ----------
You’d Better Bee-lieve It

If bees made beer, we would be taking better care of them.

blore40 on reddit.com

rd.com 87

Reader’s Digest IH( INif'RVI(\J CoNSISTS

All ol= IHR[[ Qo[S110NS...
in a Day’s

WORK

At a loss for words? So of clean clothes and tea and then spill it in mark parisi/offthemark.com
were these employees: didn’t feel like doing the lap of whoever’s
✦ I forgot the word ar- laundry.” bugging you.
ticulate in an interview —Lauren Emily ✦ The only thing worse
and instead said, “I’m on Facebook, via than seeing something
good at saying things.” buzzfeed.com done wrong is seeing it
— @kathy_hirst done slowly.
✦ I couldn’t remember Office Motto Makeovers
the term lab coat so ✦ Nothing ruins a —humorthatworks.com
had to go with Friday more than the
“science blazer.” understanding that After pulling three
— @Rustmonster today is Tuesday. double shifts in a row,
✦ I am a librarian, and ✦ Feeling stressed out? my brother Billy, a
I forgot the word book. Make a nice cup of hot hotel clerk, was worn
So I told a new patron, out. On one of his
“We have a diverse
selection of thingies.”
— @DunsLibrarian

A coworker once
showed up to the office
in a white wedding
dress with a crinoline,
beading—the works.
When our manager
asked why she’d worn
her wedding dress to
the office, my coworker
replied, “I was out

88 april 2020

Spotted on a business marquee in THE CUSTOMER IS
Tacoma, Washington: MY BOSS TOLD (NOT) ALWAYS RIGHT
ME TO CHANGE THE SIGN, SO I DID.
✦ The Outside-the-Box
—K.H. North Platte, Nebraska Thinker award goes to
the customer who called
tanya constantine/getty images few breaks, he went The first doctor had a travel agency asking
to the hotel restaurant read the EKG upside about legal requirements
to grab a bite. down. while traveling in Eu-
—Suzanne Clarke rope. “If I register my car
When his food Brownsville, Oregon in France and then take
came, Billy, his mind it to England, do I have
in a fog, bowed his Our booking office had to change the steering
head for the blessing three phones. One wheel to the other side
and whispered these day during lunch, of the car?”
words to God: “Good I was responsible for
evening, Holiday Inn, answering all of them. - CUSTOM ERTH INK .COM
how can I help you?” It was a constant
—Bob Cook repeat of “May ✦ The Gutsiest
Ashland, Kentucky I help you?” or Customer of the Year
“Will you hold?” award goes to a woman
Feeling ill, my super- I guess I got confused in Texas who pulled a
visor went to a nearby because I surprised cake off a Walmart shelf
doctor, who ordered one man on the other and devoured much of it
an EKG. Upon reading end of the line when while shopping. When
the results, the doctor I answered his call she reached the checkout
declared that my boss with, “May I hold you?” counter, she demanded
was suffering a cardiac —Vera Granger that she be given a
arrest and called an Arizona City, Arizona steep discount for the
ambulance to whisk cake since half of it was
him off to the hospital. Anything funny missing. Walmart had a
There, doctors per- happen to you at work? better idea—they banned
formed their own tests. It could be worth $$$. her from their stores.
But those came back For details, go to page 3
negative. After some or rd.com/submit. —the week
quick sleuthing, the
problem was solved:

rd.com 89

Reader’s Digest

HH E R O

90 april 2020 | rd.com Photograph by Adam Murphy

~IIIWII

SPECIAL REPORT

mm111111

f.:/ -

O E S IN THE
HEARTLAND
It has been 25 years since a truck
bomb ripped through a federal
office building in Oklahoma City.
The tales of courage and survival
amid the horror that day are as
searing and inspiring as ever.

By Henry Hurt

A firefighter’s valiant effort to save a
young life (left) symbolized the day.

The artifacts shown here are now
stored at the Oklahoma City National
Memorial and Museum.

Reader’s Digest Special Report

At around six on the morning of April 19, opening spread: charles porter iv/zumapress.com (inset). this page: jim argo/getty images
1995, the area around the nine-story
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in the
heart of Oklahoma City began to come alive
as hundreds of people—workers, visitors,
folks with government business—converged
on the downtown area.

Among those heading toward the pulled the yellow truck up to a park-
building that day was a man driving ing spot on the street in front of the
a large yellow truck, its sides em- Murrah Building. The truck was just
blazoned with the black-lettered logo east of the center of the north-facing
Ryder. building. Thirty feet away, above
the entrance, the children of the
Inside the 20-foot truck were America’s Kids childcare center were
4,800 pounds of a ghoulish, volatile playing. Some of them had parents
mixture of diesel fuel oil and gray who worked in the 18-year-old
ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which glass-and-granite-clad building,
filled as many as two dozen 55-gallon which housed 16 federal agencies.
blue plastic barrels. The entire truck
was a lethal bomb. Just a few minutes before 9 a.m., the
man lit the fuse and walked away. In
Shortly before 9 a.m., the man the day care center, the smallest chil-
dren had been placed in their cribs to
settle down for naps. The older chil-
dren sang their favorite songs, then
had free time to play.

The fireball that hit the Murrah
Building seven thousandths of
a second after detonation put
1,000 pounds of pressure on every
square inch of the structure’s surface.
It lifted all nine floors upward,

92 april 2020

bill waugh/ap/shutterstock More than 500 people worked in the the floors collapsed, sandwiching
Murrah Building (facing page and together and funneling thousands of
above). The rescue and recovery effort tons of debris down toward a giant
lasted for 16 days. crater blasted out by the bomb.

shearing off the connecting steel A few minutes after the blast, a
reinforcing bars (called rebar) and breeze lifted the smoke and dust,
demolishing three of the building’s and sunlight flooded the groaning
major support columns. carcass that the Murrah Building had
become. Its cheerful face was gone—
Desks, file cabinets, and chairs completely ripped away. The cav-
became deadly shrapnel. Chunks of ity carved out by the bomb reached
concrete—ranging from fist-sized to almost to the rear of the structure.
wall-sized—were tossed about. Mil- Daylight shone clearly from the other
lions of shards of glass, as well as plas- side. Twisted cables spilled from the
tic from the bomb, became sharpened top. Grotesquely contorted rebar jut-
daggers that sliced through the air at ted wildly in all directions. Fire and
the speed of bullets. burglar alarms shrieked from nearby
buildings, which took some of the
In violent undulations, whole brunt of the explosion.
floors were ripped loose from their
moorings. Then, yielding to gravity, Within minutes, a rallying cry
spread through the confusion: the

rd.com 93

Reader’s Digest

childcare center. It was obvious that For some reason, Hull stopped just
those children were the highest pri- a moment to pick up the dead baby
ority for rescue. With sirens drowning and straighten out its arm. “I heard
out the crescendo of screams, rescu- a huge gasp,” Hull says. “And blood
ers by the hundreds began to arrive. burst from the wounds, as if jostling
They struggled into the jagged heaps the body somehow started the heart
of rubble, seeking America’s Kids on going.”
the second floor.
Hull pressed the infant against his
But soon they realized there was chest, holding the mangled arm in
no childcare center. There was no place, and began crawling upward
second floor. through the heavy rubble. He and
his fellow officers had been handing
What rescuers did find as they off living victims in a sort of bucket
clawed through the wreckage was brigade to the outside. But Hull was
what had been left behind by the afraid the baby’s arm would fall off if
children: pieces of clothing, shred- he did that. So he struggled on.
ded books, a small crumpled shoe,
a crushed toy, a stilled mobile. Most When the baby stopped gasping,
horrifying, however, was the almost Hull began to administer rudimentary
unspeakable human evidence of the CPR, breathing into the child’s mouth
powerful evil that had descended and nose. This happened twice on the
upon this place: a baby’s arm, a bat- way out. As Hull broke from the build-
tered torso, a chubby finger. ing and headed for the closest triage
area, he found himself screaming over
One of the first into the building was and over, “Breathe, baby, breathe!”
Det. Sgt. Don Hull of the Oklahoma
City Police Department. He and fel- As he reached an ambulance, Hull
low officers crawled through mazes saw a couple running toward him—
of twisted rebar and shifting concrete the woman screaming that it was
slabs. The air was so thick with dust her baby in his arms. Hull swiveled
that rescuers—many of them, like Hull, away, not letting them see the child.
dressed in business suits and with no “I couldn’t let them look,” he says. “It
special equipment—were forced to was too horrible. The baby probably
take breaths as shallow as possible. wasn’t going to make it, and I didn’t
want that to be the last sight they had.”
Early on, Hull saw a baby in the rub-
ble he thought to be dead. A massive “Hold the arm tight!” he yelled to
gash marked the side of its face, but a paramedic, finally handing the
there was no blood, and no movement. baby off.
The baby’s arm was twisted around so
grotesquely—nearly wrung off—that It was 9:30 a.m., and Hull, like
bone protruded from the biceps. so many others, would be there for
hours—until he quit from exhaustion.

94 april 2020

1. The building’s 2. The explosion Special Report
nine collapsed occurred 30 feet
floors made from a childcare FIRST RESPONDERS
the rescue center.
treacherous. The initial response of local medical
teams was as impressive as that of the
1 police, fire, and rescue units. Melissa
Webster, a manager at an ambu-
lance service, was at the scene with
an ambulance 90 seconds after the
blast. Fearing that her own trembling
building was about to collapse, she
had fled from her desk to the street
and had seen the black smoke rising
six blocks to the south. She and a col-
league leaped into an ambulance with
six other paramedics.

Within an hour, her paramedics—
only one team of dozens—had sent

2

from top: roman bas/afp/getty images. david longstreath/shutterstock

rd.com 95

Reader’s Digest

more than 200 of the wounded to hos- husband tapped on the door to see
pitals and managed to treat hundreds whether she was OK.
of others. By then, all the company’s
ambulances had arrived, and they Quietly, a few days later, Webster
were loading as many as five injured checked on the young woman she had
people into each vehicle. refused to declare dead. The woman
had horrendous injuries that would
Eventually, Webster came face-to- take months to heal. But she was alive
face with the worst dilemma to con- and would get well.
front paramedics in triage. A young
woman lay before her with terrible Scenes like this were common-
neck and head injuries. “She’s not place as one of the best-organized
breathing,” said one of Webster’s as- rescue efforts in history went into ac-
sociates. “You’ll have to call her”— tion. Within hours, search-and-rescue
meaning that Webster needed to tag teams were en route from California,
her as too far gone to help so they New York, Washington State, Arizona,
could move on to assisting people Maryland, Florida, and Virginia. In
with better odds of survival. addition to support from K-9 search-
dog teams, the most sophisticated
Webster felt for the woman’s pulse. technical equipment in the world was
She wasn’t breathing at all, but her brought to the scene—tiny television
heartbeat was strong. Webster knew at cameras that could peer into remote
that moment she could not “call” her. crevices, infrared devices that could
“Her pulse is as strong as mine,” she detect body heat.
said. She would see that the woman
was given a chance. RESCUE FROM THE
RUBBLE
“Put her in the ambulance and get
her on a ventilator,” Webster told a Priscilla Salyers saw bright stars. An
colleague. She turned to minister to investigative assistant for the Customs
others. Service, located on the fifth floor, she
had been talking to her boss, Paul Ice,
She remained at the scene for at 9:02 a.m. when a thunderous, gale-
12  hours. Later, at home, Webster force roar of wind whooshed past her
fell into the arms of her husband head. Then silence. And blackness.
and their son and daughter. Covered Salyers tried to move but could not.
in soot, she retired to take a shower. She sensed a tremendous pressure.
She had managed not to break down, Something seemed to be crushing
but when the hot water hit her body, her head.
for some reason all the experiences
of the day cascaded upon her. There I’m having a seizure, she thought. Is
in the shower, she cried uncontrol- it a stroke? Am I paralyzed?
lably for the next hour—until her

96 april 2020

Special Report

But her mind was too clear, she Salyers’s greatest terror was that the
thought, for her to have had a stroke crushing pressure on her head was
or heart attack. She told herself, If I becoming greater and greater. She
can just get my head up off my desk ... prayed for calm and wisdom, realiz-
ing that if the men began working on
Nothing. Salyers realized there was top of her, it could push the pressure
little she could move except for her on her head to a breaking point. She
left wrist and hand. Her mouth was also wondered why the men thought
filled with earthy-tasting powder.
There was a powerful pressure on her SOMETHING SEEMED
head from something that seemed to TO BE CRUSHING HER
be slowly crushing her skull. HEAD. SHE THOUGHT,
IS THIS A STROKE?
She was facedown with her rump
higher than her head, which was they were at the day care center, three
twisted toward her right. Her right stories below her office.
arm was pinned under her, and her
left arm splayed outward. With the But then the voices were gone.
fingers of her left hand, Salyers be- Eerie silence returned. Her breath
gan trying to dig into the dirtlike sub- was coming much faster now, and
stance of the powdered concrete. She she began to feel sleepy. But I’ve got
also began to pray for God to give her to pick up Josh at school, so I need
the strength to survive. to stay awake to do that, she thought.
Salyers had continued to rotate her
Oddly, her most immediate annoy- left arm and hand. She prayed that
ance was a piece of chewing gum in her hand was visible and that she
her mouth that had become an irri- would be able to wave it if she again
tant. The gum was infused with a foul heard voices.
grit, and Salyers desperately wanted
to get rid of it. But her mouth and jaw Suddenly, she heard a shout off to
were so tightly constricted that it was her left: “Hey! Here’s a live one!”
impossible for her to spit it out. It was
all she could do to breathe. Then Salyers felt someone take her
left hand and hold it and rub it. Her
About 30 minutes into her entomb- muscles first went limp with joy and
ment, Salyers heard the far-off voices relief—then she squeezed the hand
of men. Then, suddenly, close by, she as hard as she could. When the man
heard a man speak sharply: “OK, this asked her name, she summoned all of
is the day care center. We have a lot of her strength to say, “Priscilla!”
children in here.”
The man realized how hard it was
Salyers tried to speak, to scream, to for her to talk, so he did most of the
let the man know she was there. But
she couldn’t make her mouth work.

rd.com 97

Reader’s Digest

talking—the sound of his voice flow- it was her colleague Paul Ice and that
ing into her brain like a glorious perhaps he was in the same situation.
symphony. She squeezed the hand, but it was cold
and unresponsive. For the first time,
Salyers indicated to the man that she she began to weep.
didn’t know what had happened. “The
building blew up,” he said. “We don’t Then, out of nowhere, a loud voice
know why, but we’re checking it out.” boomed, “Hey, over here!” The scene
By this time, others had crawled into was just like the first time—though the
the cramped, cavelike area to remove voices were different. A man took her
the rubble piece by piece. At every mo- hand, and she squeezed back.
ment, someone held Salyers’s hand.
“Get me out of here,” she pleaded.
Then, as her hope rose, the man Then she closed her eyes and waited
holding her hand spoke gently: “Pris- and prayed. The men explained each
cilla, we’re going to have to leave now. step they took, the most danger-
We’ll be back, but we have to go get ous one being to remove a massive
a tool.” What he did not say was that metal-and-concrete column virtually
rescuers were being evacuated be- resting on her head. It was a miracle
cause of a bomb threat. that it had not slipped a single centi-
meter more. Above her were the awful
She gripped the man’s hand with all sounds of circular saws and pneumatic
her might and found new breath as she tools. The rescuers worked fast, know-
begged him not to leave, wondering ing that at any instant the groaning
why they all had to go. She wouldn’t re- building might shift at this location.
lease the man’s hand. She felt him gen-
tly pry her fingers loose. “I’m so sorry,” Salyers’s legs and body were freed
he said, his voice cracking. “We don’t first, and then both arms. The rescu-
have any choice. We’ll be back. I prom- ers told her the hardest part would be
ise.” Then they were gone, and Salyers last—getting her tightly pinned head
was alone in the terrible silence. free by trying to lift the monstrous
column crushing her and, at the same
Her first reaction was a mixture of moment, whisking her out from under
terror and anger. Because of the rub- it. When she was dragged free, terrible
ble that had been removed, her body pain exploded in her—she had broken
was not as tightly constricted, though ribs, a collapsed lung, and countless
her head was still in a viselike grip. nasty puncture wounds all over her
body. Four hours and 15 minutes had
As she writhed, she realized there passed since the bomb exploded. She
was something poking her in the was so shaken, she hardly heard the
stomach. She worked her hand around cheers from rescuers and bystanders
so that she could feel the protrusion. as she was carried from the rubble.
It was a hand—a man’s hand, judging
by its size. Her heart leaped, thinking

98 april 2020