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SOLDIER’S GREAT ESCAPE “We Nearly Came Undone” PAGE 108

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Living Well 26 35 EVERYDAY MISTAKES Some daily habits could harm your health and happiness. Here’s what they are and how to fix them. BRANDON SPECKTOR

Heart 34 THE RED TOOL BOX Art has the uncanny ability to bring people together. BEVERLY RHODES

Inspire 40 THE PRISONER AND THE GUARD The respect prison inmate John McAvoy so craved as a criminal was earned instead as a sportsman. BRUCE GRIERSON

Wisdom 46 FAMOUS QUOTES P. | Well-known clichés everyone gets wrong. 40 BRANDON SPECKTOR FROM RD.COM

Drama in Real Life 48 CAN’T ANYONE HEAR ME? In a coma, Richard Marsh watched helplessly from his hospital bed as doctors asked his wife whether they should turn off his life support machine. TOM HALLMAN

Science 56 THE MARS FRONTIER The space race to the red planet hots up as researchers test people and equipment in inhospitable terrain. DAVID LEVELL

Life Lessons 64 SECRETS TO A SMARTER YOU Memory champions share techniques to improve memory and never forget anything. P. |

COVER: NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA LIBRARY NATIONAL COVER: ANDREA AU LEVITT AND BRANDON SPECKTOR 48

April•2018 | 1 Contents APRIL 2018

First Person 69 A SCARY SYMPATHY About to have an operation? Be warned. People won’t shy away from sharing medical misadventures. OLLY MANN

Who Knew? 72 ANATOMY OF A SNEEZE A-choo! The distance those nasty germs can travel is nothing to sneeze at. BRANDON SPECKTOR

Drama in Real Life 74 THE DRIVE OF HIS LIFE Kidnapped by three dangerous fugitives, a taxi driver found an unexpected ally. PAUL KIX FROM GQ

Culture 82 STRANGE ATTRACTIONS From a fluffy toy rabbit to an axe, a quirky museum displays relics of failed romances. TIM HULSE P. | 64 Travel 92 FARAWAYFROMITALL Rugged Robinson Crusoe Island is the P. | 92 perfect place to disconnect from city life. SUSAN NERBERG FROM AIR CANADA’S ENROUTE

Health 102 LONG-TERM VISION Eye diseases to watch out for as you age and when to seek medical help. LISA FIELDS

Bonus Read 108 PARTISAN PROMISE Woven into a worn Second World War khaki cap is a story of survival and resilience, of bravery and friendship. MARC MCEVOY

2 | April•2018 THE DIGEST

Health 16 Possible causes of hair loss, essential steps of CPR Travel 22 Smart hotel rooms are poised to change travel Home P.P | 24 Declutter your home 24 Pets 25 Warning signs of feline cancer RD Recommends 121 All that’s best in books, films, podcasts and DVDs

News Worth Sharing 126 Positive stories that caught our eye P. | 25 REGULARS

6 Letters P. 8 My Story | 1112626 12 Kindness of Strangers 14 Smart Animals 55 Quotables Quotes 88 Look Twice 128 Puzzles, Trivia & Word Power

CONTESTS

7 Caption and Letter Competition 8 Submit Your Jokes and Stories

HUMOUR

38 Life’s Like That 62 Laughter, the Best Medicine SEE PAGE 11 100 All in a Day’s Work

April•2018 | 3 Editor’s Note

Bonds of Friendship WHEN WORLD WAR II BROKE OUT IN 1939, it stirred excitement and patriotism among many young men. he world wasn’t as easily explored back then, so a ticket to Africa, Europe or the Paciic must have seemed irresistible. In early 1940, Australian Ernest Brough had just turned 20 when he signed up. ‘he Partisan Promise’ (page 108) delves into the challenges Ern faced during the war, when he relied on the support of his mates to escape a Nazi POW camp. It also captures the hardship and isolation Ern felt after returning home, with the war’s impact remaining with him for many years. His story demonstrates that a war veteran’s journey is a life-long one, with many facing post-traumatic stress disorder after they return home to familiar faces and surroundings. he bonds of friendship are also apparent in ‘he Prisoner and the Guard’ (page 40). his story looks at how a young aimless criminal found purpose through sport after a guard recognised his abilities. With time and efort, the young man now lives a life devoted to sporting excellence. I hope you enjoy reading this month’s stories as much as we enjoyed putting the selection together.

LOUISE WATERSON Group Editor

4 | April•2018 Vol. 194 RD SHOP No. 1155 For quality products, book sales and April 2018 more, visit Readersdigest.com.au/ shop and Readersdigest.co.nz/shop EDITORIAL Group Editor Louise Waterson Chief Subeditor Melanie Egan Art Director CONTRIBUTE Hugh Hanson Digital Content Manager FOR DIGITAL EXTRAS AND SOCIAL Greg Barton Digital Editor Michael MEDIA INFO, SEE PAGE 21 Crawford Content Editor Marc McEvoy Associate Editor Victoria Polzot Senior Anecdotes and jokes Subeditor Samantha Kent Subeditor Send in your real-life laugh for Life’s Like That or All in a Day’s Margaret McPhee Contributing Editor Work. Got a joke? Send it in for Helen Signy Laughter Is the Best Medicine!

ADVERTISING Group Advertising Smart Animals & Retail Sales Director Sheron White Share antics of unique pets Advertising Marketing Manager or wildlife in up to 300 words. Thomas Kim Kindness of Strangers/ REGIONAL ADVERTISING CONTACTS Reminisce Australia/Asia Sheron White, Share tales of generosity or an [email protected] event from your past that made New Zealand Debbie Bishop, a huge impact in 100–500 words. [email protected] My Story Do you have an inspiring PUBLISHED UNDER LICENCE or life-changing tale to tell? BY DIRECT PUBLISHING PTY LTD Submissions must be true, unpublished, original and 800– TRUSTED MEDIA BRANDS INC (USA) 1000 words – see website President and Chief Executive Officer for more information. Bonnie Kintzer

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READERS’ COMMENTS AND OPINIONS

Gadgets Galore The article ‘4 Ways to Stop Technology Addiction’ in your January issue was timely. Our gadget-craving society certainly needs this sober reminder. I love the suggestion to “set aside reading time” of 30 minutes a day. It’s a joy to see people reading a book on the bus or train, instead of a gadget. I have another suggestion: no gadgets at the dining table, whether at home or dining out. DOREEN ONG

he Society of Trees not is debatable. If voluntarily, then As a child who grew up in the that constitutes will, and therefore, city, the trees I have known have a great attribute of life. If they do it always been ‘dead’ things in the automatically, then I would envy background of photos taken of plants in that they are duty-bound family picnics in the park. Reading to take care of each other. And ‘he Trees Are Talking’ (February) I would say that makes them even made me realise that they are more alive. DENISE BAUTISA actually more alive than humans in Making Time some ways. I was LET US KNOW for Miracles fascinated by the fact If you are moved – or ‘Now … While here’s that dying trees are provoked – by any item Time’ in the January in the magazine, share fed by surrounding Classic Reads issue your thoughts. See trees – “their forest page 5 for how to join reminded me of a friends”. Whether they the discussion. lovely memory. One do it voluntarily or day our third son,

6 | April•2018 thenalmosteightyearsold,cameto me and excitedly described seeing acicadaabouttoemergefromits shell.Iwasbusymakingthetea andfeltthatIdidn’thavetime. However, he pleaded with me to comeandlook,soIwentwithhim. Just Hanging Out ItistheonlytimethatIhaveseen We asked you to think up a funny that beautiful miracle of nature. It caption for this photo. remains a special memory. Remember, if we separate, we don’t HELEN BURRELL wash our dirty linen in public. Fond Memories LES RIBBINS Your Classic Reads issue brought Will you hang with me? The divorce backgreatmemoriesofthe rate among my socks is astonishing! wonderfulstoriesIreadinthe LOUISE BORG Reader’s Digest issues in the 1970s I had you pegged as the marrying and’80s.hanksforselectingthe kind from the moment we first met. rightkindofstoriesforpublication. AYESHA AZEEM Youareprovidingawonderful “You kept me hanging on the line serviceforregularreaders.‘hank for so long but now we are pegged you,Rosie’,in particular,ishard together for life!” VIKI SOH to forget. YVONNE FERNANDO Congratulations to this month’s winner, Les Ribbins. WINAPILOTCAPLESS WIN! BALLPOINT PEN Thebestletterpublishedeach monthwillwinaPilotCapless ballpoint pen bearing the Reader’s Digest logo and an animal-print inspired barrel. From the Pilot MR Metropolitan collectioncraftedinJapan,this CAPTION CONTEST timeless ballpoint pen features stylishsilverandbronzeaccents Come up with the funniest andisajoytowritewith. caption for the above photo Congratulations to this month’s winner, and you could win $100. To Helen Burrell. enter, see the details on page 5.

April•2018 | 7 MY STORY

Minutes from Disaster Field Editor Howard Bull recalls the day an airliner came dangerously close to crashing into the sea

Howard Bull lives IT WAS A NORMAL WORKING DAY in April 1964 at my in Mornington, oice in Melbourne, Australia, where I was working as Victoria, with a public relations manager for the airline Ansett-ANA, his wife. He until I received an urgent phone call from the airline’s is an author Movement Control unit. and freelance journalist and “he Douglas DC-6B airliner that departed this specialises in crisis morning from Essendon Airport may ditch in Port Phillip management. He Bay,” said the caller. “It’s trying to lose an engine!” also collects former My immediate response was “So what?” I knew an army vehicles. airliner could ly safely on three of its four engines. When an engine has a problem, pilots can shut it down and feather the propeller to deal with wind resistance. “Actually, the pilots are trying to have the engine drop into Port Phillip Bay!” the caller added. his was going to be a big news story so I rushed to the nearby airport. When I arrived, I was told that another aircraft,

8 | April•2018 piloted by Captain Peter Gibbes, then droop. It obscured one of the the operations manager, was lying airliner’s undercarriage legs, which alongside the troubled airliner. On could create a disaster if the airliner board were observers to check the attempted a normal landing. damage and liaise by radio with the Just four weakened bolts held the DC-6B’s pilot, Captain Keith Hants. engine in place. Fuel was dumped It was not a pleasant sight. One to reduce the weight and an RAAF of the three blades on a propeller crash boat departed from Point Cook. had broken free just after take-of. Captain Hants and First Oicer he resultant torque had caused the Bob Gordon placed their feet on the 2500-horse power engine, weighing instrument panel, made the airliner more than a tonne, to vibrate and dive, and then pulled back on their control columns to make it rise. his Do you have a tale to tell? We’ll pay cash for any original and technique, called ‘suring,’ was used unpublished story we print. See page three times to dislodge the engine. 5 for details on how to contribute. But there was a penalty. Each time the

April•2018 | 9 MY STORY airliner lost valuable height that could A few hours later the passengers not be regained. he airliner could departed in a replacement airliner, only make one last attempt. It worked with one exception, a senior and the engine dropped into Port Melbourne media executive who Phillip Bay. After a tense 94 minutes chose to remain in the bar. in the air, the airliner made a perfect he explanation was circulated to landing back at Essendon Airport. the media and resultant coverage was here was also drama in the accurate and favourable. airliner’s cabin. he passengers had Later, a local resident phoned been through turmoil. hose sitting the airline to complain that engine near the wings were oil had soiled the alarmed when oil from washing in his backyard ruptured lines sprayed and he demanded along the fuselage There was compensation. An and windows. Two air also drama Ansett-ANA engineer hostesses had been in the airliner’s inspected the scene thrown around as they and found that the tried to demonstrate cabin. The well-worn linen showed the ditching procedure passengers had traces of engine oil to passengers. One been through from the man’s own passenger began writing turmoil old Holden car. he his will, while a second owner was told that if he requested that his complained further, the meal be served and that the bar be next visitors could be police oicers. opened. After the tension and excitement Public relations activity hit top gear. had died down, I returned to my oice Passengers were welcomed into the to resume the work I had abandoned. airport and complimentary drinks What had I been doing when I was arranged in the passenger terminal. interrupted? Ah, yes. Preparing I met with the two pilots and the material on the introduction of jet light engineer, established the facts airliners – which fortunately do not and helped them prepare for the have propellers! range of questions they would be asked by the media. Previously I Captain Keith Hants was awarded the had obtained from the airline the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in recognition of backgrounds of the crew, as well as his flying abilities under extreme the maintenance and overhaul history conditions. If not for his skill, more of the airliner. than 60 people could have lost their he trio gave excellent interviews. lives that day.

10 | April•2018 0NLINE

FINDTHESEUNIQUEREADSAT Your local RD website

PUZZLES 12 Mindbending Optical Illusions That May Break Your Brain Ready to have your mind blown?

HEALTH 4 Soothing Yoga Poses to Help You Sleep

TIME OF THEIR LIVES 16 READERS SHARE THEIR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS Join the conversation! PLUS Sign up to our FREE newsletter for more hot offers, top stories and prizes! PHOTOS/ILLUSTRATION: iSTOCK

April•2018 | 11 KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

A Bicycle for Bradley Ayoungboy’ssorrowturnstojoy when he is granted a special wish

BY CAROLYN PAPE

Carolyn Pape WHEN OUR SON BRADLEY WAS TEN, the new bicycle works in hehadreceivedearlierthatyearwasstolen.Owning education and abikewasabigdealtoourchildrenwhentheywere isthemotherof little.heyspenthoursandhours,dayafterday,ontheir three beautiful bikes,ridingupanddownthefootpath,andatthefront children. She has ofthehouse.Wealsorodetogetherasafamilyalot. aLabradorand Bicyclingwasagreatwaytogetthekidsoutofthehouse acatthatbelieves he’sadog.She andintothefreshairwithoutspendinganymoney. enjoys keeping Bradleyhaddiscoveredthathisbikehadbeen it by doing yoga, stolenfromourbackyardinsuburbanCampbelltown, pilates and SouthAustralia,whenheandhissisterwentoutside running. foramorningride.Hecouldn’tbelievethatsomeone woulddothis.Strangely,noneoftheotherbikeswere touchedandnothingelsewasmissing. Hegotalargepieceofcardboardfromhisdad’sshed, paintedasignbeggingforthebiketobereturned,and tiedthesigntotheletterbox.hefollowingmorning, when I went out to collect the mail, I found a white

12 | April•2018 envelope with the magical words, asimportantforthosefamilybike “Buy yourself a new bike”. It took me rides.Nowthekidshavegrownup alittlewhiletoregisterwhatitwas andcarshavereplacedtheirbikes. insideit.Itwasa$100banknote. Bradleyis25.SometimesImissthe We were very touched that days when receiving a bicycle was someonehadthehearttodothis. the best thing in the world to them. We’veneverbeenabletothankthe Alltheseyearslaterwearestill personbutwesuspectthatitmay grateful to that incredibly kind havebeenoneofourwonderful stranger who granted Bradley’s wish. neighbours.Bradleypaintedabig We were a young family with three “hankyou”onthesignandwe little children and it meant a lot to us. leftitoutsideforacoupleofweeks We still talk about it and, even now, afterwards in case it was someone wonder who our benefactor was. whodrovedownourstreet. A delighted Bradley was able to Share your story about a small act buyanewbike.Astheyearswent of kindness that made a huge impact. on,thebikesbecamebiggerand Turn to page 5 for details on how

ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCK ILLUSTRATION: more expensive but remained just to contribute and earn cash.

April•2018 | 13 Smart Animals

Some solutions to animal problems work, but others don’t

LIFE LINE CAROLE PRITCHARD ‘Maggie’ had My husband some diiculty Ron and I live walking, so on an acre of obviously the ground adjoining ishing line bushland in had been there Queensland. We for a while. We are magpie lovers placed a dish of and feed some of water nearby and these birds once a day. she stayed around A couple of years ago, for a few days, eating after returning home from the meat we gave her and the supermarket, we drove into our getting stronger. garage and opened the door into the Each day we saw an improvement house. On returning to the rear of in her walking ability. Although she the car to unload the shopping, we initially seemed very content to sit saw a magpie standing about a metre on a branch in one of our trees, after away.Itshowednofearofusatall a week, she inally lew away home and stood there as if it knew that we to nearby bushland. could help it. We believe the bird ‘knew’ us from here was a lot of ishing line a previous time. A while back we had tangled around one of its legs. I fed a pair of magpies, and maybe called out to Ron, who by now was she had once been one of their upstairs, to bring a little bit of meat. young. Needless to say, we were very While I hand fed the magpie, my pleased with the outcome. husband managed to grab hold of it. I raced upstairs to fetch a pair of my You could earn cash by telling us small embroidery scissors and was about the antics of unique pets or able to painstakingly snip the twisted wildlife.Turntopage5for details ishing line away. on how to contribute.

14 | April•2018 ‘ANGEL’ GABRIEL TRIES carrots and usually walks straight up TO SAVE A KANGAROO to me as soon as he sees me. JENNY FARTHING As I got closer I saw a young, male I have had my horse, Gabriel, a four- kangaroo lying under a tree right year-old Andalusian gelding, for beside Gabriel. Once I got closer to about a year. He loves his paddock the kangaroo I saw that he had a badly buddy, Rimi, and both horses are broken back leg. Only when I had also very fond of carrots. checked out the kangaroo did Gabriel Early one November afternoon, approach me for his carrot. I walked into their paddock and I phoned the wildlife rescue noticed that Rimi was near the gate service who came and assessed but Gabriel was right down at the the kangaroo. Unfortunately, the back of the paddock. I immediately kangaroo had to be put down as his suspected that something was leg was too badly damaged to be wrong. I called him but he stayed repaired. put, watching me steadily, which was Clearly, Gabriel had stayed with another sign that something was up. the injured kangaroo to alert me that He knows that I always bring them it needed help.

SALAD ON THE BALCONY DIANA PETTERSEN When I first started and so my local garden once because that’s all gardening, I grew centre recommended it took. planter boxes on I try a possum The day after the balcony of the deterrent spray. A spraying not one single apartment I shared non-toxic deterrent plant remained intact. with my sister. full of chillies, garlic Evidently, the possums I was desperate to and unfamiliar herbs, thought I had sprayed keep the possums it was guaranteed to my plants with tasty of my newly planted keep the pests at bay. salad dressing for them herbs and vegetables I only used the spray to enjoy. ILLUSTRATIONS: ISTOCK ILLUSTRATIONS:

April•2018 | 15 7 Essential Steps of CPR Everyone Should Know This guide shows you what to do if someone has a life-threatening emergency

IFAPERSONCOLLAPSES,stops to call an ambulance. Tilt their breathing and goes into cardiac head to open the airway, and lift arrest, performing CPR (chest theirchin.Checkifthepersonis compressions and rescue breathing) breathing (don’t begin CPR if they immediately can more than double arebreathingnormally).Ifthe theirchanceofsurvival.After airway is obstructed, place them in checking that you, the collapsed therecoveryposition.henfollow person and any bystanders are safe, these CPR steps: beginbycheckingforaresponseby squeezing the person’s shoulders Position your hands. Make andaskingiftheyareallright.If 1surethepersonislyinglat you are not alone, send someone ontheirbackonairmsurface. ISTOCK ILLUSTRATIONS:

16 | April•2018 Kneelbesidethemandplacethe heel of your hand on the centre of their chest. Tilttheheadbacktore-open Interlock ingers. Keeping your the airway. See step 5 2armsstraight,covertheirst hand with the heel of your other hand and interlock the ingers of and blow until you see their chest both hands together. rising.

Give chest compressions. Lean Watch chest fall.Pauseand, 3forwards so that your shoulders 6looking along the chest, watch aredirectlyoverthepatient’schest toseeifitfalls.Givetwofullbreaths and press down one third of the between each cycle of compressions. chestdepth.Releasethepressure, Some people may be reluctant to give butnotyourhands,andletthechest rescuebreathingtoanunconscious comebackup.Trytogive100to120 stranger, and be more likely to take chest compressions per minute. Not action by doing chest-compression- sure what that really means? Push onlyCPR,andthisalonecanstill tothebeatoftheBeeGeessong be life saving. Rescue breathing, ‘Stayin’Alive’–that’sabouttwo however, is recommended for compressions each second. infants, children and drowning victims. Repeat to give 30 chest 4compressions and then two Repeat chest compressions rescue breaths. 7and rescue breaths.Placeyour handsonthechestagainandrepeat Give rescue breaths. Tilt their the cycle of 30 chest compressions, 5head back to open the airway followed by two rescue breaths. again. Pinch the nostrils closed Continue the cycle until help arrives with your inger and thumb, or the person starts breathing. supportingtheirchinwithyour other hand. Take a normal breath, To learn first aid, call 1300 ST JOHN put your mouth over their mouth, or go online to www.stjohn.org.au

April•2018 | 17 HEALTH

WhyHairFallsOut Younaturallylose50to100strandsofhairperday. But much more than this might signal a problem

BY JAMIE SCHMID

YOU’RE HIGHLY STRESSED Feeling YOUSTARTEDANEWMEDICATION anxiousfromtimetotimeisunlikely Certaindrugscanleadtohairloss. tocauseyourhairtofallout.Buta Readoverthedruglabelwarningsto life-threatening medical diagnosis or check. But don’t stop any medication thedeathofalovedonecantrigger without irst consulting your doctor. hairloss.Yourhaircangrowback onceyoucontrolyourstress. YOURDIETISLOWINPROTEIN Alackofproteincancauseyourhair YOUUSEHARSHHAIRPRODUCTS to fall out. Women should get at least Guiltyofusinghottoolsforsleek, 46 gm of protein per day and men shiny hair, or straightening atleast64gm.Proteinshouldcome chemicals? You may be raising your from a variety of sources. Beans and risk of hair loss. Instead try to buy legumes are ideal. natural hair products. YOU’RE DEFICIENT IN IRON A diet low in iron may lead to hair loss. Women aged 19–50 should get 18 mg of iron per day; males and women 51 and older, should get 8 mg. Add iron-rich foods to your diet, such as kidney beans, soybeans and spinach.

YOUHAVEATHYROIDPROBLEM Both an overactive and a underactive thyroidcancausehairloss.Ifyou haveabnormalhairlossandother symptoms of thyroid disease, seek your doctor’s advice. HEALTH 5 Ways to Stop Snacking Thesesimplestrategiescanhelpyoucurbcravings, reduce snacking and keep the weight of

DON'T IMPULSE- you can easily BUY SNACKS No verindulge. stopping at the cake shop for a sugary TOSS OUT LOW- pastry.Nosweets UTRITION or chocolates from NACKS Do the newsagent on nauditofyour thewaytowork.his rigerator and type of compulsive, ry and toss the unhealthyeatingcau m, sweets, crisps, much weight gain. iscuits, ca e and other salty or sugary snacks that you munch TURN TO SOUP FOR COMFORT on between meals. hese are foods Whenyoucravecomfortfood,heat weeatcompulsivelyandthatmake upalargebowlofsoupmadewith us overweight. Make a conscious lotsofvegetablesandbeans.It’s decision to only eat these ‘sometime’ lavourful, hearty, high in nutrition foods on special occasions. and low in fat. BEAFUSSYEATERParents NIBBLEONSHELLEDNUTShe complainaboutchildrenwhoare eforttocracktheshellsandextract fussyeaters–butyou’renotachild, thenutwithoutbreakingitishighly andyouoweittoyourselftobe therapeutic and distracting. In particularaboutwhatgoesonto(and addition,nutsareveryhealthy comesof)yourplate.Asaruleof snacks–inmoderation.Choose thumb,ifitdoesn’tlookgoodforyou, walnuts, almonds, pecans, Brazil don’teatit.Andtakeyourtime:there nuts or hazelnuts. Peanuts and are ample studies that associate

PHOTOS: ISTOCK PHOTOS: pistachios are too quick to open eating quickly with weight gain.

April•2018 | 19 HEALTH

NEWS FROM THE World of Medicine

Diabetes Type Frequently in commercial salad dressings. Misdiagnosed Moreoilresultedinhigherblood levels of several essential nutrients, Aboutivetotenpercentofall including vitamin A, lutein and diabetes in Western countries is lycopene. hese nutrients came type 3c, which develops when the fromthesaladvegetables,butthe body has trouble producing insulin fatintheoilhelpedthebodyabsorb becauseofpancreasdamagedue thembetter.here’snoneedto to conditions such as pancreatitis, drown salad in dressing: a couple cysticibrosisorpancreaticcancer. of tablespoons of oil per day will ABritishstudyrecentlyshowedthat formpartofahealthydiet. themajorityoftype-3cdiabetes patients are diagnosed with type 2 Rheumatoid Arthritis instead,wherebythebodyisunable Raises Risk of COPD touseinsulinproperly.hismatters In a study of more than 24,000 becausetype3cgenerallymeans rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, worseglycaemiccontrolandamore Canadian researchers discovered urgent need for insulin in order to that RA increases the likelihood avoid serious complications. of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)by47percent.hat’s Nutrients Better because inlammation plays a role Absorbed in the development of COPD. he With Oil scientists recommend that In an experiment RA patients minimise published in the their inlammation American Journal of with treatment Clinical Nutrition, and watch for lung participants ate salad symptoms, such with varying amounts as wheezing, so ofsoybeanoil,a that COPD can be

common ingredient caught early. ISTOCK PHOTO:

20 | April•2018 JOIN THE CONVERSATION Four great reasons why you should join us online…

We give away First look at cash and prizes future issues Join fun Get a sneak peek competitions and at upcoming quizzes stories and covers

We give great advice Get regular home, health and food tips from The Digest

Friends and good manners will carry you where money won’t go. MARGARET WALKER

We help you get motivated #QuotableQuotes and #PointstoPonder to get you through the day TRAVEL

Futuristic Hotel Rooms Room-service robots? Phone-charging furniture? Welcome to the smart rooms of tomorrow BY RICHARD MELLOR

ROBOTIC STAFF Humanoid robots his robotic butler can – if summoned have long been an emblem of our viaanapp–appearatyourdoorwith Blade Runner-esque future, and more towels, an iron, etc. Better still, the age of machines seems poised he’ll also do a dance each time. to happen in hotels. he Yotel New York’s newest employee – the hyper- AUTOMATIC COFFEE MACHINE energetic bellboy Yobot – follows on Onedoeshatetomakeone’sown the electronic heels of the tireless cofee,doesn’tone?Inkeeping workers at Japan’s (almost) entirely with a general trend of hotel rooms robot-stafed Henn-na Hotel. But trying to predict your every move, perhaps most exciting is Botlr, who StarwoodHotels&Resorts’cofee

joined the staf at Aloft Hotels in 2014. machines will start brewing your ISTOCK PHOTO:

22 | April•2018 morning cup automatically, so it’s readywhenyouare.

AUTOMATICBATHROOMLIGHTS Ifyou’rethesortwhoneedstovisit thebathroominthesmallhours, AloftHotelswillrecognisethat requirementandilluminateanight- light the moment you set down a foot.hisenablesasafecoursetothe bathroomshouldnaturecall–rather thanhavingtoendureafrustrating fumbleforthosebedsidelights.It’s innovation is inductive charging. alldoneusingteenyRFID(radio hat’s tech-speak for furniture – frequency ID) technology stickers desks, bedside tables, cupboards thatarelodgedunderthecarpet. – with built-in charging pads that automatically power smartphones as TOUCHSCREEN MIRRORS Rather soon as you place said device on top. than make you look beautiful all the Why? Because wires are messy and time (that really would be good), phone chargers rank among hotel smart mirrors are glass screens that, guests’ most left-behind items. as well as relecting your image, provide all sorts of data at the same MELATONIN LIGHTS he ‘Stay Well’ time. Weather forecasts? Simple. hotel rooms at some Marriott hotels Email check? Here you are. utilise circadian lighting systems that mimic natural light, thereby SMARTPHONE-CHARGING regulating melatonin production, FURNITURE Another whizzy a beneit in combating jetlag. Also ighting this good ight are light- therapy mirrors, containing buttons that can increase or suppress guests’ energy and melatonin levels, resulting in more energy and better sleep. he rooms also ofer a chlorine-reducing shower ilter.

Left:Yourang?Botlrdeliversitemsto guests.Above:Smartmirrors feature

PHOTOS: COURTESY STARWOOD data touchscreens

April•2018 | 23 HOME

What Is Swedish ‘Death Cleaning’? Apracticalwaytodeclutterthat’s not nearly as scary as it sounds BY LAUREN CAHN

DOSTADNING or ‘death cleaning’ which provides death-cleaning-type is a Swedish phenomenon in which services. “Doing this sort of work elderlypeople(oftenwiththehelp should be looked at as a walk through offamily)settheirafairsinorder history. When it does involve the –sometimesforthepurposeof elderly, it can be an opportunity to transitioningtoassistedliving. learn valuable stories.” “It’sallaboutlosingeverything Very often, however, the challenge you don’t love or use,” explains is in initiating the process, cleaning expert Jasmine Hobbs. accordingtoCaplan.herefore,if One way to become less afraid is to your goal is to initiate the process understand that death cleaning is withanelderlyparentorfriend, notreservedfortheelderly,despite begin gently. “Start by reminiscing,” its name. “Anyone can do it at any Caplan suggests. Slowly, from age. he idea is to organise your life there,youcanbegintoworkin andmakeitrunsmoother.”Ifyou questions, pointing to things and need help decluttering, don’t be put asking,“What’sthis?Doyoustill of by the morbid-sounding title. usethis?Howdoyoufeelabout At the core of death cleaning is this?” Gradually, he advises, you can minimalism, but the process can make your way towards suggesting, also be an opportunity to embrace “Perhaps it’stime to part with this?” nostalgia, says Lorne Caplan, or “So, someday, is there someone founder of Free Home Cleanup, you’d like to have this?” ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCK

24 | April•2018 PETS

Warning Signs of Cancer in Cats Pet cancer can be treated if detected early BY ALYSSA JUNG

EXCESSIVE HIDING Cats love a or a change in gum colour can be good hiding spot, but if your kitty asignoforalcancer,particularly is increasingly retreating to hard- in older cats. his cancer sign often to-reach places, it could signal that goes unnoticed because people something’s wrong. “Owners often tell don’t examine their pet’s mouth me they notice when their cat is ill if frequently enough. “Many oral they’re usually social but have been tumours can be really devastating spending more time in new hiding becausepeopledon’tindthem spots,”says veterinarian Dr Jake untilit’sadvanced”,saysZaidel. Zaidel. Excessive hiding is a general sign that something is of with your NOSEBLEEDS are never normal, cat – not necessarily cancer – so it’s says Dr Timothy Rocha, a veterinary agoodideatoseeavet. oncology specialist. “With an older cat, a nosebleed is particularly WEIGHT LOSS his is the main worrisome. It can be a sign of cancer symptom of cat cancer Zaidel in the nose,”he says. says he sees. It’s often the sign of a gastrointestinal tumour. “When DIARRHOEA or changes in litter cats don’t want to eat, that’s very box habits. Occasional diarrhoea concerning,”he says. Cancer usuallyisn’tasignofcancer, can also cause cats to los ocha, but if it persists weight while maintainin ets worse, take their regular appetite. ur cat to the vet. If your cat is losing xcessive litter box weight, see your vet. use, diiculty peeing or moving bowels, MOUTH CHANGES or blood in urine or Sores, lumps, a tool are also potential

PHOTO: ISTOCK PHOTO: strange odour, bleeding ns of cancer.

April•2018 | 25 LIVING WELL

26 || April•2018 35 Everyday Mistakes AndHowtoFixhem

BY BRANDON SPECKTOR

uses motion and sound sensors to RISE AND SHINE wake you from the lightest phase of your cycle. Settingyouralarmforthemid- 1 dleofaREMcycle.Humans Wrinklingyourfacewithacot- sleep in ive-stage cycles. Waking up 2 ton pillowcase. “Persistently inthemiddleofaREMstage(when pressingyourfaceintoapillowcase you sleep deepest) leaves you groggy causes trauma to the skin,” says and grumpy. However, if you wake up dermatologist Dennis Gross. “Over duringoneofyourlight-sleepstages, time,thistrauma,aggravatedbythe you’ll rise feeling refreshed and alert. friction of cotton, can cause perma- Findyourperfectbedtimewithafree nentcreasesasourcollagenbreaks site such as sleepyti.me, which gives down.” Instead, switch to silk or satin youfouroptimalbedtimesbasedon cases as they allow the skin to slide, whenyouneedtogetup,orasleep- soitdoesn’tpullortug. his helpsre-

ILLUSTRATIONS: SERGE BLOCH tracker app such as SleepBot, that duce crease lines.

April•2018 | 27 35 EVERYDAY MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM

Not singing in the shower. Does embody the traits you most admire 3 listening to music make you feel about him. good? hat’s your brain rewarding it- self with dopamine – the same way it 8Saving your favourite dress for reacts to eating potato chips or falling a special occasion. Wearing your in love. So put on your favourite tune, mostbelovedclotheswheneveryou sing along (the deep breathing associ- feel like it could improve your mood, ated with singing has been shown to according to a UK study. improve heart health), and lather up. Leavingfoodonthebench- Notdressingforsuc- 9 top. You are what you eat and 4–8cess. When it comes to you eat what you see, according to pickingyouroutit,researchshows astudyinHealth Education & Be- that appearance afects perception. havior. Peoplewhokeepfoodssuch Avoid these fashion blunders: ascereal,biscuitsandmuffinsin plainsighttendtoweighmorethan 4 Not wearing your eyeglasses. those whose treats stay tucked away. Beyond the ‘brainy’ association and On the other hand, keeping healthy beingabletoseeproperly,specsdraw foods visible correlates to slimness. attention to your eyes – the windows to empathy. Ignoring the fitness tracker 10 fad. Trackers do more than 5Dressing too casually. Suits (and countsteps;theyalsopickupdevi- other professional attire, such as lab ations in heart rate and skin tem- coats) really do make you look more perature. Using that data, Stanford competent. So do designer labels. University researchers studied 60 volunteers over two years and 6Looking too mainstream. While foundthatitnessmonitorscouldlag matching your outfit to your job is when you’re catching a cold or even important,onestudyfoundthatadd- signaltheonsetofaseriouscondi- inganofbeatelement–suchasred tion, such as metabolic syndrome. sneakers–toatraditionalensemble can make you look more competent because you seem unique. THE WORKDAY

7Lockingawaythefamilyjewels. Going on autopilot during There’s power in emulation. Wear- 11 your commute. AHarvard ingyourfather’swatch,forexam- University survey of more than 2000 ple, may help you subconsciously volunteers found that when our minds

28 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST wander, we’re more likely to become Snubbing your desk plant unhappy than when we’re focused. 14 (ornothavingoneatall). he ix? Try listening to an audiobook Voltaire’s Candide was probably or learn a new language. speaking metaphorically when he said each of us should tend our own Not reading fiction. Volumes garden, but research shows that 12 of recent research show that workerswithactualdesksidelowers readingictionnotonlyengagesour or foliage are more productive than brains but also increases empathy, thosewithout.Onestudyevenfound fostering a deeper understanding of that people surrounded by office new experiences and views. plantsperformedbetterontasksin- volving memory and attention. Checking email constantly. 13 Closethatbrowserwindow Not doodling through ASAP:inastudyinwhichwork- 15 meetings. Doodlers may erswereaskedtoeitherchecktheir look as if they’re tuned out, but emailonlythreetimesadayoras chancesarethey’reretaining oftenaspossible,thethrice-daily even more info than the active groupfeltaboutasmuchstressre- listeners. In one study in Applied ductionaspeoplewhouserelaxation Cognitive Psychology,subjectswho techniques such as deep breathing or monitored a monotonous phone visualising a ‘happy place’. message for names of party guests

April•2018 | 29 35 EVERYDAY MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM

recalled29percentmoreinforma- Japan found that people who looked tionlateriftheyhadbeendoodling at pictures of baby animals before during the call. Meanwhile, among completing a task performed far bet- science students who were asked ter than those who observed photos of to draw what they’d learned during adult animals or neutral subjects. lectures and readings, doodlers not only retained more information but Staring down at your phone. alsoreportedmoreenjoymentand 18 he average head weighs 4.5 engagement with the material. to 5.5 kilograms, but when you let it hang down to read on your phone, it’s Not phoning your mother. the same as putting 27 kilograms of 16 AUniversityofWisconsin stress weight on your neck, according study found that participants ex- to a study in Surgical Technology Inter- posedtoastressfulsituation(public national. he solution: hold the phone speaking followed by solving maths more in line with your eyes – or leave problems in front of an audience) it in your pocket. showedamarkeddecreaseinstress hormones and an increase in happi- Dining al desko. There are ness-producing oxytocin when they 19 lots of reasons why eating in spoke to their mothers on the phone frontofyourcomputerisabadidea. immediately after. Researchshowsyoutendtoeatmore, make less-healthy choices, miss out Scoffing at Instagram on lunchroom camaraderie and are 17 kittens. Cuteness releases more likely to hit a creative wall. In oxytocin, and oxytocin reduces stress. arecentstudy,workerswhotook One study at Hiroshima University in a 30-minute lunchtime walk three

30 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST timesaweekfeltmoreenthusiastic– foundthatremotecontrolsinhos- andlessstressed–immediatelyafter. pitalroomsharbouredmoregerms than many other common items Taking your coffee break found there. (Beware of hotel re- 20 in the oce kitchen. Step motes, too.) outside instead, and your waistline will thank you. A US study found that 22 The supermarket checkout people who get the majority of their touch screen. Self-checkout screens daily sunlight before noon have lower house nasty bacteria, including fae- BMIs than those who catch some rays cal, says Gerba. later in the day. 23Your steering wheel. Research- ersatQueenMaryUniversityofLon- YOUR NIGHT donswabbedanumberofsteering AND WEEKEND wheels and found nearly nine times more germs on them than on public Touching any of toilet seats. 21–24these possibly contaminated things without thor- 24Your kitchen sponge or dish- oughly disinfecting it first or wash- cloth. These are hands down the ingyourhandsafterwards: germiestitemsinyourhome.Ina randomstudy,75percentofsponges 21Remote controls. University of and dishcloths had bacteria such as Arizona germ expert Charles Gerba Salmonella growing in them.

April•2018 | 31 35 EVERYDAY MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM

Refusing to even think turn dangerous.” Aspirin overdose 25 about exercising. Letting canhappeniftoomanydosesbuild apastpositiveexerciseexperi- up in your system at once (dehydra- ence enter your head actually can tion,kidneyproblemsandoldage motivateyoutogetupandmove, maketheriskmorelikely);symptoms foundUniversityofNewHampshire rangefromtinnitustodrowsinessto researchers. Even participants who coma.Choosesafety,andstick to the thoughtofnegativeexercisememo- recommended dosage. ries still hit the gym more than those whodidn’tthinkofany. Cramming your head- 28 phones into your pocket. Trying to go it alone. Peo- The theory that the universe tends 26 plewhoexercisewitha towards chaos should be gospel to partnerexercisemorethanpeople anyone who has ever tried to untan- whoexercisealone,especiallyifthat gle a pair of headphones. Movement palisemotionallysupportive. causes wires to knot up. That’s why your earbuds tangle in your pocket Popping too much aspirin. but not while sitting on your desk. Try 27 Moreisnotalwaysbetter, this knot-prevention trick: loop the saysneurologistDrVernonWilliams. cord around your hand until there’s “Formany,thethoughtisthatifone no cable left dangling, then cinch it pill helps a little, two must surely in the middle with a plastic bread tag help a little more. This can quickly to make a compact igure eight. READER’S DIGEST

Noteatingbycandlelight. mayrelaxthebody,whichimproves 29 When Cornell University sleep quality. Try classical music with scientistsalteredhalfofafast-food an adagio tempo, new-age music or restaurant to include low lighting and acoustic instrumental versions of atmosphericmusic,customersinthe your favourite songs. modiied section not only ate slower butalsoconsumedfewerkilojoules Pooh-poohing playing andreportedenjoyingtheirfood 33 video games. Who knew more than customers who ate identi- playing could relieve pain? When calmealsinthestandardrestaurant. your cognitive resources are focused onamentallydemandinggame,you Going all organic. Accord- have less attention to give to external 30 ing to the Environmental stimuli, including pain. In one US Working Group’s latest ‘Clean Fif- study, patients who played a virtual teen’ list, non-organic avocados, realitygamecalledSnowWorldre- sweetcorn, pineapples, cabbage ported a reduction in pain compara- andfrozensweetpeasshowlittle bletothatfromamoderatedose of or no signs of pesticides. Save your hydromorphone, a painkiller. money for organic versions of more pesticide-ladenfoods,such as straw- Standing there and argu- berries and apples. 34 ing. Canapaddedchair help cushion your verbal blows? Ending your night with AccordingtoastudyfromMIT,Har- 31 Facebook. Research shows vard and Yale, sitting on soft sur- that you should end screen time facesactuallymakespeoplemore well before bedtime; otherwise, you lexible and accommodating – that’s couldtakelongertonodofandeven why Bruce Feiler, author of Secrets produce less sleep-inducing mel- of Happy Families,suggestsmoving atonin. (That means TV, computer heated conversations to a sofa or and phone screens.) other cushioned seat.

Notendingyournightwith Wearingjustanypyjamas. 32 Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’. 35 Sleep experts remind us Anewstudyfoundthatpeoplewho that our body temperature naturally listenedtomusicwithatempoof60 dropswhenwesleep.Wearingpyja- to80beatsperminutefor45minutes masthatmakeyoufeeltoohotortoo beforebedfellasleepquickerand cold could disrupt this natural drop hadabetterqualityofsleepthan in temperature and, as a result, your those who didn’t. Why? The music body’s sleep cycle.

April•2018 | 33 HEART THE RED TOOL BOX Unitedbyacommondesiretocreate,twoart students form a special friendship for life

BY BEVERLY RHODES, FIELD EDITOR

IT WAS EARLY IN 1981 when I first At 65, George had recently retired metGeorge.Irememberthedatewell andwasseekingarewardinghobby asitwasjustafewshortweeksafter forhisgoldenyears.Forbothofus, some miscreant had assassinated paintingwas‘it’andwemetatalocal John Lennon. TAFE painting class. Thus began a Iwasinmyearly30s,emerging friendshipthatwastolastfor25years fromaworldoftoddlersandtantrums –untilthedayhedied. andseekingacreativeoutletunre- Inthelate1950s,Georgearrivedin latedtothehumdrumofhousework WesternAustraliaasa‘£10Pom’ and raising little ones. My children, immigrant from Britain with his wife thenagedthreeandfive,werejust andtwochildren.Hewasn’tatall

entering kindergarten and school life. man but was as neat as a pin, with ISTOCK ILLUSTRATION:

34 | April•2018

THE RED TOOL BOX greasedhair,amouthfuloflarge bedroomofhishomeintoastudio. teeth (all his own) and magnifying (Astudio!HowIenviedhimhisstu- specsthatgavehisblueeyesaBambi- dio, as in my own home I had nei- like appearance. His dress code was ther the space nor the funds for such smartshorts(eveninwinter),a aluxury.)Hispaintingequipment neatly pressed shirt, long socks and was comprehensive – an easel, qual- shoes–neversandals.(The long- ity paints, linseed oil, turpentine, socks-with-sandals look brushes, palette, can- wasstrictlyfortourists vases, charcoal pencils, andPoms–andhe fixative, palette knives considered himself –evenarollingpinfor neither.) removing air bubbles George was a man when gluing. who lived life to the full; Ever practical, George he worked hard, played housed many of these hard,andhadanopin- itemsinatoolbox–a ion about everything. redmetaltoolboxwith He adored his wife, his acantilevertray–built family, his friends, and I often remember to take hard knocks and wasloyalandoutspo- George, his big purchased from a local kentoanequaldegree. hardware store. Not Aslimandvigorous personality, fancy,butsleek,shiny man, George took pride generous spirit andveryred–thesports inhisitnessandhealth and unfailing car of conveyance for and walked three kilo- encouragement painting equipment. metreseveryday.“I’d For about six years no more go without George and I studied my walk than without changing my together through various units un- underwear,”he’dsay. til the completion of the course and Andastheonlymaleinapaint- other commitments drew us apart, ing class full of women, George was though we always maintained per- inhiselement.Heruledtheroost sonalcontactaswelivedwithina andwewerehishens.Headoredhis couple of kilometres of each other. singular role and looked after his I’dsometimesseehimonhisdaily brood with the same attention he walk or at the local shops and oc- gave to everything. casionallywe’dtouchbasewitha He took to painting with an awe- ‘proper’ afternoon tea, sharing a inspiring level of passion and com- cuppa and a chinwag. mitment, even converting the spare Fast-forward some years and

36 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST

Georgewasnowabout80yearsold. original shop sticker is still firmly Herangonedayandaskedmeto inplacealthoughthepricehaslong come to his house, saying he needed since worn of. toaskmesomething.Whilehisdear But that’s all right because to my wifeDorothyservedteaandcake, mind some things, like friendship, Georgeexplainedthathewasgiving are beyond price. uppaintingandgivingawayallhis In2004IlearnedthatGeorgewas ‘stuf’. Everything – paints, boards, very ill and, together with his daugh- canvases, completed works, rolling terPenny,Ivisitedhiminhospital. pin and even the precious red tool “He’sveryconfusedandmaynot box!“Ican’tpaint,Bev.Idon’tknow recogniseyou,”Pennywarnedbe- why I ever thought I could,” he de- foreleaningoverherfrailfatherashe clared in the manner of a man who dozedintherailedbed.“Dad,there’s hashadthescalesoflovefallfrom someoneheretoseeyou.”AsIleaned hiseyes.(Hewasmistakenabout over,Georgeopenedhiseyes–“Bev!” his painting ability because he had he said, and with surprising strength turnedoutsomeuniqueandwon- pulledmetohimandplantedakiss derful works.) However, George had hard on my cheek before lapsing decidedhewasthroughwithpaint- back into a sedated, semi-conscious ing,andnoamountoftalkingcould state. He didn’t speak or rouse again persuade him otherwise. duringourvisit,anddiedtwodays AndsoitwasthatGeorgebe- laterjustacoupleofweeksshyofhis queathed all his painting equipment 90th birthday. tome.“Youhavethebesttalentand George’s inal resting place was a aremostlikelytouseit,”hesaid. bushland cemetery where birds, kan- Afterconsiderablepersuasionand garoos and rabbits abound. “Ashes feeling quite wretched about his de- to ashes, dust to dust.” During the cision,Iacceptedthispreciousgift committalservicealittlegreyrabbit ontheprovisohecouldreclaimit hopped up and sat at my right foot as atanytime.Heneverdid,ofcourse, Istoodatthegraveside. andIstillusemuchofhisequipment Brought me undone, that did. today, more than 20 years later. As I paintIoftenrememberGeorge,his Now retired, Field Editor Beverly bigpersonality,generousspiritand Rhodes has begun learning unfailing encouragement. watercolour techniques and recently he most treasured item is the Red went on a painting trip to France. Sheis‘grandma’toLucas,Samuel ToolBox,stillingoodshape,vibrant and Jacob and has a faithful red and barely scratched despite companioninher mini dachshund, being rather paint splattered. The Maggie-May.

April•2018 | 37 Life’s Like hat

SEEING THE FUNNY SIDE

APR 1948 Fro es In our increasingly connected world, this 70-year-old letter from April 1948 seems impossibly quaint. MymotherlivesinasmallArizonatownofperhaps500inhabitantsand adozentelephones.Shehasn’tone,sowhenmysisterhadherirstbaby Iputinaperson-to-personcallforMotherthroughthetelephoneoice. “It’lltakeawhiletogetMrsQuinnhere,”myoperatorwastold.“Herplace isabouthalfamiledowntheroad.” “Willtherebeachargeformessengerservice?”askedmyoperator. “Noindeed,ma’am,nochargeatall.I’lljustireashotdowninthat direction and when Mrs Quinn looks up this way to see what’s going o ’ ”

ERSON

SOAP DIS CAS Afriendofmine,notrenownedasa Four year old: “Mummy, goodcook,boughtapreparedpack you’re just like a Disney movie. of beef and chopped vegetables and We should play pretend.” hadproceededtofryitinherwok Me: “Aww! Sure!” when bubbles appeared. Four year old: Shewascompletelybaleduntil “YoucanbetheBeast.” sherealisedthatheroilbottle Me: “…” happened to be standing next to the Four year old: washingupliquid. “Or the fat sea witch!” SUBMITTED BY JAN CUNNINGHAM @MARLEBEAN ON TWITTER

38 | April•2018 TRAINING IN SARCASM MysonandIwereplayingcatch he Great Tweet off: whenIdidacompletelyterrible throwthatsailedoverhishead. April Fools’ Edition “Sorry,thatwasabadthrow,” Twitter can’t seem to decide if it’s Isaid. for or against the great pranking Heshotmeakindlookand tradition of April 1. responded, “No, Daddy, that was It’s such a shame that it’s on only awonderfultoss.” onedayintheyearthatpeople hen, taking two steps towards will be sceptical of the stuf they the ball, he stopped, turned around see online. @JAMIETARABAY andcontinued,“Whenwesay something nice, even when we AprilFools!Realityisaflimsy don’t mean it at all, that’s called mental construct you’ve projected being polite, right?” onto randomly shifting, uncaring matter.Ican’tbelieveyoufellforit! Source: thoughtcatalog.com @DRESEDENCODAK

April Fools’ Day is actually brilliant because it tricks people who aren’t funny into thinking they are. The ultimate prank. @LATOYA FERGUSON

Every April Fools’ Day I play the same prank and buy myself a gym membership. GOOD FOR THE GOOSE @JOHNNYMCNULTY Oursonleftapairofhisdirty football boots on the kitchen table andhisdadcomplained,“Surelyhe’s gotmoresense?Weeatofthattable. It’s absolutely disgusting.” Laterthatevening,Icamehome with my shopping and there was my husband, overhauling his gear box on the middle of the kitchen table!

SUBMITTED BY STEPHANIE BRYN One was a hardened young criminal. The other a calm and uncynical prison warden. All they had in common was sport

BY BRUCE GRIERSON INSPIRE

and The Guard THE PRISONER AND THE GUARD

NEAFTERNOONINNOVEMBER2009, amidtheclankingofbarbellsinaprisongymin theBritishMidlands,oicerDarrenDaviskepthis eyeononeinmateinparticular.JohnMcAvoy,a Ocompact, baby-faced tank of a man, was working out ferociously on a rowing machine.

Hecrossed10,000metresofpre- To McAvoy, it was just another tend ocean and then stood up, his top jail.Butlandingherewouldprove soaked with sweat. None of the other astrokeoffortune.BecauseDarren inmatestookmuchnoticeofthe Davis was anything but just another 26yearold.ButDavis,veteranguard prisonguard.Tallandbroad,witha andthesportsandleisuretutorhere calm air of competence, Davis irmly atLowdhamGrangePrisonnearNot- believed in the notion that everyone tingham, England, was impressed. deserves the beneit of the doubt, and Davis, then 40, didn’t know much everyone deserves a second chance. about McAvoy. he convict had said hat’s one of the reasons he became a littlesincehe’darrivedthreemonths prisonguardintheirstplace. earlierfromamaximum-security “I feel it’s part of my duty,” he prison up north. Davis sidled up. says,“tohelprehabilitateandguide “How fast did you do that?” he asked. individuals in their ambitions to McAvoy gave him the number the change.” here is no trace of cynicism rowing machine had coughed up. in Davis, which is pretty rare in his Davisnodded,thenexcusedhimself circumstances. and disappeared into his oice. After he’d slipped away from the Two years earlier, John McAvoy had gym to his oice, Davis returned car- received a life sentence for conspir- rying a stack of paper he’d printed acy to commit robbery and firearms from his computer. He handed it to offences. He was a known criminal; McAvoy. deep family roots in bank heists (his “What are these?” stepfather was in prison serving life for “The current British and world armed robbery and his uncle took part records for indoor rowing,” Davis in the renowned Brink’s-Mat gold bul- said. Based on what he’d just seen – lion robbery in 1983) pushed the boy it turned out McAvoy had pumped towards villainy. He had first been outthose10,000metresinatime held at the high-security unit at Lon- an Olympic rower would be satis- don’s Belmarsh Prison, before being iedwith–Davisreckonedacouple

relocated to Lowdham Grange. of world endurance records were PHOTO (PREVIOUS SPREAD): ALWIN GREYSON

42 | April•2018

potentially within the inmate’s reach. The 100-kilometre record for light- weight men, perhaps, or even the 24-hour distance record. “Can you even get an official re- cordforsomethingyoudoinprison?” McAvoy asked. Good question, Davis said.He’dlookintoit. DavishadbrokentheicewithJohn McAvoy at the perfect time, for the young inmate was just about ready to talk. Needed to talk. Two weeks earlier, McAvoy had ApolicephotoofMcAvoy learned that his cousin Aaron – his from his time in prison best friend in the world – had been killed in a botched ATM-van robbery. After receiving the news by phone, it. Then he began requesting shifts McAvoy returned to his cell and stared that overlapped with Davis’s. “here’s at the ceiling. IfIhadn’tbeeninjailI no one else in prison I can talk to probably would have been with him, about anything other than crime,” andIwouldbedeadtoo,he thought. McAvoy told him. hat fact hung in the air for a moment, What the two men talked about, and in the silence an insight bloomed. mostly, was sport. What do I have to show for my life? Daviswasahigh-performance Nothing. I’ve only caused anguish for athlete. He had scaled peaks in my mum. He made a promise to him- Greenland, run a famously gruelling self that night that he would turn his 111-kilometre race in a day, cycled life around. thelengthofBritain,beenwritten Now, epiphany stories are ten up in the local papers. McAvoy was apennyinprison.ButasMcAvoy impressed. Davis’s toughness had opened up to Davis bit by bit over the depth.McAvoylearnedthathehad daysandweeksthatfollowed,telling raised money for charities on many himthestoryofwantingtochange, of his extreme challenges. of his turnaround, Davis reserved Whenever they met, Davis would judgement. He didn’t scoff and he advise him on training, nutrition, hu- didn’t laugh. He listened. man physiology. McAvoy lapped it all Whenajobinthegym–folding up. Like a wise older brother, Davis towels and cleaning the equipment – knew to wear his influence lightly.

PHOTO: POLICE HANDOUT POLICE PHOTO: fell vacant, McAvoy applied and got Everyone is capable of changing,

April•2018 | 43 responded. “It’s something inside me Ididn’tknowIhad,”hetoldDavis. Meanwhile, Davis pondered how he could make this happen. Releasing McAvoy from his cell for a full day vi- olated the prison’s protocol, let alone for 24 hours. This was a category-B high-security jail; at night it was com- pletely and utterly locked down. Davis wrote a letter appealing to the prison governor. Could an ex- ception be made in these unusual circumstances? The young inmate showed huge focus and determina- tion, Davis told the governor. Then McAvoy,aone-time Davisaddedthattheinmateaimed hardened criminal, is now a world-class athlete to raise much-needed funds for the Rainbows Children’s Hospice char- ity. he governor mulled it over. hen Davis believed. But he also knew he he said yes. couldn’t change anyone, least of all A few months later, in early spring John McAvoy. “The life adjustment,” 2011,DavisandMcAvoysetupcamp he says, “has to come from within.” intheprisongym.ItwasDavis’sday Inanyprisonthereisaninvisible of, but he’d come in anyway to mon- line between inmates and guards. itor McAvoy’s world-record attempt. The ‘inmate’s code’ includes the Hetackedupawhiteboardtokeep tenet:“Don’ttrustguardsorthe track of McAvoy’s time, pace and things they stand for.” But the code kilojoules consumed – the nitty gritty goestheotherwayaswell.McAvoy of extreme human performance. As wondered what price Davis was pay- other inmates wrapped up their ing,intheeyesofhiscolleagues,for workoutsinthelastexerciseperiod befriending him. of the day, Davis pulled a stationary Thepairsatdownanddiscussed bikebehindtherowingmachine. what McAvoy was capable of and At 4pm, Davis looked McAvoy in cameupwithaplan.McAvoywould the eye and counted down from three. go for the 24-hour world rowing re- McAvoy brought the oars back, and cord.Hehadalreadybeguntraining his shoulders engaged. He began to forshorterdistances,andhewas row. Right behind him, in solidarity,

surprised at how quickly his body Davis began to pedal. PHOTO: COURTESY JOHN MCAVOY

44 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST

Evening approached. The last of duly recorded at 4.05pm (McAvoy’s the staff clocked out, leaving McA- record has since been broken, in voy and Davis to their private labour. 2014.)WhileMcAvoylaywetand he lywheel hummed. In four years, exhaustedonabluematnexttothe McAvoy had not been outside his cell rowing machine, Davis turned to after dark. A thrill of freedom gripped himandsaid,“Youhaveagift.Not him. As midnight came and went, he manypeoplecanpushthemselves was lying. anddowhatyoucando.Donot Butaround2am,somethinghap- wastethatgift.” pened. McAvoy started showing hen McAvoy, his back plaster-cast signsofamanwhobadlywanted stiff, returned to his cell. The other to lie down. Davis dismounted and inmates burst into applause as he crouchedclosetohim. entered the wing. It was the irst time “Your brain is telling you to sleep, John McAvoy had got respect for buttrustme,thisisabsolutelythe anything that didn’t involve pointing time to keep rowing,” he said. “I a gun at somebody. promise you that in the morning, when you’re used to waking up, you’ll TODAY MCAVOY competes as a tri- comeoutofthisdarkspell.” athlete. He knows how lucky he is Sureenough,comethedawn,McA- tohavemetDavis–hissensei–on voygothissecondwind.Asother theothersideofthelaw.“Davisis prisonersbegantowake,wordwent themanwhosetmeonthepathto through the prison that McAvoy was change,” he says. still on the machine. From hardened criminal to a By late morning, the record was in redeemed man: if you wrote it as ic- view. By 2pm McAvoy had it. But still tion,noonewouldquitebelieveit. Davisappliedthespurs.“hemore ButforDavis–theprisonguard distance you put between you and andtheman–McAvoy’sturnaround the next guy,” he said, “the harder is not surprising. For Davis believes this record will be to break.” that“Nomatterhowfardownthe Thenewofficialworldrecord– wrong road you’ve gone, it’s never 263,396 metres (263.3 km) – was too late to turn back.”

DIGITAL IQ

Here’s a good rule of thumb: Too clever is dumb.

OGDEN NASH

April•2018 | 45 Famous Quotes hat Everyone Gets Wrong BY BRANDON SPECKTOR FROM RD.COM

Winning isn’t everything This motivational quote isn’t as feel-good when you hear the original version. The real quote, spoken by a former university football coach, Money is the root of all evil ‘Red’ Sanders, was uttered to a group Is keeping a couple of bucks in your of students in 1950: “Men, I’ll be hon- pocket inherently sinful? According est,” Sanders said. “Winning isn’t to the Bible, where this oft-quoted everything. [long pause] Men, it’s the condemnation originates, it’s not the only thing!” (Take that, “trying your concept of legal tender that’s evil, but best” and “having a good time”!) the lust for money that drives people away from virtue and towards greed. The proof is in the pudding he exact quote, from 1 Timothy 6:10 Unless you’re a baroque homicide (King James version): “For the love detective trying to prove that everyone of money is the root of all evil: which at the duke’s banquet was poisoned by while some coveted after, they have the dessert chef, this saying makes no erred from the faith, and pierced sense. he REAL, rarely quoted saying themselves through with many goes: “he proof of the pudding is in

sorrows.” the eating.” The word pudding itself ISTOCK ILLUSTRATIONS:

46 | April•2018 WISDOM used to refer to a kind of sausage, a potentially treacherous mixture of mixed meats. In this case the proof is the act of testing it by tasting it. Be the change you want to see in the world This gorgeous quote by Gandhi is 1905: “Curiosity killed the cat…but probably the most inspiring thing satisfaction brought it back.” In other he never said. At least, not in those words, being nosy might get you into words. he guru’s original statement trouble, but learning the truth is often from which this is derived: “If we worth the risk. could change ourselves, the tenden- cies in the world would also change. Great minds think alike As a man changes his own nature, so If this quote was meant in earnest, does the attitude of the world change Socrates might have penned it in- towards him.” Sadly, that doesn’t it on stead of drinking hemlock. As vari- a bumper sticker as well. ous books of proverbs point out, the now-ubiquitous slogan is best used Curiosity killed the cat sarcastically. To drive that point The earliest-known version of this home is the rejoinder most of us expression, written by Ben Jonson often leave out: “Great minds think and popularised by his frenemy Wil- alike … and fools seldom difer.” liam Shakespeare, goes: “Care killed the cat”. With ‘care’ being used here When one door closes, to mean ‘worry’, the historical gist another opens is that an anxious person (or feline) his motivational parable has its heart can literally worry themselves sick. in the right place. But for all the pos- It’s unclear how ‘care’ became ‘curi- itivity of this slogan, the little-uttered osity’ in the late 1800s but it is clear second half counters with a dose of that modern speakers almost always reality: “When one door closes an- forget the rejoinder irst published in other door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” Keep that in mind the next time a door slams shut – before the next one opens, you may need to turn around.

April•2018 | 47 DRAMA IN REAL LIFE

The patient was in a coma –allthedoctorssaidso. The only one who disagreed? The patient

BY TOM HALLMAN

48 | April•2018

CAN’T ANYONE HEAR ME?

ichardMarshawakenedtotherhythmicbeepingof amachine.Somethingwaslodgedinhisthroat.He couldn’t cough. He couldn’t sit up. He couldn’t move. What’s going on? Hetriedtomovehislegs,armsandingers.Evenhis eyeballs,herealised,wouldn’tbudge.Hefeltsomeoneputdrops in them to keep them moist, but he couldn’t make out who it was.

What’s wrong with me? EHADN’TFELTwell two Hecouldonlystareinonedirec- mornings before. Liliana no- tion–straightahead. Hticedhelookedalittlepale. Withhisperipheralvision,Rich- But Richard didn’t want her hover- ardcouldseehiswifeoftohisright. ing and fussing over him as if he were He heard her talking to a man next herpatient.Hesaidhe’dbeineand toher,amanwhoseemedtobein insistedshegotowork.hatwashis surgical scrubs. way. Once alone, Richard relaxed on “It doesn’t look good,” the man thecouchbeforehehadtoleavefor said. school.Hetaughtforensicscience What doesn’t look good? and economics near his home in “His chance of survival is very Napa,California,andhewasconsid- small.” ered one of the high school’s popular hey’re talking about me. teachers. Richardwilledhisbodytore- Hestoodup,readytoleavefor spond:withhisvoice,hiseyes,his work,whenhefeltasifhewereon hand. Nothing. thedeckofasmallboatinchoppy “Youneedtopreparefortheworst,” seas.Hegrabbedtheedgeofatable the man in scrubs told Richard’swife, and made his way to the telephone. LilianaGarcia.houghsombre,she Hecalledhiswife’soiceandlefta didn’tcry.Aregisterednurseata messageforhertocallhim. hospicecentre,shequicklyturned Richardsatbackinachairathis professional,askingthedoctorclini- desk. Something was wrong with calquestionsasifthemaninthebed him. He rarely drank, never smoked were just another patient, not the love and really was in great shape. At of her life. 60 years old, he stood 1.8 metres I’minhere. tall and weighed 98 kilograms. He

And then his world faded to black. pumped iron at the gym, a habit ILLUSTRATION: JONATHAN BART; HAND LETTERING: JOEL HOLLAND

50 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST he’d started during his irst career as lives, expect severe brain damage … apoliceoicer. Little hope … Best outcome is that he The phone rang – Liliana calling survives but lingers in a vegetative himback.“Comehome,”hetoldher. state…Youneedtoconsidertaking AllLilianaheardwasagarbled himoflifesupport,”Richardrecalls voice. Then she called emergency hearing the doctor say. services. He remembered the conversation Minuteslater,Richardwasrushed he and Liliana had had three years tothehospitalinanambulance. earlier, when they got married. hey Numbness had started discussed end-of-life in his feet and crept up scenarios. hey agreed hislegstohiswaist.He that if, God forbid, felthimselflosingcon- either of them required trol of his muscles. He life support for what- couldn’t swallow. To Richard heard ever reason, the other save him, an ER team “ spouse needed to pull the blunt puthimunderandin- diagnosis: theplug,outofcom- serted a breathing tube a two per cent passion and love. down his throat. He was survival rate Richard heard his then given medication daughters’ voices. Dis- tofightastrokethat tant.Perhapsinahall- doctors believed was way? Liliana told the beingcausedbyaclot. doctor she needed to discuss the Afterdoctorsdidwhattheycould, issue with her husband’s daugh- nurses wheeled Richard to intensive ters, adult children from a previous care. And then they waited. marriage. IguessI’mdying. NCE HE HAD AWAKENED, Lilianareturned.hefamily,she and even though he was told the doctor, had agreed to wait Oparalysed, Richard felt sen- afewdaystoseehowRichardpro- sations when doctors and nurses gressed. The girls, she explained, touched him. weren’treadytolettheirfathergo. I don’t feel sick. I just can’t move. Norwasshepreparedtoloseher Slowly,herealisedhewastrapped husband. in a prison that was his body. He hroughout the day, friends came heardthedoctorexplaintoLiliana andstoodbyRichard’sbed.They thatherhusbandwasinacoma. talked about old times. They told Richardheardthebluntdiagnosis: him they loved him and how good a two per cent survival rate. “If he he looked.

April•2018 | 51 CAN’T ANYONE HEAR ME?

His daughters came with the youcanhearme,blinkyoureyes.” grandchildren. As they leaned to- Blink … Try … wardshisface,Richardsawthetears WhenRichardwasacop,hewas in their eyes, even as they shared trainedtodealwithscaryevents words of encouragement. head-on.Butnow…Whatifhe No. I’m here! couldn’t blink? He drew He felt lips on his onthecopinside,the forehead.Acharacter strong man, the rock. inamacabresceneina He was good with vic- horror movie, Richard tims, those suffering hadonlyhisthoughts “Has anyone tremendous loss. In to keep him occupied. “ this instance, Richard checked to see He’dnevergohome if he’s in there? Marshwasthevictim. again, teach, or kiss his Blink! wife.He’dlieinahos- Rich, if you can Andthen…ablinkso pitalbed–theultimate hear me, blink” excruciatingly slow that solitary confinement – the neurologist couldn’t foryears.Orhisfamily be sure what he’d seen. wouldsignthepapersandwaitbyhis “Rich, blink your eyes again. Can sideasthedoctorsdidwhatwasnec- you hear me?” essary to let him slip away. A…blink. Richardheardthestaftalkingand hey knew. laughinginthehallway.Life,the everydaylifehe’dtakenforgranted, XTENSIVE TESTS revealed wassocloseandyetsofaraway. that Richard had sufered from Perhapsdeathwouldbeabless- Ea congenital anomaly in one of ing, he concluded. Richard accepted twoarteriesinhisbrain.Oneartery the inevitable. He resigned himself wasfullyformedbutblocked.The to the end. other artery had never formed, an If it’s going to happen, let it happen. undiagnosed birth defect that hadn’t The next morning, a neurologist caused Richard problems until now. stopped in the ICU and huddled with With the blood supply compro- other doctors at his bedside. Rich- mised by that blockage, Richard had ard heard part of the conversation: sufered a brain stem stroke. he stem, “Has anyone checked to see if he’s which connects the brain to the spinal in there?” cord, controls nearly all bodily func- Theneurologistleanedover,so tions. His heart was beating, but there closethatRichardcouldfeelthe was virtually nothing that Richard man’s breath on his cheek: “Rich, if could voluntarily will his body to do.

52 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST

With Liliana by his side, doctors his corner? Ablink. explainedthatRichardsuferedfrom First line? Two blinks. ‘locked-in syndrome’, meaning he his letter? Two blinks. wasliterallylockedinhisbody. Second line? Blink. They asked him questions: blink his letter? Two blinks. onceforyes,twiceforno.Ittookan Everyword,slowlyspelledout. extraordinaryefortforRichardtoget Astoughasthedayswere,the hiseyestowork. nights, after his family had gone Upto70percentofpeoplediag- home, were hell. he staf didn’t use nosedwiththesyndromediewithin theboard,norweretheyconstantly a short period of time. Of those who around to take care of his every do survive, only a handful recover need. Trapped, Richard was alone enough to lead a normal life. andscared.Fluidsbuiltupinhis Butbeforehecouldevenhopefor throat,chokinghim,andnoonewas such an outcome, Richard would aroundtosuctionthemoutforhim. have to endure new terrors. Hisroommateheardhimstruggling tobreatheandusedhiscallbuttonto ICHARD WAS MOVED from get the nurses to help. the ICU to a hospital where When his family arrived one morn- Rspecialists would let his body ing,Richardlookedwildlyatthelet- decide the course of the treatment. ter board. Slowly, he made his wishes Becausehecouldnotswallow,doc- known: Get me out of here. torsperformedatracheotomy,mak- Days later, his wife moved him to a ing an incision in his windpipe and hospital closer to their home. Physical inserting a tube so Richard could andoccupationaltherapistsstarted breathe and nurses could suction out to work with him more aggressively, thesalivathatwouldotherwisedrain trying to get his body to function into his lungs. fully again. Horrible. But they know I’m here. Days passed. To help Richard communicate here’s no returning to normal. more easily, Liliana bought a letter hen weeks. boardforthefamilytoholdinfrontof Hardest thing I’ve done in my life. him. he board had four quadrants, Then one day it happened – each containing several lines with Richardmovedthebigtoeonhis ive letters in each line, and an empty leftfoot.Twoweekslater,hemoved boxinthemiddletowritehismes- hisheadfromsidetoside.Dayslater, sagein.Richardwouldlookatthe hewiggledafoot.Afteranotherday board.Hisfamilywouldhavetofol- ortwohadpassed,hecouldshake low his eyes to the correct quadrant. his legs. His family members cried,

April•2018 | 53 CAN’T ANYONE HEAR ME?

laughed, and hugged one another Emotionally, Richard no longer with each new victory. goteasilyirritatedorworriedover More than two months after his thelittlethings.Hebecameless locked-in diagnosis, Richard did controlling. He even retired from something he’d taken for granted teachingandtookoverthehouse- his entire life – he raised his hand hold duties while Liliana continued and touched his nose. And then he to work. He found pleasure in life’s walked, a big toddler taking the irst simplicity. few wobbly steps, rocking from side to SomeonegavehimthebookThe side with his walker to keep his bal- Diving Bell and the Butterfly,the ance as he slowly made his way from memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby, his bed to the door of his room and ajournalistwhosufferedastroke back, a therapist close by his side in andremainedlockedinfortherest case he fell. ofhislife.Baubydictatedhisstory Exactlyfourmonthsandninedays to his publisher’s editorial assistant afterthestroke,aftermorepain- byblinkinghisonegoodeyeinre- fulandpainstakingrehab,Richard sponse to an alphabet rearranged by Marshwalkedthroughthefrontdoor how often letters are used. He died of his home under his own power. He two days after the book was pub- satinhischair. He was back. lished. Richard read two chapters andpromptlygavethebookaway. ICHARD WAS FOREVER Unlike Bauby, Richard was very changed. He’d lost 23 kilo- much alive. Rgramsofmuscle,andwhenhe He would never forget waking up came home he was so weak that he in the ICU and the long journey to couldn’t lift a carton of milk. Physi- escape his prison. He’d been given cally,herebuilthislife.Ittookayear, asecondchance,aprecioussecond buthereturnedtohisightingweight, chance.Hevowed,daily, to never back pumping iron at the gym. squander the gift.

PARENTAL GUIDANCE

As a kid my parents taught me to not believe everything I see on TV. Now I have to teach them to not believe everything they see on Facebook.

SNICKSOUND

54 | April•2018 ‘Everything happens for a reason’ is something that we have to tell ourselves all the time, because it’s good to have the idea that something good is around the corner.

MARGOT ROBBIE, actress

Most of the things that I learrn are from the women in my lifee. JAKE GYLLENHAAL, acttor

A LOT OF PEOPLE GET A Somebody told me RECORD DEAL AND SPEND the secret to happiness THEIR MONEY ON STUFF. is low expectations. ISPENTITONCHEESE, I still can’t believe that BASICALLY. I have flush toilets. JEANNETTE WALLS, SAM SMITH, singer author

THAT’S ANOTHER GREAT THING ABOUT GETTING OLDER. YOUR LIFE IS WRITTEN ON YOUR FACE. FRANCES MCDORMAND, actress

CONFORMITY IS OFTEN Our own heart, and not UNCONSCIOUS. TO SAY other men’s opinions, NO EFFECTIVELY, YOU HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE forms our true honour. DECISION YOU’VE MADE. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE JULIE COULTAS, psychology researcher PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK; GETTY

April•2018 | 55 SCIENCE PHOTO: ISTOCK PHOTO: JONATHAN CLARKE HAS BEEN internationalsix-personMarsSoci- TO MARS. In 2017 the 58-year-old ety team at FMARS (Flashline Mars Australian geologist escaped the Arctic Research Station) – a mock-up Canberra winter and instead, for Mars base on Devon Island, deep in precisely30days,exploredthe the Canadian Arctic – he was able to surfaceoftheRedPlanet.Fortu- undertakealevelofMartiansurface nately,hedidn’thavetoundertake exploration that was breathtakingly the arduous 225-million-km jour- realistic. ney. Instead Clarke’s more modest As president of Mars Society Aus- 15,000-kilometreexcursiontoMars tralia, Clarke is a virtual Mars veteran. was a virtual one. But, as part of an As well as his time at FMARS, he’s

Savvyscientistsarepreparingfor exploration on Mars using some of Earth’s most barren locations The MARS Frontier BY DAVID LEVELL THE MARS FRONTIER done four stints of up to 80 days at cylinder, eight metres in height and the international Mars Society’s Mars width. Food is freeze-dried, dehy- Desert Research Station in Utah, plus drated or tinned. Sanitation involves less-simulated trials in outback Aus- plastic bags and an incinerator. Out- tralia and a high-altitude cold desert side communications mimic Mars in India. “People have been doing this restrictions. And venturing outdoors for centuries, for millennia – going of requires faux spacesuits (except for in small groups to live and work in whoever’s riding shotgun for polar remote places, exploring the frontier,” bears; luckily none showed up). Clarke points out. “We’re no diferent.” “When we go outside to do our he Mars Society’s frontier is a little work, we do a simulated EVA [extra- diferent, however. Founded in the US vehicular activity] with constant radio in 1998 and funded largely by dona- contact,” Clarke says. “he spacesuits tion and sponsorship, the non-proit are basically costumes, but they do global network (26 countries have isolate you from the environment. chapters) exists to promote human They make work two or three times exploration of Mars. more diicult, and when we go back Not content to wait for official inside we go through the simulated space agencies, members actively ad- re-pressurisation procedure. So we vance the know-how they hope will do get a good appreciation of the con- hasten those first human footprints straints of working on Mars.” on the Red Planet. he main game is Spacesuit design is a key considera- ‘Mars analogue research’ – dress re- tion, for which the Mars Society ofers hearsals of Mars mis- novative ‘MarsSkin’ sions to investigate all utits. Sleek and lex- kinds of operational le, they counteract challenges, including w-pressure space psychological. nvironments with he FMARS facility is rm-itting elastic in- –likeMars–aremote ead of gas inflation, cold-desert environ- e method used by ment.Locatedonour ulkier traditional world’s largest unin- acesuits. The basic habited island, it’s a ncept isn’t new, but bleak treeless expanse e MarsSkin applica- of permafrost, rocks on is a Mars Society and lichen. ustralia creation, tri- Home base is a Dr Jonathan Clarke lled in the South Aus- two-storey fibreglass tralian desert and now

58 | April•2018 On inhospitable Devon Island, researchers simulate missions to Mars

in its fourth generation of ine-tuning. of the crater rim, and one on map- Other Australian projects in the pipe- ping techniques in polar permafrost line include the Starchaser Marsupial environments.” rover for driving on Mars, and air- Other research was biological. “We borne drones. were looking at hypoliths, micro- Mars-like terrain ofers more than organisms living under rocks in ex- the best place to ield-test equipment treme climates. If there’s life on the and procedures. Science projects can surface of Mars, it’s going to be in little be tailored to yield Mars-relevant data. sheltered environments such as those. Devon Island and Mars share ‘perigla- And we also looked for past life pre- cial’ (shaped by freezing and thawing) served in gypsum.” landscapes with ‘polygon ields’ (dis- tinctively patterned ground). here’s IS THERE, OR WAS THERE, even an ancient impact crater, Haugh- LIFE ON MARS? ton, resembling Endeavour Crater on For centuries, this question has cap- Mars–apossible landing site cur- tured the collective imagination. rently being explored by NASA’s Mars Hopes run more to microbes than rover Opportunity. little green men these days, but the he craters have similar diameters answer is still lost in space. Some of and, although Endeavour is millions the best clues may be in outback Aus- of years older, similar degrees of ero- tralia, where fossil hot springs have sion (a much slower process on Mars). yielded the earliest evidence of life on “I did two geological projects,” says Earth – and may do the same on Mars,

PHOTOS: THE MARS SOCIETY Clarke. “One on the bedrock geology too. Mars Society Australia’s favourite

April•2018 | 59 Clarke and space journalist Anastasiya Stepanova conduct ield research; Mars local site, Arkaroola in South Aus- one-third of our gravity, less than one tralia, has good examples, plus plenty per cent of our surface air pressure of Mars-like landscape for engineer- and an average temperature below ing trials and science projects. inland Antarctica’s. “Fossilhotspringsareaveryim- Yet it’s still our most Earth-like portant target on Mars,” Clarke says, planetary neighbour, topping the adding that studying Earth’s modern space-travel bucket list ever since Neil hot springs is also important. “hey Armstrong’s one small lunar step in contain extremophiles, organisms 1969. Back then NASA intended land- that tolerate extreme temperatures, ing a crew on Mars by 1986, but the US acidity, extreme alkalinity and so on timeframe is now the 2030s. – conditions we might ind on other So far, only robotic probes have planets. Extremophiles are very inter- visited Mars. Around 50 have been esting to astrobiologists.” launched since 1960. Eight are still Arkaroola even has mildly radio- operational: six in Mars orbit (three active hot springs hosting microbes US, two European, one Indian) and with radiation-tolerant genes – a two (US) roving the surface. he rover handy attribute for life on Mars, Opportunity has been sending back where the atmosphere is too thin to data since 2004, but it’s an exception. shield against cosmic rays. The high failure rate of unmanned Mars certainly has much to ofer an Mars missions – more than half extremophile – apart from radiation, crashed, missed the target or other- there’s a deadly (95 per cent carbon wise malfunctioned – highlights the

dioxide) atmosphere, no liquid water, risk of sending people so far out. PHOTOS: THE MARS SOCIETY; (MARS) ISTOCK

60 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST

hose risks go beyond engineering to carry out longer and longer EVAs issues. “A typical Mars mission would into the crater.” take about six months to get there, 18 Closer to home, Clarke hopes an months on the surface and six months analogue station planned for South coming home,”Clarke says. Crews will Australia’s Arkaroola – Mars-Oz – face unheard-of isolation. he poten- will be operational one day. Mean- tial for the worst bout of cabin fever in while he’s pleased that the two North human history is obvious. American stations have given more Clearly, it’s vital, Clarke says, that than a thousand people a taste of crews “work hard, support each other what working on Mars might be like. and get along well”.Mars Society mis- The Mars Society’s credibility is sions have long monitored the psy- sky-high.“Manymembersofthe chology of group dynamics in remote, US society work for NASA,” Clarke restricted environments. points out. “A number of NASA re- “We understand now how a lot of search projects have run at the this works,” Clarke adds. “You need stations – a hydroponics project, to select the right skills, the right per- drilling equipment tests, ield robot- sonalities, the right level of emotional icstrials.It’safacilitytheycanuse.” intelligence – and also a group that And one that, the Mars Society will mutually help. If people are going hopes, will help the Red Planet inally to be months or years in an extremely gain a firm green light for human isolated environment, they have got visitation. “We’re reaching a point, to be friends, be like family. They if we haven’t already, where robotic can’t simply be colleagues or poten- exploration will be delivering dimin- tial competitors.” ished returns,” Clarke says. Despite arduous fieldwork and “Whileveryuseful,it’slimited. challenging weather, Clarke found It’sabitliketryingtogetanappre- himself “rather sad” to leave FMARS. ciation for Thailand purely on the he crew bonded well – “like family”, basisofpostcards.Ifwe’regoingto and “we were just getting into our be serious about space exploration, stride, building confidence in the peoplegoingiswhat it’s all about. terrain, our skills and our equipment It’s the next step.”

GRAND TOTAL

What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million

dollars’ worth of pleasure. GENE PERRET

April•2018 | 61 Laughter THE BEST MEDICINE

RESISTING One morning a policeman knocked kes on my door, but I ignored him. He Teach just knocked louder until inally, he peeked through the window and said, “Sir, I can clearly see you. Open up!” I said, “You can’t come in!” A selection of grammar He responded, “I don’t want to, jokes that will make you I just want you to step out of the car!” the English teacher’s pet ANDREW BERRY in no time. STRIKE OUT Q: What should you say to I don’t watch sports, so my idea comfort an upset grammar of ‘Fantasy Football’ would just be fanatic? a bunch of strikers lining up A:here, their, they’re. to apologise for being mean to me at school. Seen online Q:Did you hear the one about the pregnant woman who went into labour and started shouting, “Couldn’t! Wouldn’t! Shouldn’t! Didn’t! Can’t!”? A: She was having contractions. Q: Which word becomes shorter after you add two letters to it? A: Short. Q:What’s the diference between a cat and a comma? A: One has claws at the end of its paws, and the other is a pause at “I told you the tank was half-empty, the end of a clause. but oh no, you said it was half-full.” CARTOON: ROBERTCARTOON: ERSKINE

62 | April•2018 PUNDERRATED When I was a child, people used to cover me in chocolate and cream and put a cherry on my head. Life was tough in the gateau. MELVYN DOVER

CALL HR Everybody is so sensitive nowadays. A girl at work complained about me JOKES WITHIN JOKES recently, and so now I have to call her “Orion’s Belt is a big waist of space.” “lactose-intolerant” instead of “Susan Terrible joke. Only three stars. the cheese bigot”. Seen online @TECHOGLOT ON TWITTER Fooled Ya! APRIL FOOLS’ JOKES THAT WORKED LIKE CRAZY

„ PC Computing magazine swarmed the fast-food “reported” in 1994 that the US outlets requesting the Congress was considering a southpaw sandwich. bill to ban drinking while using the internet. Since imbibing „ In 2000, the UK’s Daily is outlawed while driving on Mail touted the beneits highways, it should be illegal on the of a new line of socks, FatSox, that information superhighway, right? “sucked body fat out of sweating Angry constituents actually forced feet”. he user could then simply Massachusetts Senator Edward wash the socks – and the fat – away. Kennedy’s oice to formally deny that he was sponsoring the bill. „ In 2009 the Swiss Tourism Board “revealed” just why the Alps are „ Burger King took out an ad so pristine. Every day, members of in 1998 introducing a Whopper the Swiss Association of Mountain designed especially for left-handers. Cleaners scaled the Alps to scrub he new burger would contain and polish them. Scores of people the same ingredients as those for took the online test to see if they righties, but rotated 180 degrees. qualiied to join the high-altitude housands of customers reportedly clean team. Source: Museum of Hoaxes

April•2018 | 63 LIFE LESSONS

Improve your memory by harnessing the power of words, Secretsimages and mnemonics to a Smarter You

BY ANDREA AU LEVITT AND BRANDON SPECKTOR

64 | April•2018 PHOTOGRAPHED BY NIKKI ORMEROD NIKKI BY PHOTOGRAPHED

April•2018 | 65 SECRETS TO A SMARTER YOU

nanagewhenyourrefrig- regions associated with visual and erator can help you manage spatiallearningandtheregionsas- your shopping list and your sociatedwithmemorylitupinaspe- phone can answer almost ciic pattern.Inthenormalpeople’s I any question, you don’t brains,thesesameregionswereac- really need to remember tivated diferently. anything anymore. Which makes the Whyisthisimportant?Becausewe featsofmemorychampions–who learnbyseeing,andthemorewesee, can recall hundreds of names and thebetterwerememberthings.hese faces,stringsofnumbersorwordsor supermemorisershaveperfecteda the order of multiple decks of cards method to convert items they want –seemmoresuperhumanthanever. to remember (numbers, faces, cards, Buthere’saniftylittlesecretabout even abstract shapes) into pictures people with phenomenal recall: in a they‘see’intheirminds.It’saprocess studyrecentlypublishedinthesci- calledbuildingamemorypalace. entific journal Neuron, researchers Here’showitworks:first,you foundthatsupermemorisersdon’t transform your target items into an have unusually large cerebral regions image – anything you’ll remember. For instance, to remember card se- quences, Ed Cooke (recognised as a Grandmaster of Memory by the MEMORY CHAMPIONS’ World Memory Sports Council) told BRAIN STRUCTURES American author Tim Ferriss that he ARE ESSENTIALLY assignseachcardaspecificceleb- THE SAME AS THOSE rity,anactionandanobject;each OF THE REST OF US three-card combination then forms a uniqueimagewiththecelebfromthe irst card, the action from the second thatallowthemtoabsorbandretain and the object from the third. prodigious amounts of information. Inhissystem,thejackofspades, heirbrainstructuresareessentially sixofspades,andaceofdiamonds thesameasthoseoftherestofus. becomestheDalaiLamawearing Comparing brain scans of 23 mem- Lady Gaga’s meat dress and holding ory champions (all placed in the top Michael Jordan’s basketball. Cooke’s 50 at the World Memory Champion- system is built on the idea that your ship) with those of 23 average people memory hangs on to unusual cues ofthesameage,genderandIQ,the better than mundane ones. scientists found only one diference: Then, mentally place that picture in the memory champs’ brains, the somewhere familiar to you: in your

66 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST

Subsequent studies showed that varying other aspects of your envi- ronment (the time of day, the music in the background, whether you sit or stand, etc.) can also help recall. The theory is that your brain links the words to the context around you, and the more contextual cues you as- sociate with the words, the more your brain has to draw upon when it’s try- ing to remember them.

To Remember: Your PIN Technique: Count it out house or a point along your commute, You could use your birthday, of for instance. Finally, make up a story course, or your phone number, but about the items, which will help you identity thieves have a way of fer- connect them in the correct order. reting those out. Instead, try this tip Here are a few of our favourite from Dominic O’Brien, an eight-time tricks that can help you to remember World Memory Champion. Write a things in your everyday life. four-word sentence, then count the number of letters in each word. For To Remember: New words instance, “his is my PIN” = 4223. Technique: Change routine In a classic study conducted at the To Remember: Facts and figures University of Michigan in the 1970s, Technique: Give yourself time a group of students studied a list Mum was right: cramming is not of words in two separate sessions. the best way to memorise things. To Some studied in a small cluttered learn and recall statistics (or pretty room and some in a space with two much any kind of factual informa- windows and a one-way mirror. One tion), reviewing the material period- group of studiers spent both sessions ically over a longer span of time is far in the same room, while the other more efective than repeating it in a split the sessions between the two shorter one. environments. During a test given in his technique dates as far back as a completely diferent room, the stu- 1885, when psychologist Hermann dents who studied in multiple places Ebbinghaus discovered that he could recalled 53 per cent more than those learn a list of nonsense words if he re-

PHOTO: THE VOORHES who studied in just one room. peated them 68 times in one day and

April•2018 | 67 SECRETS TO A SMARTER YOU seven more times before being tested week,allthestudentstookaquiz. thenextday.Buthecouldlearnthe Those who both read and listened same number of words equally well outscored the reading-only group on byrepeatingthematotalof38times all eight quizzes. overthecourseofthreedays. More recent research has demon- To Remember: Faces strated optimal intervals for study Technique: Focus on noses sessions: if your exam is one week While some super memorisers spe- away, study today and then again cialiseinassociatingnameswith in a day or two. If it’s a month away, faces (one of the disciplines in the studytodayandthenwaitaweekbe- World Memory Championships), the fore your second study session. hree memory-palace technique doesn’t monthsof?Waitthreeweekstores- workaswelliftheimageoftheface tudy.Thefurtherawayyourexam, is cropped, normalised for colour, or thelongertheoptimalintervalbe- changed in any other way. tweenyourirsttwostudysessions. Rememberingfacesandrecognis- (A inal review the day before the test ingthemindifferentcontextsmay is also a good idea.) be a special skill that several studies have linked to personality: extroverts are much better at recognising faces than introverts, for example. One REMEMBERING AND trickthatmaywork:ratherthanfo- RECOGNISING FACES cusing on someone’s eyes, as most MAY BE A SPECIAL peopledo,focusonthecentreorto SKILL LINKED TO theleftofthenose.hetheoryisthat PERSONALITY doing so allows you to take in the wholefaceatonce.

To Remember: Ashoppinglist To Remember: Anewlanguage Technique: Engage your body Technique: Read and listen Howoftenhaveyouwrittenyourlist InastudyconductedattheUni- –andthenforgottenwhereyouputit? versityofPuertoRico,137Spanish- In this variation on the memory pal- speaking students were separated ace,picturetheitemsonyourshop- intotwogroups.Overthecourseof ping list with diferent parts of your eightweeks,onegroupreadabookin body.Forinstance,imaginebalanc- English while simultaneously listen- ingapackageofcheeseonyourhead, ingtoanEnglishaudioversion;the an egg on your nose and a bottle of other just read the book silently. Each milk on your shoulder.

68 | April•2018 FIRST PERSON A Scary SYMPATHY Olly Mann discovers that people find it “” ILLUSTRATION: MATTHEW BRAZIER A SCARY SYMPATHY

Y MUM’S ABOUT TO agent. “How are you?” he asked. have spinal surgery. “Not great,” she replied. “I’ve been There’s an illusion of having some trouble with my back choice about it: one and I’m going to need surgery.” consultant suggested “Oh, GOD!” he responded. “The Mshe should have it immediately, while back is the most dangerous place to another said she had “acres of time” to operate. My mum had that and she make up her mind. (When pushed, he was in terrible pain. Make sure you said she shouldn’t leave it untreated get all your afairs in order before you for more than six months.) go under the knife – it takes months The operation – a lumbar decom- to get over it!” pression – is relatively straightfor- Now, Geoff’s intention had been ward, in spinal surgery terms, but benign. He’d relayed his own mother’s does carry a risk of paralysis, as does story to show sympathy, ie, demon- any intervention around those nerves. strating his knowledge that chronic If she opted not to have the procedure, back pain is nasty. He’d also wanted though, there would be a chance of to show empathy – to articulate that eventually becoming confined to a Mum is hardly the only person to have wheelchair anyway. So, surgery it is. sufered with this condition, and she Friends and family have reacted needn’t feel alone. As he walked away, to this news predictably, offering Geof was probably thinking: I’ve just up chicken soup and platitudes, but related on a personal level to this also surprisingly, by talking in such panic-stricken woman. I’ve told her a negative terms that Mum has come story about someone I know who ex- to label the encounters “psycholog- perienced similar obstacles and came ical theft”.his conversational crime through alive. Well done, Geof, you’re is motivated by compassion, but can quite the man! You’re getting a bubble have devastating consequences, and bath tonight! Needless to say, this was is usually committed by accident. not Mum’s takeaway from Geof. She It occurs when – by thoughtlessly heard: pain, danger, knife, months. reflecting their own negative expe- Astonishingly, another acquaint- riences – other people hijack your ance reacted to Mum’s predicament anxiety and put themselves in it, by actually reeling off statistics for rather than provide relief from it. unsuccessful back surgery. I can’t begin to fathom how this could be I’LLGIVEYOUANEXAMPLE.Last considered a helpful contribution, weekMumwenttothepostoffice frankly – but, if I’m being charita- andbumpedintoGeof(nothisreal ble, perhaps it was his way of saying, name), who works for the local travel “You’re right to be concerned, yes;

70 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST it’s a serious operation.” Inevitably, best in the world. It’s amazing what all Mum focused on was a frighten- they can do these days!” – that’s a ing prognosis which, as it turns out, good one. “You’re going to feel much wasn’t even accurate for her speciic better afterwards. It’ll be a new lease condition (yes, I Googled it later). of life for you!” – that’s another. “Is there anything I can do to help?” ONCE YOU START LISTENING OUT – that’s always a welcome offer. FOR IT, it’s staggering how regu- Positive suggestions, rather than larly people respond to another per- compounding the negative thoughts son’s ill health by talking extensively inevitably circling around inside the about themselves, or someone else head of someone who’s already anx- they once knew; some- ious about surgery, are one with a completely all that’s required. diferent condition, who more often than not If surgery can’t I’M NOT SUGGESTING experienced a negative PATIENTS should be outcome. be avoided, sheltered from the re- In the past few weeks, what’s the ality of the risks they’re Mum’s mates and col- taking. But if the deci- leagues have regaled purpose of sion to have surgery has her with stories about highlighting already been taken, or their Aunty Trisha, the drawbacks? can’t really be avoided, who required rapid fol- what’s the purpose of low-up surgery; their highlighting the draw- neighbour, who caught backs? To put it another a superbug and never walked again; way – when our pipes burst, we want their grandmother, who had some- our friends to recommend a good thing similar – well not that similar at plumber, rather than tell us about the all really, a heart attack, but still, it’s torrential flood they saw on the TV all surgery, isn’t it? And yes, OK, she news. When we’re at the GP, we prefer was 96, and yes, she’d chain-smoked nurses who say, “You may feel a prick- for 50 years, but still, here’s the point, ing sensation”, to those who say, “his her recovery period was so strenuous is going to hurt”. … and on it goes. Psychological theft. And when we’re facing a scary and It’s really not that diicult to think precarious medical treatment, the re- of alternative things they could have sults of which are entirely out of our said that would be equally true, but own control, surely it’s just common more beneicial to hear. “he special- sense to say, “Get well soon, and how ists in our hospitals are among the can I help?”

April•2018 | 71 WHO KNEW?

Like a blast of birdshot, the initial ‘jet phase’ 1 of a sneeze lasts only milliseconds but can send an estimated 40,000 droplets of various sizes scattering outward as fast as a car on a highway.

Anatomy ofaSneeze BY BRANDON SPECKTOR

Simultaneously expressing itself as a solid, a liquid and a gas, the common sneeze is one of nature’s grossest miracles. Researcher Lydia Bourouiba has a different name for sneezes, though: violent expiratory events. That’s also the title of a recent study in which her team analysed sneezes, millisecond by millisecond, with a high-speed camera and sophisticated computer models. What did they find? There’s more to a sneeze than what you see in your hanky – and that could influence our understanding of the way diseases spread. Here’s a closer look at what scientists see when you say achoo!

72 | April•2018 COURTESY LYDIA BOUROUIBA, PHD, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY one to two metres. travelled: distance Average seconds. few a within weight own their under plummet rapidly and mouth sneezer’s 2 4 point of origin. point oforigin. their from metres eight to up droplets smallest the carrying environment, oktoto the of out rocket green) in (illustrated droplets largest The narfo the from air in pulls it as slows and grows cloud The those germsto you keep and regularly, hands your wash tissue, or sleeve cover away: length arm’s an solution a there’s But problem. big a It’s building). a in anywhere thus (and vents overhead reach to enough long 5 sneeze droplets withit. the carrying air, the through swirls air moist warm, of cloud turbulent a 3 aiysa airborne stay easily can droplets small cloud, the by Buoyed ilsrtdi red), in (illustrated sneeze a of phase’ ‘puff the In nee iha with sneezes April • 2018 rself. | 73 DRAMA IN REAL LIFE

THE DRIVE OF HIS LIFE

BY PAUL KIX FROM GQ ILLUSTRATIONS BY FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

AKE US TO WALMART,” said the man who settled into the passenger seat. he driver, Long Ma, 71, recognised “T from his voice that he was the one who’d called for the taxi, telling Ma that he and his friends needed a ride home from a restaurant. His name was Bac Duong. He spoke to Ma in Vietnamese – their shared native language – and wore a salt-and-pepper

74 | April•2018 goatee on his thin and weary face. when Duong called and hadn’t both- It was 9.30 on a chilly Friday night ered changing out of his pyjamas. in Santa Ana, California. Now they In the rearview mirror, Ma could want to go shopping? Ma thought. see Duong’s friends, quiet in the back What happened to going home? Ma, seat: Jonathan Tieu, a pimply 20 year a small man with short grey hair and old, and Hossein Nayeri, an athletic a grey moustache, had been asleep Persian with an air of indiference.

April•2018 | 75 THE DRIVE OF HIS LIFE

Walmartdidn’thavewhatthemen asTieusleptonthefloornearthe needed,sotheytoldMatodrive door, the gun under his pillow. For themtoaTargetstore45minutes Ma,therewasnoescapeand,with away.Mahadnowayofknowing allthedreadhefelt,noeasywayto that they were desperate for phones, fall asleep. forclothes,andforsomesemblance In the morning, Duong turned on ofaplan.heyinallyemergedfrom theTV.Areportaboutaprisones- Target. “My mum’s place is right capewasonthenews.“Hey,”Duong aroundhere,”Duonglied.“Takeus shouted,“that’sus!”Mugshotsilled there, please.” thescreen.Amassivemanhunt,Ma The streets were dark and quiet, now learned, was under way for his andafterafewminutes,Duong three roommates. motionedtoamangystripmall. “Pullinhere,”hesaid.AsMaparked HE JAILBREAK had occurred his Honda Civic, Tieu handed Duong T adayearlier,onJanuary22, apistol,whichDuongpointedatMa. 2016. It began after Duong, Ma’smindracedasNayerishouted, sprawledonabunkintheopen-loor “Boom, boom, old man!” dormitory of the Orange County Jail’s The men placed Ma in the back Module F,watchedaguardinishhis 5am head count. Duong then gathered MA WAS CONVINCED HE the tools that he’d been hoarding and shuffled WAS GOINGTODIE–HEJUST totherearofthehous- DIDN’T KNOW HOW OR WHEN ingblock,whereNayeri andTieuwaitedforhim. here,hiddenbehinda seat, where Tieu now trained the bunk bed, the three used their tools gunonhisstomach.Nayerijumped to work loose a metal grate. They behindthewheelandsetoutfora belliedthroughtheholeand,sur- nearby motel. roundedbypipesandwiring,crept Bythetimetheyarrived,Mawas alongametalwalkwayuntilitdead- convincedhewasgoingtodie–he endedagainstawall.Usingthepipes, just didn’t know how or when. In- they shimmied skywards into a ven- side a cramped room, he watched as tilationshaftthatledtoatrapdoor, Nayeri, whom he suspected was the whichtheyshovedopen. group’sringleader,splayedouton Nowontheroof,theyfastened oneofthetwobeds.Mawasordered amakeshiftropethatthey’dfash- to double up with Duong on the other ioned from bedsheets and rappelled

76 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST down four storeys to the ground. No alarms sounded; no lights swept the exterior. They’d done it. They were out. The fugitives alleg- edly irst visited friends, who gave them money. By 9pm, the escapees werestillinSantaAna and needed to get away. Duong phoned a taxi service that advertised in a local Vietnamese newspaper. Long Ma answered the call. As the men in the motel hooted and mar- velled at their images ontheTV,Mawasin- troduced to his captors by their televised rap sheets.Thethreemen were in jail awaiting trial. Tieu had allegedly takenpartinadrive-by shootingthatleftonepersondead; crew were said to have shocked the Duonghadallegedlyshotamanin manwithaTaser,burnedhimwitha the chest after an argument. And butane torch, and poured bleach on Nayeri,well,hewasplainnotorious. hiswounds,amongotherabuses,all Fouryearsearlier,actingona in a failed attempt to locate the cash. hunchthattheownerofamarijuana AfterthemanassuredNayerithere dispensary had buried $1 million in wasnoburiedmoney,hewasleftout theMojaveDesert,Nayerihadal- theretodie.(Hisroommatefound legedlysnatchedtheguyandhis helpandsavedhislife.) roommateanddriventhemtothe Spooked, perhaps, by the prospect spot where the loot was thought to that Ma’s disappearance had been be hidden. There, Nayeri and his noticed, the escapees decided they

April•2018 | 77 THE DRIVE OF HIS LIFE needed a second vehicle. The next become dentists and pharmacists morning,theyfoundavanforsale andwhite-collarsuccessstories– on Craigslist. Duong took the vehicle madehimfeelashamedofthelife foratestspinandthensimplydrove he had made. away.Hemetupwiththeothers Money had always been tight, againlater,andthefugitivesvisited which exacerbated the arguments ahairsalonandalteredtheirap- betweenMaandhiswife.Heknew pearances, none more than Duong, she was losing respect for him and whoshavedhisgoateeanddyedhis that everyone in the family had no- hair black. ticed it. Rather than suffer the in- When they left the salon, Nayeri dignity, Ma moved one day, without andTieutookthevan.DuongandMa explanation, from their home in San gotintotheCivic,andthere,alonein Diego. He found a little room in a thecar,Duongbecamerelaxedand boarding house near Santa Ana, 90 evenchatty,askingaboutthetaxi minutestothenorth,andbegana driver’s life in their native Vietnam- solitary existence as a taxi driver – a ese.Atonepoint,heevencalledMa choice that seemed to have led to his ‘Uncle’,atermofendearmentthat current predicament. implied respect for the old man. But Mawasleery.Forallheknew,Du- UONG STEERED the Civic ongwasplayinganangle.Asalways D towardsanewmotel,the intheUS,MafoundhisfellowViet- Flamingo Inn, where they namese the hardest people to read. would meet Nayeri and Tieu. Deep WhenMahadlandedinCalifornia intothenight,thefugitiveslaughed in1992,withawifeandfourkids, and drank and smoked cigarettes, he’d struggled. A former lieuten- whileontelevisionthenewsanchors antcolonelintheSouthVietnam- said that the reward for information ese Army during the Vietnam War, leadingtotheirarresthadincreased he still had the physical and emo- from$20,000to$50,000. tionalscarsfromsevenpunishing Sunday dawned, and Nayeri yearsspentinaCommunistforced- seemedmoredistantthanusual. labourcamp.hewarandhistime Ma’scaptorsdrankandtalkedinur- inthecamphadplacedhimnearly gent tones. Nayeri soon began yelling two decades behind the first wave at Duong. he room became loud and of emigrants who’d left Vietnam for tenseandsmall.Ma,withhislimited the US. English, sensed that the argument For years he took menial jobs. concernedhim.He’dbeguntocon- He would later say that his sib- sider what the men must have real- lings – who had arrived earlier and ised themselves: if they killed him

78 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST now,theycouldmakeacleaneres- Suddenly, Nayeri glanced at Ma cape.MawatchedasNayeripointed and ran his index inger across his in his direction and again shouted, throat.Inaninstant,daysofanger “Boom, boom, old man!” and anxiety broke, and Nayeri and he escapees decided they needed Duongfellintoarollingheap.Nayeri tomovenorth,andonTuesday endedupontopandlandedaseries morning–dayfourofMa’scaptivity of clean shots to Duong’s nose and –theydrove560stressfulkilometres jaw, one after another. Satisfied, toamotelinSanJose.Thejourney Nayeri pulled himself out of his rage. exhaustedMa,andthatnighthe Each man gasped for air. snored so loudly that he woke Du- Ma was terrified. But Nayeri did ong, who was lying beside him. But notgrabthegunandshootthetaxi Duongdidn’telbowhimawake.In- driver. He did not haul the old man stead, he slowly climbed out of bed, outside and, in the shadows of the careful not to stir Ma, and curled up on the loor, so Uncle might rest more MA KNEW IF HIS KIDNAPPERS peacefully. Thenextday,Nayeri KILLED HIM NOW, THEY COULD announcedthatheand MAKE A CLEANER ESCAPE Tieu needed to take Ma outforawhileinthevan. By the time they parked near the motel, slit his throat. Nayeri simply oceaninSantaCruz,Mahadigured retreatedtoacorner.Foranother he’d been driven to the beach to be night,thefourwatchedoneanother executed. and, as they went to bed, stewed in HisstrollwithNayeriandTieube- the frustration that illed the room. gan aimlessly – and because of that, The news reports were no better it felt even more malevolent to Ma. the next morning – their seventh day Nayerihadthemposeforpictures. on the run. Law enforcement shared Withtheocean,thebeachandthe photos of the stolen van the men pierastheirbackdrop,Nayeriacted were driving. his rattled Nayeri and as if they were friends. What is he Tieu, who told Duong that they were doing? Ma thought. And then ... leaving to have the van’s windows nothing. he three got in the van and tinted and its licence plates changed. drovebacktothemotel. Whenthedoorclosedbehind Afterwatchinganothernewsre- them,DuongturnedquicklytoMa. port on themselves, Nayeri and Du- “Uncle,wehave to go,” he said in ong started shouting at each other. Vietnamese.

April•2018 | 79 THE DRIVE OF HIS LIFE

HE TWO MEN drove south in wasthemostpainfulthing–notbe- T Ma’s Civic, with Duong behind ing accepted. His father wouldn’t thewheel.WhenDuongsaidto speak to him, and his mother said him, “Don’t be afraid; you’re not in she was ashamed. danger anymore,” Ma snickered to A few years earlier, out of prison himself. We’ll see,hethought.Hehad after serving a drug sentence, Duong understood enough of the news to had asked his friend heresa Nguyen piece together Duong’s criminal past: and her husband to go with him to his a1995burglaryconvictioninSan mother’s home – “Because I want her Diego, four years after he became a to know that I have normal friends, too,” he told Nguyen. He could never atone in his THEY BOTH FELT SO GRATEFUL, family’s eyes. Nguyen SO SURPRISED BY THE began to get it, why Du- POSSIBILITY OF FRIENDSHIP ong had been calling her ‘Sister’. Why he’d phoned her the day her daughter graduated from college: US resident; twice pleading guilty to “I’mproudofyou,Sister.”Shewasas sellingcocaine;stintsinstateprison; close to family as he had. andthen,inNovember2015,theal- Ma listened, reticent but know- leged attempted murder of a Santa ing that sometimes people need to Anamanafteranargument. be heard even more than consoled. And yet, in spite of Duong’s past, Duong told Ma that Nayeri’s plan there had been, this whole week, had been to kill the driver on the another composite on view: that of a beach. But for whatever reason, Nay- lawed but compassionate man. Ma eri hadn’t gone through with it. The had caught lashes of details but not brutal ight the night before had been the full picture of Duong’s conlicted over Ma too. Duong couldn’t abide life. He didn’t realise how chronic seeing the taxi driver murdered for drug dependency and what Duong’s Duong’s mistakes. friends saw as mental disorders had Ma said at last, “You should turn pushed Duong down a criminal path yourself in.” – and he didn’t yet know that Duong Duong didn’t baulk at the sugges- was the father of two boys, Peter and tion. He was grateful for the way Ma Benny. hadn’t judged him. He didn’t want to Duong,hiseyesillingwithtears, call Ma ‘Uncle’ anymore. Given the toldMathathehatedhowhiscrimes circumstances of the past week, Du- had placed him outside society. hat ong said he wanted to call Ma ‘Father’.

80 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST

The suggestion moved Ma, who Ma has stayed in touch. And while understood the cultural obligation money is scarce for the taxi driver, that came with the moniker: to call he has put cash in Duong’s jail ac- Duong ‘Son’.Totrusthim,tolovehim, count. Ma has even visited the man even. his scared Ma. Life had taught who kidnapped him. The last time him to be cautious around love. And he went, Ma watched through a glass yet when he looked at the damaged partition as Duong, in an orange man next to him, his face bruised jumpsuit, bowed when they met. from the ight with Nayeri, his psyche “Daddy Long!” Duong said, greeting scarred, he saw the good that the rest his friend. of the world failed to see. hroughout their half-hour visit, the “Yes,” Ma said. “You can call me two men wept softly and spoke in their ‘Father,’ and I will call you ‘Son’.” native language of the bond they had After hours on the road, they pulled nurtured since their week on the run. up to a car-repair shop in Santa Ana. hey both felt so grateful, so surprised As instructed, Ma slunk inside while by the possibility of friendship. Per- Duong sat in the car. Soon, the old haps Ma especially. Whatever he had man returned with a woman. Du- expected to experience on that dark, ong started to cry. “Sister,” he said to cold night when he left his house in heresa Nguyen, his friend, “I’m tired.” his pyjamas, it wasn’t this. Wherever he’d figured that trip might lead, it HE DAY AFTER Duong turned wasn’t here. T himself into the police, Tieu As Ma grinned through the glass and Nayeri were captured in of the visitors’ room wall, he realised San Francisco after police were alerted that Duong had saved his life, even re- to their van parked on a city street. Ma deemed his soul. returned to his boarding house. No “My son,” Ma said to Duong, “as one had even reported him missing. long as you are still here, I will rescue hough Duong is back in jail now, you like you rescued me.”

FROM GQ (MAY 1, 2017), © 2017 BY PAUL KIX, GQ.COM.

THE DOG DID IT

A Florida man has blamed his dog, Diesel, for shooting his sleeping girlfriend in the leg. Brian Murphy told police the dog jumped onto a table where his gun was sitting. No charges were filed.

NBCNEWYORK.COM

April•2018 | 81 Enter the zany worldofconceptual museums – featuring failed love afairs, doomed inventions and terrible art

BY TIM HULSE

STRANGE Attractıons CULTURE

IN A QUIET CORNER OF A MUSEUM standsawhiteplinthonwhichsitsa30-centimetre-long, multicoloured caterpillar made of felt. Some of its legs are missingandlieforlornlynexttoit.Closetoitisacard onwhichareprintedthefollowingwords:“Ihadthisbig, trulybiglove,along-distancerelationship,Sarajevo– Zagreb.Itlastedfor20months.Ofcourse,wedreamtof alifetogetherandwiththatinmindIboughtthishuge caterpillar.Everytimewewouldseeeachother,wewould Dražen tear of one leg. Grubiši´c “Whenweranoutoflegstotear,thatwouldbethetime and Olinka tostartalifetogether.Butnaturally,asisoftenthecase Vištica got withgreatloves,therelationshipbrokeandsothecater- theideafor pillardidnotbecomeacompleteinvalidafterall.” the Museum of Broken he caterpillar and its accompanying sad tale is one Relationships ofjustoverahundredexhibitsintheMuseumofBroken from their own Relationships,atimecapsuleofill-fatedafairscontained break-up in a few small rooms in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY DOMENICO PUGLIESE

April•2018 | 83 STRANGE ATTRACTIONS

Each object on display tells a story. chopped furniture acquiring the look Sometimes it’s very short: a toaster is of my soul, the better I felt,” she wrote. accompanied by the words, “When I moved out, and across the country, I INASMALLGLASSCASEJUSTINSIDE took the toaster. hat’ll show you. How theentrancetothemuseumisone are you going to toast anything now?” object of particular signiicance. It’s Other objects have much longer a lufy white toy rabbit accompanied talestotell,ofjinxedholidayro- bythewords:“Thebunnywassup- mances, first loves, office affairs. posedtotraveltheworldbutnever he objects themselves are generally got further than Iran.” quitemundane(arollingpin,awed- It once belonged to the museum’s ding dress), but the stories attached founders, artists Olinka Vištica and to them provoke laughter, sadness Dražen Grubiši´c. The idea was that and sometimes even shock. if either of them travelled alone, For instance, an axe is accompa- theywouldtakethebunnyinplace nied by the story of how a German oftheirpartner.heybrokeupafter woman’s lover left her for another four years and the bunny took on an- woman and went on holiday with her. otherrole–asthefoundingexhibit So the jilted partner bought an axe intheirideaforatotallynovelkind and destroyed a piece of her ex-girl- of museum. friend’s furniture each day she was “Ithinkwewereoneofthosecou- away. “he more her room illed with ples that just run out of fuel,” Vištica recalls.“Wewerestillyoungandnot readytosettledown.”Astheirrela- his axe from the tionship broke down, they would Museum of Broken have “interminable conversations Relationships has late at night about what to do with the abizarre tale residuesofapastloveafair.” to tell One“crazy”ideawastosetupa museum containing all their senti- mental bric-a-brac. They forgot all about it until 2006, two years after theirsplit,whenGrubiši´cwasconsid- eringideasforanartshowinZagreb andherememberedthatcrazyidea. He gave Vištica a call. “The idea was to try to create this space where we could poetically

store all the emotional heritage of RELATIONSHIPS BROKEN OF MUSEUM THE OF COURTESY

84 | April•2018 OTHER WACKY SHOWS

the ‘plastination’ Vampire Museum techniques of German PARIS, FRANCE anatomist Gunther The world’s only von Hagens, who uses vampire museum, polymers to preserve nestled in a suitably anything from a single gloomy Parisian organ to a whole alleyway and run by human body. self-proclaimed “vampirologist” Museum of Bad Art Museum Jacques Sirgent MASSACHUSETTS, US of Happiness (by day an English Privately owned with LONDON, UK teacher). As it is a 700piecesof“arttoo An “experiential private museum, badtobeignored”. adventure” ofering youhavetomakean Highlights include the interactive exhibitions, appointment (if you ‘Mana Lisa’ (above). workshops and are brave enough to events on a theme visit this cabinet of Plastinarium of happiness and curiosities). Email: GUBEN, GERMANY wellbeing. Don’t forget museedesvampires@ Dedicated to your smiley face. sfr.fr.

broken relationships,” says Vištica. Zagreb, and we’d say, ‘No, it’s just a “We thought the best thing to repre- shipping container with 40 objects sentitwasbyusingasharedobject in the yard of an art gallery and it’s and the story attached to it, as we not going to be there much longer!’ It ourselves were surrounded by objects turned into a snowball. We just let it that each had their own story.” roll and it caught a lot of snow.” Withjusttendaystogobeforethe Aftertheexhibitionended,themu- show’sopening,thepairdesperately seumbegantouringtheworld–asit emailed friends and relations to has continued to do to this day, visit- gather exhibits, which they installed ingmorethan40locations,including in an old shipping container outside major cities such as New York, Lon- the gallery. The Museum of Broken don and Berlin. Relationships was born. “It was a very popular show and IN 2009, THE PAIR BORROWED caught the attention of the interna- money in order to fund a permanent tional media, which was a total shock home for their collection in Zagreb. It for us,” says Vištica. “We had Reuters was Croatia’s irst private museum; the calling, asking about the irst museum government having decided the idea

COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF BAD ART of broken relationships opening in was too “weird” to fund themselves.

April•2018 | 85 Museum of Failure founder Samuel West with the Nokia N-Gage. he handheld device proved a commerical failure. Inset: a Colgate frozen dinner hhe museum has become one of the it’s possible to be smart in something most popular attractions in Zagreb. like this. If anything, I’ve learned that he pair, who remain good friends, relationships are what count when now have a staff of 20 and recently you’re alive and they’re something oversaw the founding of a second mu- that makes us really human. No mat- seum in Los Angeles. As for their own ter how diferent our cultures, or how- relationships, Grubiši´c is now married ever short the period of interaction with a young daughter, while Vištica is, it’s something precious. And we will only say cryptically that she has should celebrate it.” “a couple of intrigues”. “I think it’s taught me that truth is hey receive new objects and stories stranger than any iction,” adds Gru- two or three times a week. In a storage biši´c with a grin. depot sit more than 2500 objects, all waiting for their time in the limelight. ONE PERSON WHO WAS “BLOWN Both Vištica and Grubiši´c see this as away” by a visit to the museum is an evolving artistic endeavour. psychologist and innovation ex- And what have they learned about pert Samuel West. He went there in love and relationships from all these 2016 and it’s safe to say it changed stories? “It’s all just as perplexing as it his life. For some time he’d been

was,” says Vištica. “I’m not smarter – if trying to find an interesting way of FAILURE OF MUSEUM OF COURTESY

86 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST communicating his research into Colgate frozen dinners, entitled business failures, and suddenly a Colgate Kitchen Entrees. And there light bulb lit up above his head. are unwanted gadgets such as the “I was fascinated by how they could Rejuvenique Electric Facial Mask. communicate an abstract concept his ‘rejuvenating’ facial mask looks with concrete items and short sto- like something from a horror film ries,” he says. “It was there and then and gives mild electric shocks to the I decided I was starting a Museum of user’s face. It wasn’t a hit. Failure. It was a eureka moment.” One of West’s favourite failures is West is an ebullient Californian who Frito-Lay’s Wow range of potato crisps married a Swede and ended up living made with olestra, a kilojoule-free fat in Helsingborg, Sweden. Fired with substitute that can cause diarrhoea. enthusiasm by his trip to Zagreb, he “You won’t get fat, but you might be successfully applied for funding from sitting on the toilet for a long time!” the Swedish Government to set up his he hoots. own museum, which opened in Hels- Joking aside, the museum does ingborg last year for a limited period. have a serious point. “If people are It turned out to be a big hit with the afraid of failing and get penalised for general public. “No attraction in Swe- it, that doesn’t encourage creativity,” den has got such positive press in such says West. “It’s important to know a short amount of time,” says West. that even huge brands like Coca-Cola As a result of its popularity, it has sometimes risk getting it wrong.” now reopened in the city’s Dunker Fittingly, West experienced a fail- Culture House. On show will be more ure of his own while setting up the than 70 objects that satisfy West’s key museum. “One of the irst things I did criteria for inclusion: “It has to be an was to buy the Internet domain of innovation, it has to be a failure, and it museumoffailure.com,” he says. “I has to be somewhat interesting.” was very happy that it was still avail- This means the inclusion of such able. hen a couple of days later I got high-profile flops as New Coke, the receipt and to my surprise it said, but also of the less well known un- ‘Congratulations, you have bought successful brand extensions such musumofailure.com.’ I missed out as Harley-Davidson perfume and the ‘e’. I really screwed up!”

NOT APPRECIATED

The problem with having a sense of humour is often that people

you use it on aren’t in a very good mood. LOU HOLTZ

April•2018 | 87 SEE THE WORLD ...

Turn the page

88 | April•2018 April•2018 | 89 ... DIFFERENTLY

Even though they look like the work of extraterrestrials, these circular shapes are purely human in origin. Aftermorethantwoyearsof planningand15daysofhands-on work,AmericanartistJimDenevan andthreecolleaguescreatedthis spectacular piece of art in the desert sands of Black Rock, Nevada. The artistsbuiltupthegiantcirclesusing arollofchainfencing1.8metres across pulled around repeatedly by a truck. A circumference of more than 14 kilometres not only guarantees that this work is visible at an altitude of 12,000 metres (as seen on thispage),butalsomakesitthe largestsanddrawingintheworld.

PHOTOS: JIM DENEVAN/GETTY IMAGES

90 | April•2018 April•2018 | 91 TRAVEL

Cumberland Bay and thetownofSanJuan Bautista on Robinson Crusoe Island TherealtreasureonChile’s remote Robinson Crusoe Island is the quiet and the solitude FAR AWAY FROM IT ALL

BY SUSAN NERBERG FROM AIR CANADA’S ENROUTE FAR AWAY FROM IT ALL

HETINYBEECHCRAFTHASBARELYCOMETOA full stop on Robinson Crusoe Island’s airstrip whenamoustachioedmantellsmetostart walking.“Wecantakeyourbag,butwecan’tit Tyou,”hesaysashejumpsintoaJeepthatcrawls away under the weight of my luggage, supplies frommainlandChileandthreesoldiersontheroof,theirlegs danglingoverthewindshield.Isetoutonfootdownagravel roadthatcutsthroughawind-slashedrockscapedottedwith poppies.After15minutesIhearsinging.It’satenorbeltingout an aria, but it’s impossible to make out the words, mangled as theyarebythebreezefromthePaciicOcean.Whentheroad dips down to the sheltered bay where a boat is waiting, ready totransferustotheisland’sonlytown,Iseeawholechoir practisingtheirdo-re-mi’s.Dumbfounded,Isendamental apologytoPlácidoDomingo:sorry,man,thatImistook you for a member of a herd of Juan Fernández fur seals.

I HADN’T EXPECTED such a dramatic to have been folded by a giant accor- welcome in the middle of nowhere. dion maker. No wonder pirates and Located 670 kilometres from the port buccaneers once used this island as city of Valparaíso, Robinson Crusoe a haven. is a far-lung buoy tethered to a wire “You need a break from the big of hardened magma that stretches city?” the skipper asks as he steers us thousands of metres from the ocean into Bahía Cumberland, setting lob- loor. Mr Moustachio ferries us in an ster-trap loaters and moored ishing open vessel across the heaving swell boatsinmotion.“You’vecometothe towards the village of San Juan Bau- rightplace:onlyabout900ofuslive tista. The napping seals we pass on here,” he says and nods towards the the hour-long journey don’t seem to wooden houses on the shore. As I mind the nothingness beneath them, grabmybagtogetoftheboat,here- but I feel like an astronaut clinging to vealsthatphoneandinternetservice a robotic arm in space – except here, arespottyatbest(a2010tsunamitore the deep-blue backdrop gives way out the island’s land line). “Good luck

to walls of volcanic rock that appear keeping in touch with the continent!” PHOTO (PREVIOUS SPREAD): JEREMY RICHARDS/ALAMY PHOTO STOCK

94 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST

Hedoesn’trealiseI’malreadysa- off to the Selkirk lookout, where the vouring the idea of living for a few banished sailor is believed to have dayslikeamodern-dayAlexander watched and waited for ships to res- Selkirk,theScottishsailorwhowas cue him from his four-year stint in marooned here in 1704 and inspired solitary. Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Attheupperedgeoftown,asteep Crusoe, published in 1719. pathwendsthroughafragrant eucalyptus forest to the island’s “BRING A RAIN JACKET, just in case national park boundary. On the – the weather here is “wild”side,Ipauseat hormonal,” says Nicole abloomingcabbage Marré, watching preg- treebuzzingwithJuan nant clouds shuffle I FIND MYSELF Fernández irecrowns, across the bay from the IN A HENRI red (male) or green living room at Más a ROUSSEAU (female) humming- Tierra Eco-Lodge. Over PAINTING: MOSS birds that only flut- a breakfast of bread, CARPETS THE ter their wings here. I mashed avocado and GROUND, TREE also come across a few cheese, she and her FERNS TOWER gnarly canelo and luma husband, Guillermo trees, the latter being Martínez, who co-owns OVER ME theirecrown’sfavour- the four-room guest itenestingspot.The house, have given me higher the altitude, the the lowdown on the island’s hiking morehumidtheairandthedenser trails, the best – and, let’s face it, pretty thevegetation.Anhourandahalf much the only – way to see the mist- into my hike, I ind myself in a Henri soaked peaks, festooned with plants Rousseau painting: cushy moss car- found nowhere else on the planet. petsthegroundandtreefernstower “The Juan Fernández Islands have overme,asdogiganticgunnera,rhu- about 130 endemic species – more barb-likeplantsthatblockthesun than you’d find on Galápagos,” says with their umbrella-shaped leaves. Martínez while handing me a trail WhenIeventuallyreachthelook- map that outlines the entire archipel- out,IcatchupwithaSpanishcouple ago, named after the Spaniard who andawomanfromthecontinent.(So irst land-ahoyed here in 1574. (In ad- much for the illusion of being cast dition to Robinson Crusoe, the region away on my own: a Chilean navy includes Alejandro Selkirk Island and ship carrying dozens of tourists has Santa Clara Island.) Inspired by the dockedinBahíaCumberlandfortwo promise of naturalist booty, I head days.) I unpack an oatmeal cookie

April•2018 | 95 FAR AWAY FROM IT ALL left over from breakfast, and the solo I REALISE THIS ISLAND is the deini- trekkertakesoutathermosofcofee. tion of remote when Pía Pablo pulls Sharingamini-picnicabovecha- up in a golf cart at Más a Tierra. Af- meleon slopes studded with chonta ter throwing my bag in the back, I sit palms,weagreethatifwehadbeen down beside her. We’re of to Bahía Selkirk, we would never have left. Pangal, a secluded bay that lets you Backatsealevel,thesix-table get away from it all, including the patioatMásaTierraispacked, but town’s rush hour, when two people Martínez brings out might enter the main asmalltablefromin- intersection by the doors. “I want what wharf at exactly the they’rehaving,”Isay, A PISCO SOUR same time. The man- pointing at the spiny MATERIALISES ager at Crusoe Island rock lobsters that have AS IF BY MAGIC, Lodge, Pablo, spots landed on my neigh- AND I’M three ishermen stand- bours’ plates. When he WHISKED TO A ing by the roadside. servesmyorderona SWING ON A “What do you have?” platter, he’s excited to she yells. he ishermen tell me he’s just come VERANDAH reach into a wheelbar- back from the vet, OVERLOOKING row and hold up their who’scometotown THE OCEAN catch; Pablo hands thanks to the navy, them a wad of cash. which only anchors “For the ceviche (sea- heretwiceayear.“Ifwehadn’tgot- food stew)!” she says and passes me ten an appointment today, we would a bag illed with shiny yellowtail am- havehadtosendourdogtothe berjacks before she continues driving. mainland with the twice-a-month When we arrive at the lodge, a pisco supplyship,”hesays.(Luckilyforthe sour materialises as if by magic, and island’shumans,there’saperma- I’m whisked to a swing on a verandah nentclinicstafedbyadoctoranda overlooking the ocean. here’s no one nurse.Andluckilyforthedogs,there else around, and when it dawns on DONALD

aresofewhumansthattheycan me that I’m the hotel’s sole guest for AC happilyrunaroundfree.)Iripinto the next two days, I feel like the queen my lunch, scraping out every morsel of a castle. Only a treasure map where fromtheskinnylegsbeforeIgetto X marks the spot is missing. “Well, I work on the tail. Tasting the sweet can arrange that, too,” says Pablo meat, I understand why the 30cm- withawink. long crustacean is the archipelago’s I’msoononmywaybyboatto prized resource. Puerto Inglés, where I’m greeted by VIRGINIA BY PHOTOS M

96 | April•2018 (Clockwise from left) Más a Tierra co-owner Guillermo Martínezandhiswife,Nicole Marré; a hummingbird homes in on a hibiscus; the four-room Más a Tierra lodge FAR AWAY FROM IT ALL

a group of men, their bare shoul- TRAVEL TIPS ders sprinkled with ochre dust. They’re jamming shovels into the ground under the supervision of GETTING AROUND The fastest Bernard Keiser, an American who’s waytoreachtheSelkirklookout funding the excavation of what he orthesummitofCerroCentinela believes is long-lost treasure. Keiser is on horseback. Saddle up walks me over to a cave and points with Guido Balbontín from at some proto-graffiti carved into Cabalgatas Tierra Mágica, who the rock, which he believes is code canalsotakeyouthroughthe etched by Captain General Don Juan enchanted forest at Plazoleta El Yunque. Esteban de Ubilla y Echeverria, who absconded in the early 1700s FOOD AND DRINK After with barrels of gold and jewellery hiking the island’s many trails, now worth billions of dollars. “I’m sitdownonbrewerClaudio convinced he left these marks to in- Matamala’sdeckforacoldone dicate where to ind the booty,” says from his Cerveza Archipiélago. Keiser. We walk back to the dig. I scan cervezaarchipielago.cl. Nicole Marré and Guillermo the site and look down into the hole, Martínez at MásaTierra which vaguely resembles an open-pit Eco-Lodge swap the clichéd mine, and kick a few rocks around in Chilean folkloric music, fried the hope of inding something. It isn’t foodsandwhitericeforoctopus until I swing by the town that after- carpaccio, amberjack ceviche noon that I strike gold. and golden-crab stew, served My skipper drops me off at the toasound-trackofreggae, wharf and I scoot up to a small house bossanovaorSpanishpop. masatierraecolodge.com with a wooden deck that cantilevers over the hillside. I knock, and Clau- HOTELS If you yearn to get away dio Matamala, the owner of Cerveza from it all while you’re away from Archipiélago, opens the door of his it all, Crusoe Island Lodge has nanobrewery, which produces a to- everythingyouneedtolivelike tal of 3000 to 4000 bottles of golden a pampered marooned sailor – lager, amber ale and cofee-coloured hot tub and sauna, pisco sours, scuba gear, freshly cooked stout per month. “I like beer, but with lobster and golden crab, a so few provisions brought here every librarywithafireplace–ona month, I had to start making it myself. sheltered bay outside of town. When my friends tasted the irst batch, crusoeislandlodge.com a lager, they wanted me to make some for them, too,” he says as he shows

98 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST me around the living-room–sized fa- There’s a kaleidoscope of boulders cility. “Now I sell to restaurants and and kelp sheltering Chilean sea ur- bars on the continent.” He pours me chins and schools of pampanitos (but- his award-winning wheat ale and we terish) that whip out in lashes of blue step out on the deck to clink glasses. and yellow. A reddish rock suddenly Firecrowns zoom around, hovering by moves below; it’s an octopus tugging a cabbage tree; they’re sipping one of at seaweed, as if pulling up a duvet. their preferred brews. Looks like I’ve When we reach the shore, Aguirre discovered a favourite, too. quickly sheds his fins and runs off. Eager to fully immerse myself in the “You’re in luck: the hot tub is ready!” local wonders, I head back across the he says when he returns. A wood ire– waves to Crusoe Island Lodge, where heated wooden soaker has been I meet up with the hotel’s Víctor Agu- warming up while we’ve been snorkel- irre. Once he’s kitted me out with a ling. I ease into the steaming water, wetsuit, ins and a snorkel, we waddle and before I know it, Aguirre comes down to the rocky shore and jump in over with a lager. I take a big gulp, the water. I’m surprised at how warm then scan the ocean for whales, seals, itis–Ihadexpectedabout10°C, but ships. The navy has sailed off, and it’s a balmy 17. Following Aguirre, I there’s nothing to blur the horizon. peer through water so crystalline, it’s I’ve found the real treasure of Robin- a natural draw for scuba divers. son Crusoe: solitude.

© 2015 BY SUSAN NERBERG. AIR CANADA’S ENROUTE (JANUARY 2015). ENROUTE.AIRCANADA.COM

CAUGHT ON THE HOP

Australians often joke that tourists expect to see kangaroos hopping across the Sydney Harbour Bridge but the joke was on police when a wayward wallaby led them in an early- morning chase across the famous landmark earlier this year. “Traffic controllers … monitored the wallaby as it hopped across to lane 1 and, without indicating, exited onto Cahill Expressway then to Macquarie Street,” police said. “Officers took the startled macropod into police custody … with the police mounted unit arriving on scene soon after to take it to the zoo for veterinary assessment.” Observers commented the male adult Swamp Wallaby had

avoided paying the bridge toll fee. REUTERS

April•2018 | 99 All in a Day’s Work HUMOUR ON THE JOB

GLASS HALF FULL A friend of mine is a trauma counsellor who helps people who’ve had traumatic experiences on the job come to terms with feelings and emotions they might experience. One day she was lamenting to her daughter that she hadn’t had much AND THE WINNER IS! work of late. Her daughter urged her here’s no mistaking what the to look on the bright side. Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title “Cheer up, Mum! Something bad of the Year celebrates. Here are some is bound to happen.” of our favourites (and in case you’re SUBMITTED BY PAULA PARK wondering, yes, they are all real): ■ Behind the Binoculars: Interviews TRIFOCALS with Acclaimed Birdwatchers I was at the optometristoptomet when an ■ Soviet Bus Stops anxious elderly man stated his ■ Managing a Dentaal Practice: he frustration thathis third pair Genghis Khan Way ofglasses needed repairing. ■ he 2009–2014 World Outlook When I askeed why the for 60-Milligram Containers of necessityfor threet pairs, Fromage Frais

Ladies’ Club are trying to become pregnant.” Our administrators sent he post’s author then a notice to all employees felt it necessary to add, regarding a research study: “Male participation is “he hospital is recruiting optional.” women aged 21 to 45 who SUBMITTED BY GREG LYNN

100 | April•2018 Ask Me (Almost) Anything It’s good to ask questions during a job interview. Just not these, shared by the executives who heard them: ■ “What does your company actually do?” ■ “When you imagine your business, what colour is it and what does it smell like?” ■ “If there is another interview, do I really need to come back “We’re always looking for good to this oice? It’s just a bit far people, but we like to throw in a bad one once in a while to make from my house.” things interesting.” ■ “Can I come to work in my pyjamas?” Source businessinsider.com.au hereplied,“Oneforshortsight, another for long sight, and the third pair of glasses is to search for the other two!” SUBMITTED BY JILL COHEN

CUBICLE HUMOUR “Just pop that in the stationery cupboard,” said the oice manager, handing his trainee a new roll of bubble wrap. It took her all morning, but somehow she did it. SUBMITTED BY MAGGIE COBBETT

WORK IT I have a lot of jokes about unemployed people but none of Source: humorthatworks.com CARTOON: SUSAN KONAR them work.

April•2018 | 101 HEALTH

Howtoreduceyourriskof age-related retinal problems

BY LISA FIELDS LONG-TERM VIS GRETEL SCHMITZ-MOORMAN wore glasses for decades, but when she was 53, they stopped helping. No matter how her eye doctor adjusted herprescription,shesimplycouldn’t read anymore. he problem? Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which cloaks the central ield of vision, making it diiculttoseewhateveryoulookatdirectly, although peripheral vision remains intact. here is no treatment for her condition.

102 | April•2018 ION

April•2018 | 103 LONG-TERM VISION

“Ifyouthinkofadarkspotwher- examinations are mandatory to save ever you look, that’s almost ex- the sight.” actlywhatmyvisionislike,”says Schmitz-Moormann, now 79. “It tookmonths,ifnotyears,formeto AGE-RELATED MACULAR allow the idea that this eye disorder DEGENERATION waspartofmylife.” AMDisoneofthreecommoncon- AMD is one of leading causes of blind- ditionsafectingtheretina,thearea ness in adults over the age of 50 in at the back of the eye that the lens South East Asia, as it is for the world projectsimagesonto.Toseethose as a whole. Changes within the eye images,yourretinamustsendde- damage the centre of the retina, im- tailstotheopticnervesothatyour pacting vision. Early on, straight lines brain can process the scene. If the look distorted. Later, dark spots block retinabecomesdamaged,partor what you’re viewing. allofyourvisioncanbewipedaway, “he centre of the retina gives you sometimes permanently. the most quality of life,”says Dr Hans- Millions of older adults have reti- jürgen Agostini, retinal specialist at nal conditions. While they’re often the Eye Center of the University of caused by ageing or associated dis- Freiburg in Germany. “That’s where eases,manyofusalsoneglectour you read, where you recognise faces.” eye health. There are two forms of AMD: wet “Aspeoplegetolder,theyhave and dry. About 80 per cent of afected anexpectationthattherewillbea people have dry AMD, caused by ret- decline in their vision,” says Dr Da- inal thinning due to ageing. There’s vid Garway-Heath, an ophthalmol- currently no treatment, although there ogy professor at University College is ongoing research. “An early study London, “so they don’t necessarily showed that in a speciic genetically seek out routine care to detect eye deined group, which is about half the disease.” population, you can slow the progres- Skipping check-ups can have sion of the disease by a monthly injec- dire consequences – retinal prob- tion, but these indings will have to be lems progress silently, surrepti- conirmed by late-stage trials,”he says. tiouslyrobbingyouofsightwhen Only 20 per cent of people have interventions might have helped. wet AMD, but it causes significant “Peoplewiththeseconditionsmay vision loss – abnormal blood vessels have no complaints,” says oph- grow behind the retina, leaking blood, thalmology professor Dr Sehnaz scarring and damageing the retina.

Karadeniz. “Therefore, regular eye Intra-ocular injections can stop the ALL PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK

104 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST bleeding, but they must be given that help to defend the macular frequently, often over years. region of the eye. Although the injections aren’t Test yourself Between eye tests, pleasant, because they go into the look at a special grid of lines, called eye, patients are prepared with a top- anAmslergrid,tocatchAMDearly. ical anaesthetic so they don’t feel any Periodically look at it with each pain. Several studies have proven the eye separately. Do you see the four value of the injections in preserving corners? Is there distortion of any vision.” squares? People with AMD don’t go com- pletely blind and can navigate with peripheral vision. Schmitz-Moor- DIABETIC RETINOPATHY mann maintains her independence with absorptive-filter glasses that One-third of adults with diabetes improve contrast, a mobility cane for have diabetic retinopathy, the lead- walking and a magnifying glass for ing cause of preventable blindness reading large-print books. among diabetic adults. Uncontrolled e levels damage To reduce your essels through- risk of AMD the body, in- Don’t smoke ding vessels Itcandoubleyou at nourish the risk of AMD. etina. hey can Live healthily become swol- According len and leak to recent blood. Or new, studies, eating eaky vessels a Mediterranean- ay grow on the style diet rich in fi tina. Leaked nuts and olive oil d or insuicient may lower your c low can distort of developing AM ision. People of- activity also lower i – a problem until of 41,000 individuals showed those their vision is damaged. who did physical activity had a People with diabetes have gradual 40 per cent lower risk of AMD than visual loss due to retinopathy and sedentary people. often are not aware of it unless their Try a supplement Lutein and daily life is afected,” says Dr Karad- zeaxanthin are powerful antioxidants eniz. “We can prevent severe visual

April•2018 | 105 LONG-TERM VISION

Glaucoma – A STEALTH DISEASE

laucomaisanopticnerve and it often runs in families. condition that doesn’t There’snowaytoloweryour directly damage the risk and no cure, but there are Gretinabutrobsmany treatments–eyedropsaremost people of vision. Fluid flows into common,followedbylaser anddrainsoutoftheeyeatset treatment or surgery. rates. When it doesn’t flow quickly Although drops can prevent enough,pressurecanbuildup, vision loss, unfortunately many damageingtheopticnerve.This patients don’t consistently use causes irreversible peripheral theirdrops.Doctorswantto vision loss and can lead change this. Moorfields Eye to blindness. in the UK is > You can’t tell if ntly leading a you have glaucoma e, randomised, because it’s painless, ulti-centre your central vision rial of people is intact, and with glaucoma you’re tricked into to see which believingthatyou is the most have peripheral cost-efective vision. reatment and Unlike AMD, it’s hich one patients notadarkspot.For fer, the drops or example, you are be ser treatment. threecarsbutyous eter Austin was cars.Whatdoyouseeinstead diagnosedwithearlyglaucoma ofthethirdcar?Youjustsee atage32.At61,hisvisionisstill street.Yourbrainfillsinwhat intactbecause,twiceaday,he youexpecttoseeorareused applies eyedrops. toseeing.Ifachildrunsintothe “It’s not uncomfortable, it’s street and into the part where notdicult–youjusthavetobe youdon’tseeanything,you disciplined,”saidAustin,apatient don’tevennoticethatyou don’t advocate with the International see the child. Glaucoma Association. “Tell me, > The World Health howmuchofyoureyesightwould Organization cites glaucoma youliketolosebeforeyoufelt asthesecondleadingcauseof terrible enough to do something? blindnessintheworld.Glaucoma I haven’t missed a dose for more is more common after age 60 than 20 years.”

106 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST loss,inmostofthecases,ifitisdiag- Ophthalmologists can easily iden- nosedearlyandtreated.” tify a detached retina. Reattaching it Proliferative diabetic retinopathy quicklycanrestorevision. is usually treated with laser surgery Although it is complex and diicult to reduce bleeding at the back of the surgery, surgeons get good results. eye.Aseparatecondition,called In 2014, Tom Greenberg had no diabeticmacularoedema(DME),is idea that he had a detached retina. developedbyabouthalfofthosewith “I started seeing a dark blob on diabetic retinopathy. DME is treated the edge of my ield of vision, and it with regularly scheduled anti-VEGF would move around some as I moved intra-ocular injections, which block a my eyes,” says Greenberg, now in his proteinthatcanstimulateabnormal late 60s. bloodvesselstogrowandleak luid. Hewaitedaweekbeforeseeking help.Althoughasurgeonreattached To reduce your risk of his retina, vision in that eye remains diabetic retinopathy distorted. When his other eye ex- Control your blood glucose “We hibited identical symptoms in 2017, candoalot,butwedonothavea Greenberg acted quickly – he had chance if the glucose levels are not surgerythatday,andthevisionin controlled well,” Agostini says. thateyeisasgoodasitwasbefore. Seeaneyedoctor. Go when you’re Lifestyle changes can’t prevent diagnosed with diabetes, then age-related retinal detachment, but annually thereafter. youcanpreserveyoursight byget- ting treated promptly.

DETACHED RETINA Topreventvisionloss from detached retina Retinaldetachmentisamedical Question visual obstructions They emergency and is more common may signal a detached retina. If you afterage40.It’softencausedbythe suddenly see stars or floaters or ageing process. soot-particle flakes, you should go he interior of the eye is illed with and see your eye doctor, because agel-likesubstance,thevitreous. this may be an emergency. As you get older, the vitreous can Seek care immediately Delaying shrink,anditmaypullontheretina canleadtopermanentvisionloss. asitshifts.Sometimes,itpullswith If you see dark clouds or really enough force to tear the retina, sep- strongflashes,orshadowsordark aratingitfromthebackoftheeyeso wallscomingup,youshould see that the retina can’t work properly. a specialist at once.

April•2018 | 107 BONUS READ

With the last remaining soldiers of World War II well into their 90s, Ernest Brough and veterans like him represent the precious final links to a time when the world was torn apart

BY MARC MC EVOY

khaki felt army cap has sat on a bookshelf in my home in Sydney for nine years. Two metal press- studs secure the brim, and the ive-pointed, red communist star graces the front. he crown has the A faint odour of human sweat. It is a partizanka, a cap worn by Yugoslav Partisan soldiers in Croatia and western Bosnia during World War II. he partizanka is something of a collector’s piece, as few like it remain. For me, it

represents a promise I need to fulil. AUSTRALIA OF LIBRARY NATIONAL PHOTO: Ernest ‘Ern’ Brough, pictured here soon after the war, was just 20 when he signed up PARTISAN PROMISE

It is impossible to look at the cap his apprentice butcher from Drouin, and not wonder about its bloody his- in rural Victoria, had very little life ex- tory. It had two rightful owners, Boris perience behind him, but the Army Puks*, a Croatian Partisan ighter, and deployed him to Libya to protect the Ernest ‘Ern’ Brough, a World War II besieged port of Tobruk. He arrived veteran from Geelong, Victoria, who in May 1941. “It was a case of keeping gave it to me in 2009. My part in its ’em out. Don’t let ’em in, that’s it. Fight history is a small footnote compared for your life,” he said later. to the life it once led in the mountains Following nearly three months of and forests of wartime Yugoslavia. he relentless battle, Ern was wounded cap arrived in the post not long after by German machine-gun ire during I met Ern, accompanied by a note: a patrol. He recovered and was then “Marc–agifttomefromPuksBo- sent to Egypt to fight in the pivotal ris, 1944, at Cassma, Croatia.” When Battle of El Alamein. Captured by I phoned Ern to thank him, he made German forces, Ern spent time in a me promise to give it to the Austral- POW camp in Italy before eventually ian War Memorial when he died. his ending up in Stalag XVIII-A/Z, a noto- artefact now belongs where Ern had rious Nazi POW camp in Austria. After

CAPTURED BY GERMAN FORCES, ERN SPENT TIME INAPOWCAMPINITALYBEFOREEVENTUALLY ENDING UP IN STALAG XVIII-A/Z IN AUSTRIA

intended. he voices of World War II two years, along with fellow Austral- are fast disappearing and as Ern is still ian Sergeant Arnold ‘Allan’ Berry, and alive, I want him to have the chance to New Zealander Private Eric Baty, he once again share his story. escaped from an Arbeitskommando (prison farm camp) near Graz and A GREAT ADVENTURE spent two months on a desperate Six weeks after Ern turned 20, on light through irst Austria, and then March 28, 1940, he enlisted in the Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia. Second Australian Imperial Force. Ern shared these wartime expe- riences in 2009 in his memoir Dan- * Boris Puks is called Puks Boris in Ernest gerous Days: A Digger’s Great Escape, Brough’s book, Dangerous Days. which he co-wrote with author Kim

110 | April•2018 From left: Ross Sayers, Ern Brough, ‘Allan’ Berry and Harry Lesar on their return to Port Melbourne in September, 1944. Sayers and Lesar had also escaped POW camps

Kelly. I first met Ern at the Sydney I had also experienced war in that oice of HarperCollins, where I inter- part of the world. I’d been shot at and viewed him about the book. He was a trapped under artillery and mortar big, robust man of 89, with sparkling fire, seen people die from gunshot eyes and a hearty laugh. Our conver- wounds and burns, and felt many sation lowed easily as I knew the ter- times the uncontrollable fear that can ritory where the Partisans had fought. grip you in a war zone. None of that In the 1990s, I’d worked in the for- compares to Ern’s war experiences, mer Yugoslavia for the United Nations whose courage earned him the Mil- as a press and information oicer and itary Medal. But I could understand had travelled throughout Croatia and why returned soldiers suffer from Bosnia, and knew the areas the three post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). escapees had journeyed through, War occupied only a few years of a route that included the Croatian Ern’s young life but his scars have towns of Varaždin, Ivanec and Kalnik, never truly faded – it was hard not the capital Zagreb, and Banja Luka in to notice his shaking left hand, the

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERNEST BROUGH the Serb region of Bosnia. nerves damaged by shell shock. Yet

April•2018 | 111 PARTISAN PROMISE he often insists he was not afraid in Eric, escaped the prison farm camp. battle. “I wasn’t very frightened of Armed with only a tiny compass and anything,” he tells me. “I think it’s a stolen map, the three men had because I had a lash of blood from planned to lee through Slovenia to my mother that I did not fear for the Adriatic coast and from there anything.” Ern reckons he inherited hitch a boat ride to Italy. the ighting resilience of his moth- But after days on the run inn er’s cousin, Captain Albert Jacka, a south-eastern Austria, hiding in l World War I Gallipoli veteran who and ditches, the men were sta ng earned a Victoria Cross. and suffering from hypotheermia. Lying down back-to-belly, th A COMPASS AND A MAP to stay warm during the nights t he chill of winter still hung in the always woke feeling so cold it was air when, in April 1944, now aged diicult to speak. Late one inky black 24, Ern, together with Allan and night, ignoring their aching bodies, they were forced to cross the freezing Drava River – which AUSTRIA Graz bordered Slovenia – now swol- HUNGARY len from melting snow. Ern and Varaždin Allan couldn’t swim, so it was SLOVENIA the New Zealander, Eric, who Zagreb took charge of the dangerous Venice CROATIA river crossing. hey stripped naked and tied Banja their clothes with boot laces to Luka a makeshift raft. Trouble struck an hour into crossing what they

BOSNIA thought was a 15-metre span of the river, when they discovered they were in a section that had been widened by a weir. Allan developed a cramp while Ern, ITALY trying desperately to stay aloat by dog paddling, was showing worrying signs of shock. Eric Bari swam ahead to check how far they had to go before returning to help his struggling mates. “We nearly came undone that night,”

112 | April•2018 male British aison oicer working with the Partisans (centre) with Allan Beand Er Baty to her left, and Ern to her right, with Partisan ighters

Ern says. As if the cold wasn’t enough, as ‘Tito’. Made up of Bosnians, Croa- the raft began to come apart and they tians, Serbians and Slovenes, the re- lost most of their meagre supplies. sistance included women and fought Dragging the disintegrating raft both the Nazis and the Ustashi, the behind him, Eric saved the two from ultra-nationalists who ran Croatia. perishing in the freezing water that The Partisans were known for giv- night. Eventually reaching the Slove- ing leeing Jews, refugees and Allied nian side of the river, they set up camp POWs safe passage to freedom. and dried their uniforms over a fire During April and May 1944, the started with Eric’s cigarette lighter. three men zigzagged across the After recovering, they travelled country with the Partisans, who through Slovenia and crossed the raided villages and clashed with the snow-capped mountains bordering brutal Ustashi. Ern witnessed ex- Croatia. he escapees were taken in treme cruelty by all sides. One time by a group of Partisan ighters, who the Partisans attacked a village near werepartoftheYugoslavcommunist Varaždin and brought back 20 pris-

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERNEST BROUGH resistance led by Josip Broz, known oners, one of whom was a Partisan’s

April•2018 | 113 Ern was given this partizanka as a symbol of friendshipiendshipiendship by a youngyoung Partisan,Partisan Boris Puks, in Croatia in 1944 brother. He was furious with his escapees reached the Serbian town brother for siding with the enemy, of Banja Luka in Bosnia, from where so he jumped on his feet, breaking they were eventually evacuated on an bones. Appalled, Eric went to inter- American DC-3 to Bari in Italy. When vene but Ern stopped him, clamping they arrived in Bari they were all skin a hand over his friend’s mouth and and bones. urging him to keep out of it. Ern and his mates befriended Boris A STORY REVEALED Puks, a 21-year-old Partisan and for- Ern ofered me Puks’s cap during our mer University of Zagreb student. In irst interview in 2009. I had seen a Boris, Ern found someone who liked photograph of it in his book and was to talk about the war and who liked taken by its historical significance. to postulate about what the future I knew that he treasured the parti- might bring. “He was a nice guy,” Ern zanka cap and had proudly showed writes in his book. “One day, he gave it to mates at his local RSL club. me his Partisan cap as a gift.” Ern appreciated my knowledge of

After 62 days on the run, the the place where he spent the final ISTOCK PHOTOS:

114 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST months of World War II. “I reckon When I press him for more infor- you can use it more than me, now,”he mationaboutthecapandBorisPuks, said. I was reluctant to accept Ern’s hismemoryissketchy.Ernremem- cherished cap, but he sent it to me bers that the cap belonged to Puks, soon afterwards. thathewasaCroatianPartisanand Now, nine years later, I hoped to re- that Puks gave him the cap as a ges- turn the cap to Ern and see about giv- ture of thanks. hat’s where it stops. ing it to the Australian War Memorial. “No, I don’t remember,” he tells me. I call the phone number in Geelong “When you’re young, you learn some- that I’d dialled years earlier. After a thingandyoushoveitaside.” few rings, a man answers. It’s Ern, who More questions about the cap conirms he is very much alive. We ar- eventuallyjoghismemory.“Iusedto range for me to interview him two days putabigwhiteturkeyfeatherinit,” later. Not long after, Lizzie Campbell, hesayswithalaugh. Ern’s carer, calls me to check who I am. After the war, Ern returned to

“WESURVIVEDONINSTINCT,SOITWAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO SLIP BACK INTO A CIVILISED WORLD”

Ern has no problem remembering the countryVictoriaandresumedwork cap, but he can’t remember giving it to as a butcher. They were difficult me. hese days, Lizzie explains, such times. Shell-shocked and damaged, memories can elude him. adjusting to peacetime wasn’t easy. WhenIcallhimbackasplanned, Hefelt“wildontheinside”andat Ernhashadtimetolickthroughhis times resorted to ighting and drink- book. Details of his time in Tobruk ing.“Allan,EricandIhadlivedlike andCroatiaareclearer.“Howthehell dogs,” he writes in Dangerous Days. didweevergetthroughit?”heasks “Everydayhadbeenadangerousday, meinawaveringvoice. everyshadowapossiblepredator.We While in Tobruk, fear wasn’t part of survived on instinct, so it was always Ern’s thinking “A lot of them used to goingtobediiculttoslipbackinto sweat it out,” he recalls. “hey had a a civilised world.” terrible time. I didn’t care. I was walk- Getting the images of war out of ing around as if I owned the place.” his head was hard and Ern believes

April•2018 | 115 PARTISAN PROMISE he suffered from PTSD. He tells me Anti-communist sentiment was strong about a time on a train to Melbourne at the time. When Ern discovered his when he attacked a man who had movements were being monitored, he tried to scrounge the last of his to- was outraged but realised it was safer bacco. It took four other men to re- to end their correspondence. strain him. He was also plagued by nightmares and one time woke to ind A PROMISE FULFILLED himself trying to throttle his beloved Ever aware of my promise, I call the wife, Edna May. Australian War Memorial in Canberra Puks wrote to Ern several times to ask about donating the cap to its and was interested in emigrating to collection. hey are keenly interested Australia, but Puks was a commu- in Ern’s story – and the rare artefact – nist, so the authorities kept an eye so decide to ly Ern and Lizzie to Can- on the letters Ern received, placing berra and appropriately recognise his him under surveillance for six years. donation.

Below: Sergeant Ernest Brough presents the cap to Brendan Nelson, the director of the Australian War Memorial. Right: Ern with young Australian soldiers PHOTOS: AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

116 April•2018 On February 6 this year, on a hot, realise that a Partisan risked his own dry Canberra morning, I arrived at life and safety to help this Australian the Australian War Memorial ready to escape,” Nelson says. “And at the end hand over the cap to Ern. Frailer than he gave his cap to Ern. It will make when we last met, he still has that people ask, ‘Why did he do that?’ sparkle in his eyes and an easy laugh. hanks to this simple gesture, the me- In the Commemorative Courtyard morial now has an important artefact before the Pool of Reflection, sur- that tells Ern’s inspirational story of rounded by the Roll of Honour com- survival and mateship.” memorating the more than 102,000 Acrossthecourtyard,agroupof18 Australians who have died in war, soldiersarepractisingadrill.Nelson Sergeant Ernest James Brough of the calls them over and introduces them 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion pre- toErn,theformerPOWandRatof sented the cap to Brendan Nelson, the Tobruk. Each one eagerly approaches director of the Australian War Memo- the old man to shake his hand. It is rial. “People will look at the cap and a moving moment. Young soldiers

April•2018 | 117 PARTISAN PROMISE paying respect to a frail, decorated war It helped Ern to be able to tell his hero from their own defence history. war story. “He believed going to war Ern visited Eric Baty in New Zea- was important and why Australia went land 46 years after their escape. hey to war was important, but Ern is still talked about the time the Partisan at- anti-war,” says Kim. “He thinks war tacked his brother and how Ern had makes no sense.” Ern remains close stopped Eric from getting involved. to her heart – Kim last visited Ern in “Eric thanked me for saving his life Geelong last September. that time,” Ern told me in 2009. “hey TodayErnlivesalone.Lizzievisits would have shot him for sure. But I mostdaysandhekeepsactivetend- said, ‘No, Eric, it’s me who must thank ingoaktreesinhisgarden.Mostof you for saving my life in the river.’” his mates from the war have gone.

ERN COMES FROM A GENERATION WHO WERE TAUGHT TO BE STOIC BUT RETICENT IN THE FACE OF MISFORTUNE

It took Ern more than 60 years to Allan died in 1985, aged 67. Eric bring himself to write about his war died in 1999, aged 80. Edna May, experiences. He comes from a gener- Ern’swifeofmorethan60years,in ation who were taught to be stoic but 2004.Shewas81.Ernwassograte- reticent in the face of misfortune. fulforthetreatmentshereceivedat Writer Kim Kelly worked closely Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital with Ern, talking with him every day that he sold his land and donated for a month to research his memoir. $300,000towardsbuyinganecho- She found that he did not want to talk cardiograph machine. about what happened when he re- “I keep saying to him that he has turned to Australia. “he idea of PTSD to get to 100,” says Lizzie. He is now was not talked about in his day,” she the last surviving Rat of Tobruk in explains. “hey used alcohol instead. Geelong. Today, he is clear-sighted about it and When I handed the cap back to Ern believes returned soldiers need a story in Canberra, he paused before hand- debrief about their war experiences, ing it over to Nelson. I thought Ern such as writing it down or speaking was about to say what I was think-

into a microphone.” ing – that it was more than a cap, PHOTO: AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

118 | April•2018

PARTISAN PROMISE that it is a symbol of the courageous Later he turned to me and said, people who fought against tyranny, “What a wonderful day it is.” hen a a reminder of the debt owed to those joyful expression spread across his who gave their lives to protect our face and he let out an uproarious freedoms. But no – to the delight of laugh. all present, Ern broke into the Aus- tralian Football League anthem, ‘Up The khaki partizanka cap that started here Cazaly’. life in the hands of a young Croatian resistance fighter and was gifted Up there Cazaly in friendship to an Australian POW In there and ight escapee is now carefully preserved in Out there and at ’em the Second World War Galleries of the Show ’em your might Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

History of the PARTISAN CAP

The military side capp, mountain, Slovenia's or forage cap, that highest peak. Puks's Boris Puks gave to cap is a partizanka, Ernest Brough in 19444 so it has a flatter was part of the crown and a folded Yugoslav Partisan brim at the back. uniform. It was called In 1943, the the triglavka in partizanka and Slovenian and the the triglavka were partizanka in Croatian.n replaced by the The design was copied Liberation Front of titovka, or Tito cap, from the cap worn by Croatia. In occupied which was named Republican faction Yugoslavia during after the Yugoslav soldiers during the World War II, this communist resistance Spanish Civil War. A cap's use spread leader, Josip Broz feature of the Yugoslav quickly throughout Tito, and modelled Partisan cap was the the Partisan on the Soviet army red communist star resistance. The cap, the pilotka. After on the front. Slovenian triglavka, the war, the titovka The first Yugoslav adopted in 1942, became the ocial caps were made in had a three-pronged headwear of the 1941 in Zagreb for the ridge along its crown, Yugoslav People's communist People's representing Triglav Army, or JNA.

120 | April•2018 RD Recommends

Books

Dunkirk Arthur D. Divine (ALLEN & UNWIN) his reprint of Arthur D. Divine’s memoir of the events of the TDunkirk evacuation in 1940 holds weight, even among historians. In 1940, Divine, a South African war correspondent, crossed the English Channel three times in a ten-metre boat to rescue Allied troops stranded at the French port. His first-hand account of the human drama that played out during this military exercise formed the basis for the script of the movie Dunkirk.

COMPILED BY LOUISE WATERSON, VICTORIA POLZOT AND ME ANIE EGAN PHOTO: ISTOCK PHOTO:

April•2018 | 121 RD RECOMMENDS

Can You Die of a Broken Heart? Dr Nikki Stmp (MURDOCH BOOKS) rom the time she was a child, heart and lung specialist Dr Nikki F Stamp has had a firm interest in the workings of the heart: how this amazing organ impacts our lives and how it is in turn influenced by our emotions and life experiences. The question of whether we can die of a broken heart has long challenged philosophers and physicians. Rich with compelling anecdotes drawn from Stamp’s I Let Him Go experiences with Denise Fergus patients and her (ECHO PUBLISHING) insights into t’s a scenario painfully maintaining heart familiar to any mother health, it makes for Iwho has gone fascinating reading. shopping with a young child. You take your eyes of them for what seems like just a few seconds, but they still manage to slip out of sight. For most, the momentary panic is quickly replaced with relief. Not so for Denise Fergus. On February 12, 1993, her darling two-year-old son, Jamie, was lured away and murdered by two young boys. The murder of James Bulger 25 years ago still haunts Denise. This is her story.

122 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST he Crown: he Inside History Robert Lcey (ALLEN & UNWIN)

ith the 65th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s Wcoronation in June, and the success of Netflix’s series The Crown, interest in the Queen’s life is stronger than ever. The Crown: The Inside History adds expert and in-depth details to the events depicted in the series, character by character. With Elizabeth II’s Wikipedia pageviews soaring after each episode as viewers seek to confirm the often-questionable events depicted, this book will help smooth out any confusion or doubts raised by the series dramatisation.

he Longevity Diet Dr Vlter Longo (PENGUIN) ews segments often feature cheerful centenarians celebrating Nmilestone birthdays – and with it, questions about their secrets to a long life. The Longevity Diet, designed by researcher Professor Valter Longo, a biochemist and ageing expert, claims the answer lies in a diet that helps the body regenerate itself at the cellular and organ levels by combining a daily eating plan with fasting. Sound appealing? The book includes meal planners and 30 recipes to help you embrace this lifestyle change.

April•2018 | 123 Movies

On Chesil Beach (Drm) n this movie Ian McEwan has when alone – even at dinner – adapted his novella about a intensifies as intimacy looms. Ihoneymoon couple and their Initially interpreted as wedding struggle to physically connect. night jitters, it is soon clear that Set in 1962, a time between the something else is creating the conservatism of the 1950s and the divide that has devastating start of the ‘new age’, Florence consequences. Director Dominic (Saoirse Ronan) and Edward (Billy Cooke captures the disturbing Howle) arrive as virgin newlyweds way in which, for that generation, at a seaside hotel on windswept the wedding night was like a Chesil Beach. Their awkwardness sacrificial ceremony.

Ideal Home (Comedy) igh-maintenance celebrity chef Erasmus (Steve Coogan, far left) and Hhis quiet, reserved partner Paul (Paul Rudd) live a carefree and self-indulgent life. The couple’s perfect existence is turned upside down when Erasmus is confronted by the ten-year-old grandson he never knew he had. With the boy’s father in prison, the boy has nowhere else to go, and after much debate Erasmus and Paul decide to take him in. What could be a disaster turns out to be the perfect recipe for a new family.

124 | April•2018 PsPodcasts

Oprah’s hose Conspiracy We Study SuperSoul Guys Billionaires: Conversations Two Irish guys (Gordon he Investors Oprah Winfrey Rochford and Paul Kelly) Podcast presents a selection chat over a beer. What Becoming a billionaire of her interviews with else would they discuss may take more than a bestselling authors but CIA assassins, UFO genius idea, hard work such as Elizabeth cover-ups and whether or being born lucky. Gilbert, spiritual jet fuel can melt steel Preston Pysh and Stig luminaries including beams? The pair pull Brodersen analyse how Eckhart Tolle, as well apart the evidence billionaires such as as health and wellness behind famous Sir Richard Branson, experts. The interviews conspiracy theories, Warren Bufett and are enlightening and taking a humorous, Elon Musk got to where compassionate. yet logical approach. they are today.

HOW TO GET PODCASTS TO LISTEN ON THE WEB: Google the website for ‘Those Conspiracy Guys’, for example, and click on the play button. TO DOWNLOAD: Download an app such as Podcatchers or iTunes on your phone or tablet and search by title.

Puzzle Answers Seepage124 1-2-3 GO 3 METEOR SHOWERS MATCH GAME 2 BRING SPRING FLOWERS Two. The remaining internal 1 Cosmofilium jupibristo. square could be placed 1 The first half of the top as shown or in any of the 3 term tells the colour of the other three positions. 212 flower’s centre; the last half is the petal colour. 12 33 The first half of the bot- tom term tells the shape 321 of the flower’s centre; the 32 last half is the shape of the petals. 1

April•2018 | 125 News Worth Sharing

Divers buy water- resistant postcards from a local store

Postcards from Underwater

ourists can send postcards over 38,000 postcards have been from just about anywhere in mailed through the postbox. T the world – but have you ever The mail, written on waterproof received one from under the sea? paper using oil-based paint markers, Former postmaster Toshihiko is collected every day by dive shop Matsumoto first came up with the owner Hiroaki Yamatani and delivered idea for the world’s only underwater to the post oce, from where they are postbox as a means of attracting sent to their respective addresses. more visitors to his town of Susami In addition to being the world’s in Wakayama Prefecture of Japan – first underwater postbox, it also and it worked. holds the Guinness World Record Since the unique attraction was first for being the world’s deepest planted of the coast of the village, postbox at 10 metres deep.

COMPILED BY TIM HULSE

126 | April•2018 READER’S DIGEST

Vacuum Barge Could Clean Up the Rivers he engineer famous for creating a game-changing Tvacuum cleaner is using the Writing Off Debt same design ingenuity to help the environment. ore than 1.5 million James Dyson recently released South Koreans will have sketches for the M.V. Recyclone: Mtheir debts paid of or a river barge to collect garbage restructured by the ‘National from polluted waterways. Happiness Fund’. The proposed barge would It’s part of a government plan to be equipped with a net that would relieve the economic pressure on skim the surface of the water and lower-income citizens. To qualify, trap floating rubbish. The trash South Koreans must have an would then be separated using income of less than US$910 per the very same cyclone technology month and prove that they have that put Dyson vacuums on tried for at least a decade to repay consumers’ radars during the borrowed money. the 1990s. Once collected, the rubbish could then be delivered to local Young Can-Do recycling facilities for processing. While the barge is still in the Designerr early phases of research and development, the engineer hopes torm Delaney, that the final design will be able a 16-yyear-old to cleanse rivers of pollution Sfashioon designner before the litter makes its way from Darwin,n, uses almost entirely y into the ocean. recycled materials such as aluminium cans, to make outfits that would not be out of place on an avant-garde runway. “The vest and sleeves are joined together, all made out of the tops of cans,” the high school pupil says of a bolero she designed using 1000 ring pulls. Much of the materials for her designs may have otherwise ended up in landfill. PHOTOS: (MONEY, RINGPULL) ISTOCK

April•2018 | 127 BRAIN POWER TEST YOUR MENTAL PROWESS Puzzles

Challenge yourself by solving these puzzles and mind stretchers, then check your answers on page 125.

BY MARCEL DANESI

METEOR SHOWERS BRING SPRING FLOWERS (MODERATELY DIFFICULT) Spacedusthaslandedonearth,carryingwithitseedsforexoticnewalien flowers.Oneofthemstilllacksaname.Ifthexenobotanistsfollowthesame rules they used to create the other terms, what should they call the last flower? RCEL DANESI

ASPERFILIUM ASPERCHRYST COSMODENDRA NEPTUGORII JUPICALTAE URANOGORII

BELSACHRYST BELSAFILIUM MARBRISTO URANOCALTAE ?

MATCH GAME (EASY) Therearefivesquaresinthefigureto theright:thelargeexternaloneand four smaller internal ones. What’s the lowest number of matchsticks you couldremovetoleavetwosquares, with no leftover matchsticks that don’t form part of a square? (METEOR SHOWERS BRING SPRING FLOWERS) DARREN RIGBY; (MATCH GAME) MA

128 | April•2018 1-2-3 GO (MODERATELY DIFFICULT) In the diagram below, fill in the missing junctionstodrawasingle,continuousloop BRAIN POWER thatfollowseachlinesegmentonceandonly brought to you by once. As you move along, every corner and everyjunctionyoupassisthebeginningofa newsegment.Theloopmusttracesegments innumericalorder;thatis,“1,2,3,1,2,3...” Each junction can be filled in one of three ways: JUICE UP

3

2 1 1 3 212

12 33

321 32

1

Here’s an example of a completed loop:

1

2 3 3

21

312 12

3 (1-2-3 GO) RODERICK KIMBALL OF ENIGAMI.FUN BRAIN POWER

TEST YOUR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Trivia

1. James Naismith presented 7.7 When dry, this cocktail the irst Olympic gold ingredient goes into a medal, in 1936, for the martini. When sweet, it sport he invented. What goes into a Manhattan. was it? 2 points What is it? 1 point 2. Which South 8. Which New Zealand American nation shares actor, born in 1947, its borders with the most starred alongside Sean number of countries? Connery in he Hunt 2 points 14. Before entering For Red October? 3. Youmightsaythat the priesthood, which 2points Pablo Picasso and pope-to-be tried his 9. Which astronomical hand at acting and Georges Braque lost constellation is oicially playwriting? 1 point all perspective when abbreviated as “UMa”? theystartedwhatart 2points movement in the early 1900s? 1point 10. In1995,whotoldareporter 4. When Soviet policy was mocked there had been three people in her attheUnitedNationsin1960,who marriage, “so it was a bit crowded”? responded by banging his shoe on 1point the table? 2points 11. Whatbodyofwaterseparates 5. Whichanimalfalls1.8metresto Borneo and Singapore? 2points the ground the moment it is born? 12. What is the southernmost city 1point ever to have hosted the Olympics? 6. Whichcountry’slagportrays 1point Angkor Wat, one of the world’s largest 13. Which Belgian action-ilm star religious monuments? 1point was once a karate champion? 1point

16-20 Gold medal 11-15 Silver medal 6-10 Bronze medal 0-5 Wooden spoon

h ol ae eoeJh alII. Paul John become later would who

Karol Józef Wojtyla, Wojtyla, Józef Karol 14. Damme. Van Jean-Claude 13. 1956. in Australia, Melbourne, 12. Sea. China . South 11

Princess Diana. Diana. Princess 10. Bear). Great (the Major Ursa 9. Neill. Sam 8. Vermouth. 7. Cambodia. 6. girafe. The 5.

Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev. Nikita 4. Cubism. 3. neighbours. ten has which Brazil, 2. Basketball. 1. ANSWERS:

130 | April•2018 BRAIN POWER

IT PAYS TO INCREASE YOUR Word Power

It’saDog’sLife For thousands of years, the dog has been humankind’s best friend. Test your command of these concepts concerning our faithful companions

BY SAMANTHA RIDEOUT

1. flyball n. –A:teamsportfordogs. 8. worry v. –A:escapealeash. B: hyperactive puppy. C: ball for B: whimper incessantly. C: gnaw playing fetch. at and shake with the teeth. 2. mottled adj. –A:turnedwild. 9. litter n. –A:puppiesborntoa B: marked with blotches of colour. mother at one time. B: large kennel. C: not yet weaned. C:dogofnodeinablebreed. 3. barbet n. –A:Frenchbreedwith 10. guard hair n. –A:outerfur. woolly fur. B: purse with a pocket for B:sensitivewhiskers.C:innerfur. atinydog.C:tuftofhaironthechin. 11. overmark v. –A:gainaperfect 4. brachycephalic adj. –A:afected scoreatadogshow.B:coveranother byatumour.B:havinganalpha animal’sscent. C: inscribe on a collar. temperament. C: with a broad, 12. cynophobia adj. –A:fearof short head. barking. B: fear of bites. C: fear of dogs. 5. slaver n. –A:overlydemanding 13. whelp n. –A:softyapping sound. trainer. B: saliva that runs from the B: young dog. C: stray dog. mouth. C: dominant dog. 14. Argos n. –A:doginGreek 6. play bow n. –A:soundmadebya mythology. B: Bollywood celebrity lonelydog.B:bowtieforapetor Pomeranian. C: Mediterranean child. C: playful canine body position. breedwithashorttail. 7. dewclaw n. –A:innertoethat 15. frolic v. –A:sniftheair. doesn’treachtheground.B:furon B: jump up on someone. the paws. C: canine athlete’s foot. C: run around happily.

April•2018 | 131 WORD POWER

Answers

1. flyball – [A] team sport for dogs. 8. worry –[C]gnawatandshake Flyballisarelayracethatinvolves withtheteeth.Maia’spuppywas dogs jumping hurdles and likedtoworryherchewtoyforhours. catching balls. 9. litter –[A]Puppiesborntoa 2. mottled –[B]markedwith mother at one time. here are three blotches of colour. Mocha stood male and two females in the litter. outattheanimalshelterbecause 10. guard hair –[A]outerfur.he of her striking mottled brown and job of guard hair is to protect the soft white coat. insulating coat below. 3. barbet –[A]Frenchbreedwith 11. overmark –[B]coveranother woolly fur. Its non-moulting coat animal’sscent. he Dalmatian means the barbet is tolerated by considered the backyard his territory some people who are allergic to and would overmark any unfamiliar other breeds. urine he detected there. 4. brachycephalic –[C]witha 12. cynophobia – [C] fear of dogs. In broad, short head. Sadly, pugs’ abidtoovercomehiscynophobia, brachycephalic features can cause Leon decided to meet his sister’s them to have breathing diiculties. gentle-tempered mutt. 5.slaver–[B]salivathatrunsfrom 13. whelp –[B]youngdog.Bluey, themouth.Ifyourdogisproducing a whelp of Colin’s old cattle dog, is more slaver than it usually does, alreadyshowinghisfather’stalents. itmaybeasignthat it is anxious or nauseous. 14. Argos –[A]doginGreek mythology.Argoswastheirst 6. play bow –[C]playfulcanine torecogniseOdysseuswhenhe body position. With hindquarters up returnedhomeafter20yearsaway. andchesttotheground,theyoung dog’s play bow showed she wanted 15. frolic –[C]runaroundhappily. to be friends. Carmen let Lucky frolic of-leash whenever possible. 7. dewclaw –[A]innertoethat doesn’treachtheground.Canines’ dewclaws are the vestigial remains VOCABULARY RATINGS ofatimewhentheirdistant 7-10: Best of breed 11–12: Runner-up best in show ancestors climbed trees. 13–15: Best in show

132 | April•2018 Explore, Interact, Inspire

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