SEPTEMBER 2015 Removable bookmark brought to you by The Surfer and the Shark An RD ORIGINAL . 10 Why You Can’t Tickle Yourself From BBC.COM FUTURE . 139 Rob Lowe on Sending His Son to College From the book LOVE LIFE . 78 Is Your Dog a Bed Hog? From FAST COMPANY . 44 SILENT SIGNS YOUR BODY IS IN BIG TROUBLE The Art of Offering Comfort From THE NEW YORK TIMES . 33 13 Things a Handyman Won’t Tell You An RD ORIGINAL . 131 The Teacher Who Changed My Life From OUR READERS . 114 Improve Your Marriage in One Day From A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION . 98 Bob Schieffer on Good Cops From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL . 20 “She Stole My Identity!” From AARP THE MAGAZINE . 88 An RD ORIGINAL . 66
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rd.com | 09•2015 | 1 PHOTOGRAPH BY ALI BLUMENTHAL Cover Story 66 SILENT SIGNS YOUR BODY IS IN BIG TROUBLE Learn how to read your own distress signals. HALLIE LEVINE Essay 78 UNPREPARED Rob Lowe’s bittersweet send-off to his collegebound son. FROM THE BOOK LOVE LIFE Culture 84 36 FAVORITE FACTS THAT ARE FALSE Debunking famous myths and misconceptions. DAVID MCCANDLESS FROM INFORMATIONISBEAUTIFUL.NET National Interest 88 “SHE STOLE MY LIFE!” How one woman got taken—and how to avoid being next. DOUG SHADEL FROM AARP THE MAGAZINE Humor 98 IMPROVE YOUR MARRIAGE (IN JUST ONE DAY) Garrison Keillor finds love among life’s tangles. FROM A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION Contents SEPTEMBER 2015 P. | 114 Personal Essay 104 THE PLOT THICKENS Who was the person who’d marked up my library book? I had to know. GARY SOTO FROM THE BOOK WHY I DON’T WRITE CHILDREN’S LITERATURE Drama in Real Life 108 GOING UNDER! All that stood between two airmen and a raging flood was a tiny shack—and time was running out. KENNETH MILLER One-Page Tributes 114 MY TEACHER HERO Readers salute their most memorable educators. Personal Essay 118 GRACE WAS HER NAME I hadn’t been born yet when my father killed her. But she’s alive in my mind. LORENZO CARCATERRA Innovation 124 A MAN, A MIRROR, A CURE While scientists puzzle over phantom limb pain, one amputee delivers a simple treatment that works. SRINATH PERUR FROM MOSAIC
2 | 09•2015 | rd.com PHOTOGRAPH BY GLENN GLASSER READER FAVORITES 18 Points to Ponder 25 100-Word True Stories 26 Faces of America 30 Life in These United States 50 All in a Day’s Work 58 News from the World of Medicine 76 Laughter, the Best Medicine 95 That’s Outrageous! 96 Photo of Lasting Interest 103 Laugh Lines 136 Look Twice 145 Word Power 147 Humor in Uniform 148 Quotable Quotes Everyday Heroes 10 Saved from the Jaws of a Shark KATIE ASKEW 13 Dream Builder ALYSSA JUNG VOICES & VIEWS Department of Wit 15 I Need a Book Club! In the suburbs, a good friend can be hard to find. But I had a solution. VICKI GLEMBOCKI FROM PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE Words of Lasting Interest 20 Good Cops, Bad Cops Day in and day out, the great majority of officers do their job the right way. BOB SCHIEFFER FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL You Be the Judge 23 The Case of the Gas Guzzler Does a car company have to pay when a vehicle’s fuel economy falls short of the maker’s claims? VICKI GLEMBOCKI Finish This Sentence 28 I Should Get Back Into . Volume 186 | Issue 1113 SEPTEMBER 2015 4 Editor’s Note P. | 26 6 Letters
rd.com | 09•2015 | 3 ILLUSTRATION BY MING HAI ART OF LIVING 33 The Art of Offering Love and Comfort DAVID BROOKS FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES Food 36 How Bad Is It .? KELSEY KLOSS 38 Superfoods That Enhance Your Appearance DORI KATZ FROM FAMILY CIRCLE Travel 40 Sitting with a Soldier STACY CLARK FROM THE BOSTON GLOBE 42 Ingenious Ways Cities Attract Tourists BETH DREHER Family 44 Let Sleeping Dogs Lie BILL BAROL FROM FAST COMPANY 46 Like My Father Always Said ERIN MCHUGH FROM THE BOOK LIKE MY FATHER ALWAYS SAID . Home 48 Boost the Beauty of Any Room KELSEY KLOSS Health 52 First Aid for Your Voice SUSAN INCE WHO KNEW? 131 13 Things a Handyman Won’t Tell You MICHELLE CROUCH 134 Toys That Weren’t Meant to Be Toys BRANDON SPECKTOR 139 Why Can’t You Tickle Yourself? DAVID ROBSON FROM BBC.COM FUTURE 142 Incredible Crime Scene Professions JENNIFER M. WOOD FROM MENTAL FLOSS P. | 139 PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIELLE REVERE WARDROBE STYLIST: MARIE BLOMQUIST; HAIRSTYLIST: NATE ROSENKRANZ; MAKEUP STYLIST: SUZY GERSTEIN; MODEL: COURTNEY MCCANN/WILHELMINA; CORSET LEOTARD BY LIVETHEPROCESS.COM ADDITIONAL MEDIA IN OUR TABLET VERSIONS
4 | 09•2015 | rd.com THE 180-MILE DRIVE from home to the University of Michigan was the most difficult journey of my life. I remember our Chevy van stuffed with pillows, comforters, and bags of hair products from Bernie Shulman’s. And I can still feel the knot of despair (leaving the boyfriend!) and doubt (could I cut it academically?) that twisted in my stomach. We were quiet as my dad drove along I-80, stealing tentative smiles in the rearview mirror while Mom underlined interesting classes for me to consider in the well-thumbed course guide. I think of the vans pulling out of driveways this August, and I know the pride, hope, and even uncertainty that fill them. In his essay “Unprepared,” Rob Lowe draws a beautiful picture of his family as they pack and take their older son to school. I love this piece because the Lowes’ plane trip took me back to my own anguished van ride, and I could appreciate the different ways my parents treated the transition. Mom sent me off with a hearty hug and a huge smile, certain I had all the traits and toiletries I needed. Dad misted up, then mailed me a letter every other day that first semester. I didn’t know it when my family’s van pulled away from South Quad and left me to the next chapter of my life, but thanks to everything they’d done in raising me and getting me to this milestone, I was indeed prepared. Editor’s Note The Family in the Van I invite you to e-mail me at liz@rd.com and follow me at facebook.com/lizvaccariello and lizvaccariello on Instagram. PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE VACCARIELLO; WARDROBE STYLIST: ELYSHA LENKIN; HAIR AND MAKEUP: AMY KLEWITZ FOR PRO-STYLE-CREW; JEWELRY: WIMBERLY INC
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6 | 09•2015 | rd.com When I was growing up, we had food growers and food preparers; nowhere do I recall the phrase food manufacturer. We would all be healthier if more food was purchased directly from growers and prepared at home. RICHARD POTENSKI, Woodland, Washington What information do you have to support number 48, which says farmed fish have more omega-3s than wild salmon? We make a living by fishing wild salmon, which we firmly believe is healthier than farmed salmon. NANCY E. JONES, Kodiak, Alaska EDITOR’S NOTE: According to the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Atlantic farmed salmon has 1,800 mg of omega-3 fatty acids per threeounce cooked portion versus 1,700 mg for wild king salmon, 900 mg for wild coho salmon, and 800 mg for wild sockeye salmon. Not Without My Neighbors This is what is missing in our country! Community and the willingness to help a neighbor who is in a bad situation. ANNE HUSTED, Paris, Kentucky Letters COMMENTS ON THE JUNE ISSUE 50 Secrets Food Manufacturers Won’t Tell You While we may spend a relatively small portion of our disposable income on food, we pay dearly in other ways. I would not mind paying a little more at the grocery store in exchange for federal policies that ensured healthier people, ecosystems, and communities. JANICE F. DYER, Ma d i s o n , A l a b a m a Too much information! TERRI L. HORNE, Shallotte, North Carolina
rd.com | 09•2015 | 7 The World Is Not Falling Apart The world may not be falling apart because of war, but it is being consumed and covered in garbage by seven billion inhabitants. A. H., via e-mail “Bee stings and other accidents kill more Americans than terrorists do.” Bees don’t hijack aircraft and fly them into buildings. Traffic accidents don’t cut the heads off innocents. Nonetheless, we prepare to mitigate bee stings; we spend millions making cars safer. These are unavoidable risks of life in this country. Unless we’re ready to accept death by terrorism as an unavoidable risk of life, it should receive the same attention to avoidance and public safety as bee stings and traffic accidents. DAVID COX, Palmer, Alaska It’s refreshing to read an expert opinion that presents a more positive spin on this topic. B. F., via e-mail Your Winning Poems Now I know that picking four out of all the entries was a task,/ But couldn’t one of the winners have had some rhyming? I’d like to ask. RAY SPECK, Glendale, Arizona Big Shoes to Fill Theresa Arnold’s 100-word true story brought tears to my eyes. My dad always wore cowboy boots and put many miles on them. When he passed away, I took those old, worn boots and put them on his grave, where they remain to this day. CONNIE SUKUP, Wayne, Nebraska A Simple Thank-You As I sit on a school bus and wait for a softball game to end, I spend my time reading Reader’s Digest. I enjoy the words of wisdom and the laughter. I was a substitute bus driver on a route a few years ago. As the elementary schoolers boarded, each took a step back to look at the bus number again. All had the same question in their minds: “Does he know where I live?” I was nearing the end of my run and had one kindergartner left. I stopped outside his house and opened the doors. Before I could say, “Wait for my signal,” he put a dime in my hand and said, “Thank you for getting me home.” We weren’t lost or late; he was just thankful. That dime sits next to my watch to remind me how important my job is. Here’s a dime, RD; thank you for listening. TOM BARTZ, Alexander, New York Send letters to letters@rd.com or Letters, Reader’s Digest, PO Box 6100, Harlan, Iowa 51593-1600. Include your full name, address, e-mail, and daytime phone number. We may edit letters and use them in all print and electronic media. Contribute Send us your 100-word true stories, jokes, and funny quotes, and if we publish one in a print edition of Reader’s Digest, we’ll pay you $100. To submit your 100-word stories, visit rd.com/stories. To submit humor items, visit rd.com/submit, or write to us at Jokes, Box 6226, Harlan, Iowa 51593-1726. Please include your full name and address in your entry. We regret that we cannot acknowledge or return unsolicited work. Do Business Subscriptions, renewals, gifts, address changes, payments, account information, and inquiries: Visit rd.com/help, call 877-732-4438, or write to us at Reader’s Digest, PO Box 6095, Harlan, Iowa 51593-1595
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