Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i Reader's Digest

I’M FROM THE worst place in America, at least according to science. No, really. The Places Rated Almanac, a study that looks at crime, jobs, education, and other factors, once ranked my hometown, Kankakee, Illinois, as the worst metropolitan area to live in North America. To mark this dubious award, David Letterman bestowed a pair of gazebos upon the town. But a town is more than a spreadsheet of statistics. It’s the friendly waitress at the local diner and the librarian who has helped us find a new favorite book since we could barely see over the counter. It’s people like my mother, Joyce Kosma, who spent more than 30 years in the front office of our local school, handing out hugs and lunch money to every kid in need.…

THE APPLES THAT dangle temptingly from trees in Tom Brown’s orchard are likely not found in the produce section of your local Kroger or ShopRite. They have names like Balsam Sweet, Candy Stripe, and Night Dropper, and are among the 1,200 varieties that Brown has reclaimed from six southern states. Most haven’t been sold commercially for a century or more; some were grafted from the last known trees of their kind. All are finding a new life here in Clemmons, North Carolina. “These old-timey apples are an important part of our agricultural heritage,” Brown says. “They are the apples of our grandparents and great-grandparents.” One such apple is the Junaluska. It originated with the Cherokee Indians more than two centuries ago and was named after a 19th-century chief. It was…

IT’’S FULL-ON PUMPKIN season, and lately it seems it’s raining pumpkin seeds, aka pepitas. You’ll find the tasty kernels stirred into granola, studding a slice of coffeehouse pumpkin bread, or popping up in beet salads, grain bowls, and more. But are the seeds you scoop out of your Halloween jack-o’-lantern and pepitas the same thing? Not exactly. If you husked the tough outer shell of a regular white pumpkin seed, you’d end up with a little green seed. That’s a pepita. Gratefully, there’s no need for this task: Pepitas are harvested from specific hull-less pumpkin varieties, with fun names such as Naked Bear and Lady Godiva. Long a staple in Latin groceries and a snack darling at health-food stores, pepitas can now be found in the super market aisle with…

WELLNESS FROM THEHEALTHY.COM AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR way of eating called reducetarianism may sound like a new weight loss fad. And you might drop some pounds, should you try it. But that’s not the main goal; instead, reducetarianism is about cutting down on the amount of meat and processed foods you eat, making small changes that are healthy for you and the planet. “Many people think of meat consumption as an all-or-nothing premise: Either you’re a vegan, or you’re not,” says Brian Kateman, cofounder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation. “But the vast majority of people don’t want to go vegan.” So he has a simple message for the rest of us: “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good.” Compared with a vegetarian or a vegan, reducetarians take a…

After trick-or-treating, a teen takes a shortcut home through a cemetery. Halfway across, he’s startled by a tapping noise. Trembling, he spots an old man chipping away at a headstone with a chisel. “I thought you were a ghost!” cries the relieved teen. “What are you doing working so late?” “Oh, those idiots,” grumbles the old man. “They misspelled my name.” —THE JOHNSON CITY NEWS & NEIGHBOR Can We Have a Word? ✦ The most embarrassing thing about Wordle is that when I don’t get it in three, I am convinced I am about to learn a brand-new word, and then it’s like … THOSE. —@C_GRACET If you’re being chased by a pack of taxidermists, do not play dead.—OLAF FALAFEL, comedian ✦ The linguist’s husband caught her in the arms…

THE HAPPIEST PLACE in Kingsport, Tennessee, has horses, a tiger, a giraffe, and even a dragon. It has chariots and a large buffalo that lets kids climb all over it. It has laughter that drowns out the speaker’s toe-tapping music. If the Kingsport Carousel sounds magical, that’s because it is. Located in downtown Kings port, it’s the crown jewel of this small city on the Virginia border. But the real magic is how it came to be built and lovingly crafted by the people of Kingsport themselves, most of whom had no idea how to wield a chisel, let alone fashion a carousel. It began 14 years ago when Kingsport transplant Gale Joh wanted to give back to the place that had become his home. Originally from Binghamton, New York,…

Back in March, Reader’s Digest set out on our annual search for Nice Places. Readers sent their nominations for the Nicest Places in America, detailing every good neighbor, selfless deed, and act of community care from all corners of the country. We read every last one. After a series of tough decisions and a thorough vetting process, our editors and judges (below) named 2022’s Nicest Places in America. MITCH ALBOM Philanthropist and author of Tuesdays with Morrie: 25th Anniversary Edition JASON BUHRMESTER Chief Content Officer, Reader’s Digest MÓNICA GUZMÁN Director of Digital Story-telling at Braver Angels and author of I Never Thought of It That Way SHAWN JOHNSON Philanthropist and Olympic gold medalist BONNIE KINTZER Chief Executive Officer, Trusted Media Brands SEAN PATEL Owner of the Quality Inn in Kodak,…

OFTENTIMES, doing things in a more sustainable way means doing them the old-fashioned way—buying bar soap instead of bottles of body wash, for example, or hanging clothes on a line versus running the dryer. Making small tweaks to our routines can pay off big in various ways: helping the planet while saving you time, money, or both. With that in mind, we’ve compiled 12 easy steps that will help you go the most distance. We hope you’ll be surprised by how big a difference you can make with relatively little effort. 1Up your recycling game. Even if you’re good about toting your newspapers and cat food cans to the curb each week, you’re probably tossing other items that could (and should!) go into those blue bins. Think foil, bubble wrap,…

Bach, Beethoven, Bo Diddley, it’s the same 12 notes. That’s all we have, and it’s up to each of us to create our own unique sound.—Quincy Jones, musician, in his book 12 NOTES ON LIFE AND CREATIVITY We need to start from inclusion. As things arise, I have confidence we can figure it out. But we can’t start at the opposite.—Megan Rapinoe, SOCCER PLAYER, IN TIME My version of romanticism means that we are the toughest tribe of people, despite what the world says.—Bolu Babalola, AUTHOR, IN ELLE I dreamed of becoming a border guard, then a translator, and then a diplomat.—Volodymyr Zelenskyy, POLITICIAN, IN A CAMPAIGN VIDEO I don’t define myself by my job. I’m not just a doctor. I’m not just a comedian. I’m not just an annoying…

The Ultimate Highlight Reel We barely fit all our favorite stories from the past 100 years into this brand-new keepsake collection, not to mention our most memorable photographs and jokes. Inside you’ll find stories that are sometimes funny, often poignant, but always inspirational. We even made room for a few that have never been published before in any issue of Reader’s Digest. Sit back and soak up all this humor and heart for just $10. (The shipping is on us.) To order, visit rd.com/RDOCT.…

The Best Sandwich in Every State This story (July/August) hit my salivary glands. For decades, my church has prepared your designation for Michigan’s “best sandwich,” the meat pasty, for our annual fundraiser. As you say, it rhymes with “nasty,” but our soaring sales each year beg to differ. Can’t wait for next pasty season. —BILL HALSTEAD Lacey, Michigan I can’t be the only native Marylander who has written regarding the confusion between a crab cake and soft-shell crab sandwich. A crab cake is made of crab, mayo, mustard, eggs, bread crumbs, and seasoning, fried and served on a bun. A soft-shell crab sandwich is literally a crab between two pieces of bread, eaten whole. —KAYLEIGH SHOEMAKER Nashville, Tennessee Editor’s Note: Indeed, we got our claws crossed! We’re sorry for the sandwich…

FOOD 1 Soften Butter Without Heat Your toast is browned to perfection, but the butter is hard as a rock. Absolutely un-spreadable. An easy solution: Grate the end of the stick over the desired target (English muffin, Hawaiian roll, serving dish for your dinner party) and the butter will be much easier to spread. No melting or microwaving necessary. SOURCE: RD.COM HOLIDAY 2 Go Green for Halloween The ghosts and ghouls are scary, yes, but even more frightening is the waste that Halloween creates. A U.K. study found that costumes from 19 retailers alone generate 4.5 million pounds of plastic waste each year. Fortunately, Halloween lends itself to biodegradable decor. Arrange pumpkins, gourds, hay, and cornstalks outside. Scoop out gourds to make natural flower vases, and assemble squash, tiny pumpkins,…

THE CHALLENGE IS SIMPLE: Answer a math question—say, what’s 8 x 8 + 50?—and get five seconds to grab as much as you can from Lucky Candy bodega’s shelves, all for free. For Ahmed “Medy” Alwan, 23, joy is as essential as breakfast—and regulars at his family’s corner store sometimes struggle for both. So he came up with a clever way to brighten his customers’ days. “I’ve always helped out people in the neighborhood,” he says. “They’ve known me since I was a little kid. I know half of them by name. And, you know, sometimes they need credit.” Lucky Candy is located on a busy street in the Bronx, which is what’s known as a food desert, where affordable, healthy food is scarce. Many residents rely on neighborhood shops…

Raise a glass for Oktoberfest—Munich’s famous beer festival is back on the calendar this fall after a two-year pandemic hiatus. To celebrate, we have some fresh words on tap that came to English from German. Pour yourself a cold one, take the quiz, then hop over to the next page for the answers. 1. angst n. (ahnkst) A iron cross B pork dumpling C anxiety 2. zeitgeist n. (‘zyt-gyst) A gas-powered airship B mood of an era C armed robbery 3. verboten adj. (ver-’boh-ten) A forbidden B word-for-word C animated 4. carabiner n. kayr-uh-’bee-ner) A angular font B metal safety clip C police sergeant 5. wunderkind n. (‘vuhn-der-kint) A short-legged dog B almond candy C gifted child 6. nosh v. (nahsh) A snack B flail C squeeze 7. bildungsroman n. (‘bil-dunks-roh-mahn) A coming-of-age tale B ladies’ man…

POEMS ARE POPPING up in unexpected places, as on this dusty road in Mosca, Colorado, population 732. The anonymous poet calls his work Roadside Senryu. A senryu is like a haiku but focuses more on human foibles than on nature. So, near Ulysses, New York, you’ll see: Where is my person/I ask forgetting that I/Am standing right here. The artist has erected 23 signs so far, to “inspire people to strive for the greater good,” he told the Daily Memphian. Hence, the sentiment behind a sign in Mount Prospect, Illinois: Foolish to hold back/For love is for giving and/Love is forgiving.…

NOT MANY NICE PLACES shower their residents with burning embers. But on that hot August day in 2020, as ash rained down and flames closed in, Jim Rhodes didn’t want to be anywhere but Coulterville, California. “My kid called from Alabama. We first heard about the fire from him,” Rhodes recalls. “He said, ‘Evacuate!’ I said, ‘Evacuate? To where?’” Coulterville is a tiny town in Northern California, about 150 miles inland from San Francisco, nestled among dry hills where ranchers raise cattle and other livestock. The nearest sizeable town, Mariposa, is 26 miles away. Once Mexican territory and later a gold rush boom town, Coulterville is barely a crossroads today. It has a Main Street, a park, and a museum. It’s got a café, a consignment shop, and a VFW…

A HUMMINGBIRD’S HELLO My sister Wendy once nursed and released an injured hummingbird. It became a thing, her and hummingbirds. As teenagers, we promised each other that if one of us died, she’d let the other know that she was OK. Wendy was the first to go, at 48. Sitting outside one morning, I felt something repeatedly swoop low over my head. I yelled, “Wendy, if that’s you, stop messing around and show me!” And suddenly a hummingbird hovered in front of my face. When I told my daughter the story later that morning, she interrupted, “Mom, there’s a hummingbird flying right over your head!” It came so close it could’ve perched on my glasses. I said, “Hi, Wendy.” She tweeted back and sped off. I haven’t seen her since,…

DAMON CARSON HAS one of the more interesting inboxes in America. On any given day, from his office in Denver, Colorado, he will field myriad inquiries from people looking to unload stuff. We’re not talking about the odd homeowner trying to dispense with an old refrigerator or a bagful of out-of-fashion clothing. Picture instead large companies looking to unload massive amounts of stuff that otherwise would be on a fast track to the landfill. For example, Carson, 50, got a request to pick up surplus rolls of the fabric used to cover domed sports stadiums. A battery manufacturer had 22 tons of barium sulfate used in lead-acid batteries. The iron content was too high for the manufacturer’s specs, but maybe he could find a new home for it? Twenty-eight palletloads…