DECEMBER 2018

CONTENT CANADIANS TRUST

DO PLACEBOS REALLY WORK?

PAGE 74

THE DAY OUR DOG WAS KIDNAPPED

PAGE 90

A JOLLY JEWISH CHRISTMASPAGE 70

OVERCOMING SOCIAL ANXIETYPAGE 40

THE RATTLESNAKE THAT WOULDN’T DIE

PAGE 54

CANADA’S AUTISM-FRIENDLY TOWNPAGE 82

MEET SANTA’S POSTMASTER ......................... 14

FAREWELL, WINTER SKIN! ............................ 22

THE UPSIDES OF UNPLUGGING.................... 150

A CHRISTMAS CAROL WORD POWER ........... 157

PAGE 32

9 Remarkable Stories

THE POWER OF KINDNESS

HOW STELLA BOWLES SAVED

A RIVER

OUR SPECIAL HOLIDAY ISSUE

WAITING IS PAINFULORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY

118 James Street North, Suite 200 • Hamilton, ON, Canada • L8R 2K7Local: 905-525-5097 • Toll Free: 1-888-990-9249 • Fax: 1-866-714-5521

Email: canada@healthcity.ky • www.healthcitycanada.ca

P. | 32

CO

LIN

WA

Y

Cover Story

32 Extraordinary Acts of Canadian KindnessNine remarkable achievements

from the past year. REBECCA TUCKER

Life Lesson

40 Ready to Party?Social anxiety and surviving the

holiday season. LEAH RUMACK

Food

44 Sunday-Cooking at the ShelterServing healthy food to

those who need it most.

COREY MINTZ FROM THE LOCAL

Department of Wit

50 Off the RecordA brief memoir about why

I’ve decided not to write my

memoirs. ARLENE AIKENS

PHOTOGRAPH BY AARON McKENZIE FRASER

Drama in Real Life

54 The Rattler’s RevengeWhen a Texas man decapitated

the poisonous snake threatening

his wife, he assumed that would

be the end of it. He was wrong. NICHOLAS HUNE-BROWN

ContentsDECEMBER 2018

Perspective

62 Wild ThingsWhat entering my pet into

a cat show taught me about

the true nature of felines.

OMAR MOUALLEM FROM HAZLITT

Heart

70 A Holly JollyJewish ChristmasHoliday traditions don’t always

have to be kosher. ROSE TEKEL

FROM UC OBSERVER

Health

74 Mind Over MedsPlacebos are more effective

than we think. ROBERT ANTHONY SIEGEL

FROM SMITHSONIAN

Inspiration

82 The Marvellous Making of Canada’s Most Autism-Friendly TownVALERIE HOWES

FROM TODAY’S PARENT

MA

TT

HE

W C

OH

EN

P. | 74

Family

90 Reward: $500, NoQuestions AskedWhile my father was in the

late stages of Alzheimer’s,

our family’s loyal hound was

kidnapped. We had to get

him back—for his own sake,

but also for my dad.

COURTNEY SHEA

RD Classic

96 Andrea’s GiftHow my daughter reminded

me of the true meaning of the

holidays. ELIZABETH STARR HILL FROM READER’S DIGEST ,

DECEMBER 1966

Humour

102 A Star Is BornComedian Mark Critch reflects

back on the kindergarten

play that set the stage for

his entire career. FROM SON OF A CRITCH

Society

108 Crossing Over at Roxham RoadSince 2017, thousands of

asylum seekers have entered

Canada by walking across

the border in rural Quebec.

Here are the stories of two

such families. HEATHER ROBBFROM MAISONNEUVE

Vol. 193 | No. 1,155DECEMBER 2018

CH

LO

E C

US

HM

AN

P. | 70

Health

116 How to Get the Most Out of TherapyLISAN JUTRAS

Family

122 Coming Up WatermelonsWhen a practical joke becomes

a message of hope passed

down through generations. CONRAD KIECHEL

FROM READER’S DIGEST ,

MARCH 1994

Society

130 The Old Cannery’s New EraBritish Columbia’s last wild-

salmon packing plant makes

history. FRANCES BACKHOUSE FROM HAKAI

Editors’ Choice

138 Catrin’s Long Way BackThe fiery crash and months

of recovery that changed a

young woman’s life forever. ROBERT KIENER

13 Life’s Like That

20 Points to Ponder

53 Rd.ca

73 Laughter, the Best Medicine

101 @ Work

128 As Kids See It

152 That’s Outrageous!

160 Quotes

READER FAVOURITES

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 3

ART OF LIVING

10 Sea ChangeHasan Hai convinces the men

of Newfoundland and Labrador

to get fishy for a good cause. CHRISTINA PALASSIO

The RD Interview

14 Wish ListsDayna Robinson, the

coordinator of Canada Post’s

Santa Letter Writing Program,

on popular toys, requests

for peace and the meaning

of Saint Nick. COURTNEY SHEA

Pets

16 Holiday Pet SafetyKeep your furry friends merry

and bright by avoiding these

common hazards.

ANNA-KAISA WALKER

(P

OR

TR

AIT

) T

ER

RY

RIC

E;

(C

AT

) I

ST

OC

K.C

OM

/S

PIR

ITA

RT

IST

P. | 10

P. | 16

Culture

18 RD RecommendsOur top picks in TV, books and

movies. DANIELLE GROEN

Health

22 Treating Dry Winter SkinHow to best protect your

epidermis against the ravages

of cold weather.

SAMANTHA RIDEOUT

Health

28 What’s Wrong With Me?A medical mystery resolved.

LISA BENDALL

GET SMART!

150 13 Things You Should Know About UnpluggingANNA-KAISA WALKER

153 Trivia Quiz

154 Brainteasers

156 Sudoku

157 Word Power

5 Editor’s Letter 7 Contributors 8 Letters

4 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

IF YOU’RE A DEVOTED READER OF THIS MAGAZINE, you know that one of the things that sets us apart from other publications is our com-mitment to telling stories of ordinary people doing exceptional things.

For this holiday issue, we collected nine true tales about Canadians whose actions have had a significant impact over the past year. From dedicated activists to quick-thinking heroes, our cover story, “Extraordinary Acts of Canadian Kind-ness” (page 32), celebrates the remarkable ways in which people help others.

Bold feats that alter the course of a life make for inspiring reading, of course. But that’s not to say that smaller gestures are any less important. The holiday season reminds me that simple deeds—making your part-ner’s morning coffee, shovelling your neighbour’s steps—are equally meaningful, especially when they become a habit. Taking time to check in with friends who have experienced a recent loss or a change in their circumstances is another invaluable way of showing you care.

This special edition of Reader’s Digest, with almost 50 extra pages of features, also includes a moving story by journalist Courtney Shea about the kid-napping of her family’s dog (“Reward: $500, No Questions Asked,” page 90), the tale of a heart-warming tradition (“Coming Up Watermelons,” page 122), as well as a surprising health report on placebos (“Mind Over Meds,” page 74).

From the team at Reader’s Digest, I wish you a happy, healthy holiday!

The Common Good

Send an email to

dominique@rd.caROG

ER

AZ

IZ

Editor’s Letter

Published by the Reader’s Digest Magazines Canada Limited, Montreal, Canada

Christopher Dornan Chairman of the Board

Dominique Ritter Editor-in-Chief

Executive Editor Stéphanie Verge

Senior Editor Micah Toub

Associate Editor Megan Jones

Editorial Intern Franca Mignacca

Contributing Editor Samantha Rideout

Proofreader Katie Moore

Senior Researcher Lucy Uprichard

Researchers Martha Beach, Alyssa Favreau, Matthew Halliday, Tessa Liem, Thomas Molander, Leslie Sponder

Copy Editors Chad Fraser, Amy Harkness, Richard Johnson

Web Editor Brett Walther

Assistant Web Editor Robert Liwanag

Art Director John Montgomery Associate Art Director Danielle Sayer Graphic Designer Pierre Loranger Content Operations Manager Lisa Pigeon Circulation Director Edward Birkett

Contributors: Arlene Aikins, Roger Aziz, Frances Backhouse, Lisa Bendall, Linda Besner, Grant Callegari,

Robert Carter, Mark Critch, Chloe Cushman, Marcel Danesi, Katy Dockrill, Aimée van Drimmelen, Aaron McKenzie Fraser,

Danielle Groen, Clayton Hanmer, Elizabeth Starr Hill, Jaime Hogge, Valerie Howes, Steven Hughes, Nicholas Hune-Brown, Amanda Iannacito, Lisan Jutras, Conrad

Kiechel, Rob Kiener, Susan Camilleri Konar, Kagan McLeod, Olivia Mew, Corey Mintz, Omar Mouallem, Christina Palassio,

Paul Paquet, Emily Press, Terry Rice, Sarah Richards, Ian Riensche, Heather Robb, Graham Roumieu, Leah Rumack, Pete Ryan, Julie Saindon, Courtney Shea, Robert Anthony

Siegel, Genevieve Simms, Rose Tekel, Rebecca Tucker, Conan de Vries, Anna-Kaisa Walker, Colin Way, Victor Wong

TRUSTED MEDIA BRANDS President and Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Kintzer

THE READER’S DIGEST ASSOCIATION (CANADA) ULC President Brian Kennedy Legal Barbara Robins

Product Manager, Magazine Marketing Mirella Liberatore

HOW TO REACH US

Production Manager Lisa Snow National Account Executives, Canada James Anderson, Suzanne Farago (Montreal),

Irena Koutcher, Robert Shaw (Vancouver), Melissa Silverberg

Senior Project Manager Meri Ward Head of Advertising Operations and Programmatic Adamo Calafati

Head of Marketing Solutions Melissa Williams

121 Bloor St. E.

Suite 430

Toronto, ON

M4W 3M5

VOL. 193, NO. 1,155 COPYRIGHT © 2018 BY READER’S DIGEST

MAGAZINES CANADA LIMITED. Reproduction in any manner in

whole or in part in English or other languages prohibited. All rights

reserved throughout the world. Protection secured under Inter-

national and Pan-American copyright conventions. Publications

Mail Agreement No. 40070677. Postage paid at Montreal. Return

undeliverable Canadian addresses to 5101 Buchan St., suite 300,

Montreal, QC H4P 1S4.

Print subscriptions, $34.50 a year, plus $8.99 postage, processing and

hand ling. Please add applicable taxes. Outside Canada, $53.96 yearly,

including postage, processing and handling. (Prices and postage sub-

ject to change without notice.) ISSN 0034-0413. Indexed by the Cana-

dian Periodical Index. Single issue: $4.95.

CUSTOMER SERVICE customer.service@readersdigest.caReader’s Digest Customer Care Centre, P.O. Box 970 Station Main, Markham, ON L3P 0K2

EDITORIAL OFFICE 5101 Buchan St., suite 300 | Montreal, QC H4P 1S4 | editor@rd.ca, rd.ca

FOR SERVICE TO SUBSCRIBERS Pay your bill, view your account online, change your address and browse our FAQs at rd.ca/contact.

MAIL PREFERENCE Reader’s Digest maintains a record of your purchase and sweepstakes participation history for Customer Service and

Marketing departments, which enables us to offer the best service possible along with quality products we believe will interest you. Occa-

sionally, to allow our customers to be aware of other products and services that may be of interest to them, we provide this information to

other companies. Should you wish, for any reason, not to receive such offers from other companies, please write to: Privacy Office, Reader’s

Digest, 5101 Buchan St., suite 300, Montreal, QC H4P 1S4. You may also write to this address if you no longer wish to receive offers from

Reader’s Digest or should you have any questions regarding your record or wish to examine or correct it.

Editor-in-Chief, International Magazines Raimo Moysa

Reader’s Digest publishes 10 issues per year and may occasionally publish special issues (special issues count as two)‚ subject to change without notice.

Ashley Leon Advertising, Head of Sales and Sales Strategy

We acknowledge with gratitude the financial

support of the Government of Canada. / Nous remercions le Gouvernement du Canada pour son appui financier.

6 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

LISAN JUTRAS

(Writer, “How to Get

the Most Out of

herapy,” page 116)

Home base: Toronto. Previously published in The Walrus and The Globe and Mail. The biggest misconception peo-

ple have about seeking therapy is that the first professional they meet is the one they should work with (even if sometimes that turns out to be the case). The dynamic you share with your therapist is as idiosyncratic as any other relationship.

VICTOR WONG

(Illustrator, “What’s

Wrong With Me?”

page 28)

Home base:

Mississauga. Previously published in Corporate Knights and The Walrus. It’s a mixture of fear and curiosity

that makes people so interested inmedical-mystery stories. Readers want to know what potential prob-lems can happen to their bodies and how they get resolved, just in case something similar pops up in their own lives.

REBECCA TUCKER

(Writer, “he Extra-

ordinary Kindness of

Canadians” page 32)

Home base: Toronto. Previously published in The Globe and Mail and Toronto Life. I’m not sure I’m quite as brave as some of the people I interviewed for this story. Still, speaking with them has inspired me to practise a bit more patience with those around me this holiday season, from col-leagues to fellow shoppers to close family members.

EMILY PRESS

(Illustrator, “How to

Get the Most Out of

herapy,” page 116)

Home base:

Hamilton. Previously published in Nature Conservancy of Canada Magazine and Inside Intercom. I’m thankful that the stigma surround-ing seeing a “shrink” are fading. We are living in an era where it’s becom-ing easier to speak about mental health. People are realizing that their struggles don’t need to be severe for them to benefit from therapy.

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 7

Contributors

FORGOTTEN HEROES

I really enjoyed “The ‘Farmerettes’” (September 2018).

Having grown up on a farm in the 1960s, I learned from

a very young age how much hard work is involved in

running one. What the women in this story did during

the war years was a superhuman effort, a testimony to

their courage and strength. And they didn’t even have

the “luxuries” we had in the ’60s, such as plumbing or

appliances. More stories like this one need to be told so

that future generations of women fully grasp our poten-

tial strength. Thank you for capturing a very important

moment in time.

ANGEL HORNE, Strathclair, Man.

LETTER OF THE MONTH

8 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

LettersREADERS COMMENT ON OUR RECENT ISSUES

A CALMING VOICE

Thank you very much for the excellenteditor’s letter “The Way We Worry” (October 2018) and for the accompa-nying story, “Taming the ‘What-Ifs.’” I have a psychiatric practice and have shown both to many of my patients. They have benefited from your well-presented understanding of worry and anxiety. The therapeutic recom-mendations you include in the story are accurate and helpful.

DR. STEPHEN B. STOKL, Ne w m a r k e t , O n t .

SOUND ADVICE

Your story “25 Ways Salt Is Making You Sick” (September 2018) really resonated with me. Last year, while

I thought I was eating healthfully, I found myself gaining weight. Over time, I became very ill and eventually went to the hospital. Upon being admitted, I learned that my heart rate was twice what it should have been and my liver and kidneys were in bad shape. I received a pacemaker, and my doctors counselled me to adjust my diet to include less salt. I now look for foods with the lowest sodium content I can find and make sure to eat lots of salads. Today I’m back at a healthy weight.

TIM W. BROTHERHOOD, B a r r i e , O n t .

Published letters are edited for lengthand clarity.

Contribute Send us your funny jokes and anecdotes, and if we publish one in a print edition of Reader’s

Digest, we’ll send you $50. To submit, visit rd.ca/joke.

Original contributions (text and photos) become the property of The Reader’s Digest Magazines Canada

Limited, and its affiliates, upon publication. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity, and may

be reproduced in all print and electronic media. Receipt of your submission cannot be acknowledged.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Have some thoughts about one of our magazine stories? Send us your letters! Reader’s Digest wants to hear what you think. In every issue, one of the notes we publish will appear as a featured letter. If your submission is selected as our Letter of the Month, we’ll send you $50! Write to us at letters@rd.ca. Please include your full name and address.

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 9

! IT’S EARLY MORNING in Cape Spear, N.L. A van heads toward the area’s iconic lighthouse as the sun climbs out of the Atlantic. The vehicle is full, but not with eager tourists hoping for a sunrise selfie. It’s packed with photographers and crewmem-bers on their way to meet mermen. “MerB’ys,” actually. The water dwell-ers are ready for their close-ups. And they look flipping fantastic.

This marks the second year that a group of bearded Newfoundlanders have shed their shirts and pulled on tails to pose as misters March, Decem-ber and company. Their mission: making a sassy calendar to support a worthy cause. The first edition, in 2017–18, sold more than 14,000 copies and raised $300,000 for Spirit Horse

NL, an organization that uses equine-assisted therapy to support people living with mental-health issues.

The tidal wave of interest in the calendar still surprises organizer Hasan Hai. “This all started when a friend posted a photo of a bearded merman on my Facebook page and wrote, ‘You should do a thing,’” says Hai, who also founded the New-foundland and Labrador Beard and Moustache Club, a social group. “When I put out an open call, I just thought it’d be me and a few random guys.” But 40 people followed up, and two months later there was a calendar.

The funds donated to Spirit Horse NL help people like Jennifer Mercer, who contacted the charity’s founder, Erin Gallant, while struggling with

Sea ChangeBY CHRISTINA PALASSIO

Hasan Hai convinces the men of Newfoundland

and Labrador to get fishy for a good cause

PHOTOGRAPH BY TERRY RICE

10 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

ART of LIVING

Organizer Hasan Hai

says that MerB’ys rarely

pose for the calendar out

of vanity: “It’s mostly to

show a different side of

masculinity or to break

down social barriers.”

deep depression. “I couldn’t motiv-ate myself to get out of bed,” she says. “At first, I was afraid of horses, but then you connect with them and they make you feel so comfortable. I don’t know where I’d be without them and my work with Erin. I give thanks every day.”

With this year’s calendar, Hai wants to raise even more money and further challenge people’s notions of what constitutes masculinity: “There’s a very narrow slot in which it’s deemed okay to be a man, and that’s so harmful,” he says. The 2019 MerB’ys are a bigger gang—38 in total—and they’re more diverse, with different gender identities, sexual orientations, body types, abilities and backgrounds.

The group has also expanded its reach. Hai and some of his crew drove their “Mermob’ile” from St. John’s to the west coast of Newfoundland, then flew to central Labrador to connect with men across the province. In Twillingate, they met Mark. “He broke down in tears talk-ing about growing up in rural New-foundland, where men had to act a certain way,” remembers Hai. “He said he was doing this for his seven-year-old son, to show him that men could be different, that they can

be emotional. And his son said, ‘Dad, I’m so proud that you’re a MerB’y.’”

Using a mythological creature to challenge myths about masculinity has proven to be a powerful idea. Money raised this year will kick-start Deconstructing Masculinity: Engaging Men in Violence Prevention, a new program led by Violence Prevention NL, a coalition of 10 Newfoundland and Labrador–based organizations.

“Violence prevention has often been seen as a women’s issue, and I don’t think that’s the right way to look at it,” says Kevin O’Shea, the executive director of the Public Legal Information Association of NL, who is involved in the new initiative. “The only way we’re going to be effective at prevention is to look at the mindset

and culture that causes violence, to involve men and boys and to work collaboratively toward change.”

Hai is eager to continue playing a role in changing attitudes and encourages others to get involved in their communities: “Positive change starts with the tiniest thing—literally saying a kind word to someone,” he says. “Just do something different, just keep pushing forward, and even-tually you’ll realize you’ve done something really grand.”

Hasan Hai is eager to continue

playing a role in changing

attitudes and encourages others

to get involved.

R E A D E R ’ S D I G E S T

12 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

ISN’T IT OBVIOUS?

DATE: What do you do? ME: [Holds up menu] You just choose a meal from this book of food.

@ARFMEASURES

MAYBE SOMEDAY

I don’t think I have ever, even once in my life, plugged a USB cable in right side up on the first try.

CHRIS EVANS, a c t o r

IT TAKES FOREVER

Two co-workers were talking about having to wait a long time to see their doctors. One of them said, “My doc-tor’s office encourages me to bring a book to read while I wait.”

“That’s nothing,” the other replied. “My doctor’s office encourages me to write a book while I wait.”

ROBERT HALSTEAD, Wi n n i p e g

CAN YOU IMAGINE how awkward it would be if your pet went on your phone and found the thousands of pictures you have of them sleeping?

@LAURAJAYLOVETTE

GUILTY PLEASURES

I’m trying to shield my phone from onlookers because I’m embarrassed by what they might see, but it’s just slow-motion video of forks going into slices of cake.

@ORIGINALDANKSTA

MY ABSOLUTE NO. 1 favourite phrase to overhear is: “Just between you and me ...”

RAINA DOURIS, ra d i o h o s t

CARPET: I’m just sick of people walking all over me.

@CHRISDOWNING

Send us your funny stories! They could

be worth $50. See page 9 or visit

rd.ca/joke for more details.

HEY, WAIT A SECOND…

@_youhadonejob1

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 13

Life’s Like That

How long has Canada Post been

answering letters sent to Santa?

For 37 years. In that time, our North Pole office has responded to almost 30 million letters. We’ve written back in 39 different languages and Braille.

Who is “we,” exactly?

Santa gets help from thousands of volunteers, a.k.a. “postal elves.” They are Canada Post employees, some of whom return from retirement just for this. Many have a tradition of getting together to do their work in groups over breakfast.

What do the letters to Santa say?

Most start with, “How are you? How was your year?” Kids also have a lot of questions, which we try to answer. Some want to know if it’s true that Rudolph flies, if Mrs. Claus is doing

Dayna Robinson, the coordinator of Canada Post’s

Santa Letter Writing Program, on popular toys,

requests for peace and the meaning of Saint Nick

Wish ListsBY COURTNEY SHEA

ILLUSTRATION BY AIMÉE VAN DRIMMELEN

14 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

THE RD INTERVIEW

okay and whether Santa would like a healthier snack.

Are you a holiday-loving person all

year round? Have you already put

up decorations?

I love, love Christmas. My family rolls their eyes a bit, but I really thrive during the holidays. I’m pretty tradi-tional, so starting in November, we have a Christmas tree, stockings and the music.

In the Internet age, are as many kids

still writing letters to Santa?

Last year we counted 1.6 million and we’re actually getting more every year. We do get typed letters now.

Any chance Santa might consider

replying to an email?

No. Santa is a traditionalist.

Are there toys that have remained

popular throughout the 37 years?

We always get requests for teddy bears, dolls, Lego and trucks. We have lots of kids asking for plain old books. And then we’ve seen a lot of crazes come and go. I’m sure we all remember Tickle Me Elmo.

Any unusual requests that don’t fit

under the tree?

Some kids ask for things that aren’t for themselves. They want their brother’s broken arm to heal or they want their sister to get an A on her

math test. And then you get the let-ters where they just want everyone to be happy and loved.

Has anyone actually asked for

world peace?

Definitely, and Santa will make sure he addresses that in his response. In that instance, maybe he would encourage the young person to get involved in their community.

What about puppies?

We do get requests for puppies. Also, hamsters, birds and snakes. Santa can’t make any promises.

I’ve gotta ask: Have you ever been

involved in a lump of coal situation?

Honestly, we’re only dealing with the letters. I can say that sometimes kids will write in their letter that they have done something bad. It’s like Santa is their confessor.

Aside from being the guy with a big

sack full of toys, what is the value

of Old Saint Nick?

Most of the letters are from children, but we also get some from new par-ents, pets and older people who have been writing since they were kids. Santa lifts everyone’s spirits and I think that’s really valuable.

To receive an answer from Santa before

Christmas, letters must include a return

address and be mailed by December 10.

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 15

Keep your furry friends

merry and bright by avoiding

these common hazards

Holiday Pet SafetyBY ANNA-KAISA WALKER

IST

OC

K.C

OM

/S

PIR

ITA

RT

IST

■ CHOCOLATE

By far the top holiday pet emer-gency is chocolate poisoning in dogs, says Troye McPherson, pres-ident of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. “I can’t tell you how many I’ve made vomit,” she says. Dark chocolate is the most toxic; a five-ounce square can kill a two-kilogram Yorkie.

■ CHRISTMAS TREES

Some cats love to chew on pine nee-dles, which is why McPherson rec-ommends buying a tree that hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides. Be sure to tether it to the wall in case of climbers and unplug the string lights when you’re not around to supervise. Forgo tinsel, which can get stuck in cats’ intestines.

■ XYLITOL

Beware of this sweetener, added to candy and mints. “Even a small amount can lead to complete liver failure in dogs,” says McPherson. “It’s one of the greatest dangers because most people aren’t aware of it.”

■ TOXIC PLANTS

Poinsettias, commonly thought to be poisonous, aren’t as dangerous as they’re believed to be, says McPherson, although they can cause nausea and vomiting. How-ever, lilies and other yuletide blooms such as paperwhites and amaryllis, can be toxic, as can mistle toe and holly. To decide whether it’s worth rushing to a hos-pital, call the Pet Poison Helpline or your local veterinarian.

16 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

PETS

“AN EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANY I’D EVER HAD”

Join Look Good Feel Better in

making a difference to Canadian

women facing cancer.

Presented by LOOK GOOD FEEL BETTER

After being diagnosed with

Stage 3 breast cancer, Denika

Philpott was terrified and feeling

vulnerable. Then, early on in

her chemo treatments, her

mother signed her up for Look

Good Feel Better (LGFB), the

national charitable program that

helps women cope with the

appearance-related effects of

cancer. At the heart of the LGFB

program is a complimentary two-

hour workshop where women

can connect with other women

facing cancer, while learning

about skin care, cosmetics and

hair alternatives. “It was an

experience unlike any I’d ever

had,” she says.

“When I sat in the workshop with all these supportive, caring,

strong women around me, I was

so comforted.”The program provides women

with a welcoming environment

that helps them to feel l ike

themselves again. “When every

woman in that room takes off her

wig, or her headscarf, or her hat,

and they wipe off their makeup,

there’s this incredible vulnerability,”

explains Denika. “These volunteers

step in and make you feel like you

are the most important person

in the world at that particular

moment. Look Good Feel Better

uplifted me—I was left with the

understanding that I can be

beautiful through breast cancer.”

This type of supportive program

has real, lasting benefits. A recent

study published in the journal

Frontiers in Psychology found

that programs that encourage

self-esteem help to support the

psychological well-being of

patients going through cancer

treatment.

LGFB certainly made a difference

in Denika’s life. Today, she is

healthy and an Independent Sales

Director with Mary Kay Cosmetics

Ltd. She also volunteers with LGFB

since it is a program very close

to her heart.

In honour of women like Denika,

Mary Kay Cosmetics Ltd. is helping

to raise $40,000 in support of Look

Good Feel Better. Make a donation

today, and Mary Kay Cosmetics

Ltd. will match your gift.

Be there for the women in your life.

Donate today and your gift will be doubled.

Mary Kay Cosmetics Ltd. will match individual donations made from November 27 to December 31 up to $20,000.

Donate at lgfb.ca/donate

Denika Philpott, Torbay, NL.

1 MY BRILLIANT FRIEND

Two girls grow up poor in Naples: they’re both razor-sharp, but Lila burns a little brighter and Elena knows it. Their compli-

cated and competitive friendship stretches over the four books and 60 years that make up Elena Ferrante’s international block-buster. For this eight-episode adaptation of the first novel, set in the 1950s, director Saverio Costanzo auditioned nearly 9,000 children before choosing his young leads. Nov. 18.

(M

Y B

RIL

LIA

NT

FR

IEN

D) C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F H

BO

2 ALL THE LIVES WE NEVER LIVEDAnuradha RoyReal-life figures—the German painter Walter Spies, the Indian singer Begum Akhtar—mingle with fictional creations in Anuradha Roy’s first novel since Sleeping on Jupiter. The story is told by sixtysomething horticulturalist Myshkin, but its beating heart is his free-spirited mother, Gayatri, who ran away from her marriage and young son in 1930s India for a life of art. Nov. 20.

DID YOU KNOW? My Brilliant Friend is HBO’s first non-English-language series and stars mostly unknown local actors speaking in a heavy regional

dialect. Happily, there are subtitles.

Our top picks in TV, books and movies

RD RecommendsBY DANIELLE GROEN

18 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

CULTURE

4 TO THE RIVER Don GillmorIn 2005, at the age of 48, the author’s estranged brother, David, parked his truck outside of Whitehorse and walked into the Yukon River. Through his tender and unflinching memoir, Don Gillmor chases the ghost of his sibling north of the 60th parallel, trying to better understand a man he’d hardly known in adulthood. Dec. 31.

3 MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS House of Cards creator Beau Willimon is no stranger to political power plays, and his script for this epic battle of the monarchs doesn’t stint on intrigue. Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) and Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie) each believe they’re the rightful heir to the British throne—but only Liz has an on-call executioner. The smart money is on one of these stars to claim the best-actress Oscar denied to them both last year. Dec. 7.

5 MARY POPPINS RETURNS In this reboot of the children’s classic, Emily Blunt picks up Julie

Andrews’s levitating umbrella and Lin-Manuel Miranda fares

better than Dick Van Dyke at the cockney accent. Meryl

Streep, Colin Firth, Angela Lans-bury, Julie Walters and a still-

spry Van Dyke are all on hand as Mary Poppins

returns to the now-grown Banks siblings, who find themselves in need of care and whimsy. Dec. 19.(M

AR

Y,

QU

EE

N O

F S

CO

TS

) L

IAM

DA

NIE

L/

FO

CU

S F

EA

TU

RE

S;

(M

AR

Y P

OP

PIN

S R

ET

UR

NS

) ©

20

17 D

ISN

EY

EN

TE

RP

RIS

ES

, IN

C.

AL

L R

IGH

TS

RE

SE

RV

ED

.

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 19

Let’s remember when we see the term

“asylum seeker,” that is a fellow human

being in terrible distress relying on an

ancient right that we deny at great

peril to our own humanity.

Fo r m e r f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r LLOYD AXWORTHY

a n d f o r m e r at t o r n e y g e n e ra l ALLAN ROCK,

in The Globe and Mail PH

OT

O:

(A

XW

OR

TH

Y) D

AV

ID L

IPN

OW

SK

I P

HO

TO

GR

AP

HY

/T

HE

UN

IVE

RS

ITY

OF

WIN

NIP

EG

. Q

UO

TE

S:

(P

RA

TT

)T

HE

GL

OB

E A

ND

MA

IL (

AU

GU

ST

15

,2

018

);

(C

AM

PB

EL

L) M

AY

7,

20

18;

(R

AD

FO

RD

) J

UN

E 2

2,

20

18;

(H

US

TO

N) A

UG

US

T 2

1, 2

018

; (A

XW

OR

TH

Y,

RO

CK

) A

UG

US

T 2

7,

20

18.

I don’t really believe that anything is ordinary—I think everything is complex and worthy of conjecture and worthy of a close look. I really believe that you could imagine the secrets of the universe by looking at a pile of grapes.

T h e l at e s t i l l - l i f e p a i n t e r

MARY PRATT

The fact that I skated was a reason I got bullied, but at the same time, it was something I loved to do so much. It was an escape. For me it was a safe space. Out on the ice, nothing could reach me.

Fi g u r e s k at e r ERIC RADFORD,

the first openly gay athlete to take home

an Olympic gold medal, to CBC Sports

If you spend all your time thinking about whether something could make a lot of money, you’re going to be in trouble because very few things do. Unless you’re Dwayne Johnson.

Ac t r e s s NEVE CAMPBELL, to Fashion,

on how she chooses roles

Forced celibacy simply doesn’t work. The fact has been amply proved and reproved. Most priests don’t manage to remain chaste. They try and fail. The truth must be confronted and the iniquitous dogma buried once and for all. Given that lives are destroyed wherever it holds sway, it is criminal to prevaricate and procrastinate.

Wr i t e r NANCY HUSTON, in an open

letter to Pope Francis in The Globe and Mail

BY CHRISTINA PALASSIO

20 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

Points to Ponder

I think we tend to only care

about the oppression of

people when stories of

trauma or brutality or

violence are exposed, as

opposed to when people

who are oppressed just

want to have a conversation

about their oppression. Au t h o r a n d a c t i v i s t VIVEK SHRAYA, in Fashion

PH

OT

O:

(S

HR

AY

A) A

DA

M C

OIS

H.

QU

OT

ES

: (S

HR

AY

A) A

UG

US

T 2

, 2

018

; (R

YA

N) D

AIL

Y M

AIL

(J

UL

Y 2

5,

20

18);

(O

SL

ER

) A

UG

US

T 1

9,

20

18;

(S

UG

AR

S

AM

MY

) T

HE

NE

W Y

OR

K T

IME

S (

AU

GU

ST

11,

20

18);

(R

AIT

T) T

HE

GL

OB

E A

ND

MA

IL (

AU

GU

ST

25

, 2

018

);

(D

ON

OV

AN

) B

BC

NE

WS

(F

EB

. 2

3,

20

17).

[Conservative Party leader] Andrew [Scheer] made a clear promise, that people relied upon, that a govern-ment of Conservative members would not introduce abortion legisla-tion. Very important to me. And we’re not going to go back on it.

C o n s e r v at i v e M P LISA RAITT,

after a proposal that could have reopened the abortion

debate failed at the party’s August policy convention

Most companies think they need to be perfectly ready to provide an “accessible” space for disabled work-ers. The reality is disabled people know what they need to be success-ful. Companies only need to listen and adjust to those needs.

D i s a b i l i t y a d v o c at e

RICH DONOVAN, author of Unleash Different:

Achieving business success through disability

It was perfect…Because if you go into a comedy club wearing a baby, who’s going to tell you to take it off?

C o m e d i a n KATHERINE RYAN on what

it felt like to take her three-week-old daughter with her

onstage at her first paid comedy gig

Mine is the face of medicine now. When you go to a hospital today, the face you are very likely to see is female and of a different ethnicity.

Ne w C a n a d i a n Me d i c a l

A s s o c i at i o n p r e s i d e n t DR. GIGI OSLER, on

the rise of non-white female doctors, in The Globe and Mail

Humour allows you to address taboos. In Quebec the ultimate taboo is identity.

C o m e d i a n SUGAR SAMMY

on language laws in Quebec

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 21

! AH, WINTER. ’Tis the season for dry skin, along with potential complications, including itching, �aking, cracking, bleeding, rosacea (redness and in�ammation) and eczema �are-ups.

There are several reasons for this. First, the air outdoors is drier, because low temperatures cause water molecules to condense into ice or snow rather than remain in the atmosphere. Indoor air tends to be parched as well, an effect of heating systems. Seniors need to take extra

care, since cumulative sun damage and slower production of natural oils put them at greater risk of dryness.

Happily, there’s plenty you can do to reduce winter’s toll on your skin. To start, adapt your bathing routine. Piping hot water may feel good, but that’s a sure way to strip away your skin’s natural oils. Use warm water instead, keep your baths or showers short, and apply a generous amount of moisturizer after you dry off. Thick, oily products are especially effective at fighting winter moisture

How to best protect

your epidermis against

the ravages of cold weather

Treating Dry Winter SkinBY SAMANTHA RIDEOUT

IST

OC

K.C

OM

/P

EO

PL

E I

MA

GE

S

22 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

HEALTH

The future is unwritten.

Ask your doctor about Prolia®.

ProliaFuture.com

o on sks m w t I w nt tob nymor

© 2018 Amgen Canada Inc. All rights reserved.Prolia® is a registered trademark of Amgen Inc., used with permission.

loss, “but don’t despair if you can’t tolerate those due to pore clogging or shininess,” says Dr. Bav Shergill, a consultant dermatologist and spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation. “Even a light moisturizer will give you some protection.”

When it comes to your hands, frequent washing with soap is essential for prevent-ing the flu and other infections, but it leads to dryness. So after you clean them, apply hand cream. If that doesn’t help enough, try a dab of petroleum jelly before bed; you can put on cotton gloves to keep it in place overnight. Wearing mittens or gloves outdoors

also reduces damage, since exposure to the frigid air further harms skin.

If you’re prone to winter itch (which is exactly what it sounds like), avoid direct contact with potentially irritating fabrics such as wool or syn-

thetic fibres. “The best approach is to wear several thin layers,” says Shergill. “The one next to the skin could be cotton or a cotton/silk blend, both of which appear to be well tolerated by most people.” Layering lets

you adapt to various temperatures during the day, keeping you toasty while avoiding excessive sweating that could trigger itching and scratch-ing in already-irritated skin.

Ideally, wintertime baths and showers shouldn’t exceed

10 minutes.

TEST YOUR MEDICAL IQ

Radiofrequency energy (RFE) is a form of radiation notably given off by…

A. MRI machines.

B. mobile phones.

C. CT scanners.

D. the sun.

Answer: B. RFE (also known as radio waves) is a type of electromagnetic radiation emitted by cellphones. Like microwaves, and unlike ultraviolet

or X-rays, it operates at a frequency too low to damage cells by ionizing

atoms. Some people nevertheless worry that RFE could cause cancer

or other conditions. So far, no reliable evidence exists for a link between

cellphone use and health problems, but more research is needed.

R E A D E R ’ S D I G E S T

24 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

n?

medi-c.caExclusively Available in

Natural Health Food Stores

W. GIFFORD-JONES, MD – Everyone is talking about

collagen these days, and with good reason. As we age,

WKH�ERG\·V�SURGXFWLRQ�RI�FROODJHQ�VORZV�GRZQ��ZKLFK�

FDQ�UHVXOW�LQ�DJLQJ�VNLQ��RVWHRDUWKULWLV��RVWHRSRURVLV�

and many other conditions, including declining

cardiovascular health. This is where vitamin C comes in.

“For heart health and more, I recommend

Medi-C Plus.”- W. GIFFORD-JONES, MD

Vitamin C is the single most important water-soluble antioxidant in the human body. Aside from supporting immune health, vitamin C is needed to manufacture collagen, the major

FRPSRQHQW�RI�WKH�ERG\·V�FRQQHFWLYH�WLVVXHV��LQFOXGLQJ�FDUWLODJH��tendons, ligaments, bones, and most importantly, blood vessels.

Coronary arteries are under more pressure than any other artery in the body. The heart beats 100,000 times every 24 hours and 2.2 billion times if you live to 70 years of age. Without healthy arteries, this constant pounding causes minute cracks in collagen, resulting in atherosclerosis, blood clots, or rupturing of a weakened artery, resulting in a stroke.

As we age, the key to healthy collagen for cardiovascular health, joint health, teeth, gums, wound healing, and more is vitamin C combined with O\VLQH��,I�WKDW�GRHVQ·W�FRQYLQFH�\RX��DOO�WKH�EHDXW\�H[SHUWV�ZLOO�DOVR�WHOO�\RX�that collagen helps keep skin looking youthful.

,·YH�EHHQ�WDNLQJ�KLJK�GRVHV�RI�YLWDPLQ�&�DQG�O\VLQH�IRU����\HDUV�IROORZLQJ�my heart attack. I still enjoy travelling, writing my columns, and I also rappelled down Toronto City Hall to help raise funds for Make-A-Wish®

Canada. I turned 94 this year - not bad!

Celiac Patients Unwittingly Consuming GlutenManaging celiac disease usuallyrequires ingesting 10 milligrams or less of gluten per day, but this is easier said than done, according to a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The stool and urine of people trying to follow a gluten- free diet revealed that they were being exposed to an estimated average of 150 to 400 milligrams per day. Lesser-known sources include certain medications, lipsticks, sauces and vitamins. Celiac patients who are experiencing symptoms should re-examine their habits with the advice of a dietician or doctor.

New Migraine Prevention Treatment AvailableThe first medication developed specifically to prevent migraines—rather than repurposed from treat-ments for other kinds of conditions—has been approved in Europe. Erenumab (brand name Aimovig) is the first in a class of drugs that will tackle the problem by

blocking a particular receptor that transmits migraine pain. Taken as a monthly home injection, it has been shown to reduce the frequency of migraines by more than 50 per cent for over half of patients, and even eliminate them for some. The short-term side effects seem to be infre-quent and mild (e.g., injection pain, possible nasal infections), although, as with any new drug, little is known about the longer-term effects.

Oranges Ward Off Macular DegenerationRegular enjoyment of oranges may help prevent macular degeneration, a major cause of age-related vision loss. An observational study of more than 2,000 seniors, conducted from the Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia, calculated a 60 per cent reduced risk in subjects who tended to eat at least one orange

daily. In addition to the vitamin C present, flavonoids might

also explain the effect, since these compounds

prevent oxidative stress and reduce inflamma-tion in the body. PH

OT

OG

RA

PH

BY

TH

E V

OO

RH

ES

26 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

NEWS FROM THE

World of MedicineBY SAMANTHA RIDEOUT

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a destructive and irreversible lung condition in which the airways become blocked, making it diicult to breathe. When left untreated, COPD has a serious impact on quality of life and can often be fatal. Although long seen as primarily afecting men, recent years have seen a growing COPD epidemic among Canadian women, to the point where its mortality rate now exceeds that of breast cancer. Here are five simple tips to help manage the disease.

Ask your doctor for a lung function test “We make a diagnosis based on symptoms

and risk factors and then a lung function test,” says family physician Dr. Alan Kaplan, Chairperson of the Family Physician Airways Group of Canada. “As a patient you should never accept a COPD diagnosis without a lung function test.”

Avoid cigarette smoke “Smoking cessation is a must,” says Lisa

Thibeault, Certified Respiratory Educator and Respiratory Therapist. “If you get a diagnosis of COPD and you continue to smoke, the progression of the disease will be much faster.”

Practice healthy lifestyle habits“By making your body healthier, you can do more with the

lung function you have — even if your lungs don’t work well,” says Dr. Kaplan. “That’s the principle of pulmonary rehabilitation, which can do as much for your quality of life as medications.”

Ensure you’re taking medications properly“It’s important to be adherent, meaning

you take your medications properly and in the way they are prescribed,” says Dr. Kaplan. “Also, make sure you’ve shown your inhaler technique to your health care professional.” An AeroChamber Plus® mask or mouthpiece chamber can make

it easier to inhale and deliver the medication to where it is needed in the lungs if you use an MDI (pufer).

Try drug-free devices as an additional therapy “There are non-pharmacological interventions for COPD, and one that really stands out is the Aerobika® OPEP device,” says Thibeault. “It’s an unmedicated device that shakes the airways up, allowing patients to get rid of the mucous that is accumulating in their lungs. We have recent studies showing that proper use of the device can improve breathing and quality of life, reduce COPD flare-ups, and even recoup new areas of the lungs that had previously been plugged by mucus.”

D.F. McCourt

on the Chronic Lung Disease Killing Canadian Women

The

PERSONALHEALTHNEWS.CAA SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET

411

Strategic Accounts Director: Jesse Adamson Country Manager: Jacob Weingarten Content Production Manager: Ellen Asiedu Lead Designer: Michael Shea Digital Content Manager: Camille Co Contributor: D.F. McCourt Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve Reader’s Digest or its editorial departments.

References:

1. Burudpakdee C, et al. Pulm Ther 2017;3(1):163-171.

2. Svenningsen S, et al. J COPD 2016;13(1):66-74.

3. Suggett J. Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis 2017;4(3).

Ask your Pharmacist how the

Aerobika® device can help with COPD. Learn more at:

GetYourBreathBack.com

COPD=Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

MD-119A-1018 ® Registered trade-marks of Trudell Medical International (TMI). © TMI 2018. All rights reserved.

THE PATIENT: Samantha*,

a 24-year-old waitress

THE SYMPTOMS: Lower back pain

and exhaustion

THE DOCTOR: Dr. Andrew Rule,

nephrologist at the Mayo Clinic

Hospital, Rochester, Minn.

! SAMANTHA, A WAITRESS who spent most of her days on her feet, hardly ever got sick. But in Octo-ber 2017, she started feeling rotten. She was tired all the time and began to wonder if she had the flu. At the restaurant, she just wanted to crawl under a table. Her regulars could tell something was wrong.

During this period, Samantha also felt an intermittent, stabbing pain on the right side of her lower back. She noticed her urine looked cloudy, which made her suspect a urinary

tract infection—or, worst case, a kidney stone.

When nothing resolved after two weeks, Samantha visited her family doctor, who checked her urine. She was negative for a UTI, so the doctor took some blood and sent Samantha for a CT scan of her kidneys.

The next day, the doctor called to tell her there was no kidney stone, but that Samantha’s level of creatin-ine, a waste product, was rising. Also, her urine contained blood and protein. Unable to explain it, Saman-tha’s doctor referred her to the Mayo Clinic’s emergency department.

Nephrologist Andrew Rule ascer-tained from additional blood tests that Samantha’s kidneys were losing function rapidly; he guessed that something could be causing inflam-mation of her glomeruli, networks of tiny blood vessels in the kidneys that help filter waste. Rule ordered new

What’s Wrong With Me?BY LISA BENDALL

ILLUSTRATION BY VICTOR WONG

*Biographical details have been changed.

28 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

HEALTH

tests to look for possible causes, such as lupus, and gave Samantha a high-dose steroid to control inflammation. “Time is critical for kidneys,” he says. “If they stop working, they may not come back.”

Rule discovered that Samantha’s blood contained antibodies, created by her own immune system, that were attacking the glomeruli. When this happens, these clusters of fragile blood vessels in the organ break down and bleed. If the problem isn’t treated soon enough, patients not only lose their kid-ney function—they can lose their lives.

The rare condition, known as anti-GBM disease (named after the antibodies), occurs most often in people who are in their 20s or over 60. Doctors remain in the dark about the reason for this age split, and about some other aspects of the disease. “It’s not known what triggers these antibodies to be produced in the first place,” says Rule.

Treatment, which must begin right away, includes steroids, chemotherapy and sometimes rituximab, an anti-body therapy. On top of this, Saman-tha’s blood would be removed each day to filter out the plasma with the damaging antibodies, and then

returned to her veins along with donor plasma.

After seven days of this regimen, Samantha’s creatinine levels hadn’t normalized, so she began dialysis—three sessions a week—to do the work of her impaired kidneys.

Eighteen days later, the antibodies had lowered enough for her to go home. She would continue dialysis but eventually, doctors told her, she would need a kidney transplant.

Then, a couple days before Christmas, she got wonderful news that came as a com-plete surprise: not only was the treatment per-forming well, and the antibodies’ assault on her kidneys easing up, but some function had resumed. “None of us expected that,” says Rule, explaining that

while many of Samantha’s glomeruli were damaged beyond repair, others had must have started working extra hard. She no longer needed dialysis, let alone the transplant.

Today, Samantha is back at work. Although her kidneys will never be completely normal, she does her best to keep them healthy by watching her intake of salt and potassium. “I had about 40 people offering me their kidneys,” she says. “But I didn’t want theirs—I just wanted mine.”

“If kidneys stop

working, they

may not come

back,” says

nephrologist

Andrew Rule.

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 29

IT’S FLU SEASON AGAIN –

LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Presented by the Public Health Agency of Canada

PREVENTING THE FLU IS BEST

The flu shot is the best way to prevent the flu and

you’re vaccinated you are less likely to spread the virus

YOU NEED A NEW SHOT EVERY YEAR TO STAY

PROTECTED

the

HEALTHY HABITS COMPLEMENT AN ANNUAL

FLU SHOT

virus

and those around you by practicing these healthy habits:

wash your hands often

not into your hand

your hands

clean and disinfect objects and surfaces that a lot of people touch

THE FLU IS SERIOUS FOR ADULTS 65 AND OVER

of a chronic cardiovascular condition can increase the risk

GET YOUR FLU SHOT EARLY

Canada.ca/Flu.

Fever, cough, severe body aches and exhaustion. These are the common symptoms of the f lu.

GET THE FLU SHOTCANADA.CA/FLU

HIGHER RISK

BY AGE 65YOU’RE AT A MUCH

FOR SERIOUS

COMPLICATIONS

FROM THE FLU

SOME RISKS ARE WORTH IT.

THE FLU IS NOT.

To Save a RiverUPPER LAHAVE, N.S.

In this era of environmental crises, it’s perhaps not surprising that StellaBowles found one in her own back-yard. What is unique is her determina-tion to do something about it.

The 100-kilometre LaHave Riverruns from Annapolis County to the Atlantic and passes through Stella’s community of Upper LaHave, on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Back in 2015,

the pretty waterway was deemed bymany locals as unfit for swimming, but Stella wanted to know why. The then 11-year-old was distressed to learn what was causing the pollution: rawsewage being dumped directly into the water by hundreds of her neighbours.

“I was disgusted,” Stella says, when she found out 600 homes were using straight-pipes to pump waste from toi-let to river without any filtration. She decided to look into the problem for her Grade 6 science project. With the

BY REBECCA TUCKER

Nine remarkable achievements

from the past year

AA

RO

N M

CK

EN

ZIE

FR

AS

ER

of CanadianExtraordinary Acts

KINDNESS

32 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

COVER STORY

Stella Bowles at the

LaHave River,

September 30, 2018.

mentorship of a retired local physi-cian, Stella learned how to test the water in the LaHave. Her results showed fecal contamination above Health Canada guidelines, and the project would go on to earn a silver medal at a cross-Canada science fair in 2017. But locals were boating on the river without knowing they were being exposed to potentially dangerous bacteria, viruses and parasites.

With the help of her mother, Andrea Conrad, Stella began to raise aware-ness about the LaHave’s contamina-tion problem. Soon she was making local headlines and lobbying poli-ticians. In spring 2017, the municipal, provincial and federal governments agreed to eliminate all straight-pipes in Nova Scotia by 2023.

The LaHave still isn’t safe for swim-ming, but it should be safe for the sixth graders of Upper LaHave’s future. Stella, now 14, continues to press for more stringent rules to protect the river and this year travelled around her province to teach other kids how to test their local waterways and advocate for better stewardship.

In August, Stella’s ongoing work earned her an International Eco-Hero Award, which recognizes the efforts of environmental youth activists. “I never thought I’d be where I am today because of a science fair project,” says Stella, who is contemplating a career in environmental law.

Caring in a CrisisFREDERICTON

Abrahim Kamara can’t talk about what he saw the morning of February 10. He can only say that he was in the parking lot of his apartment building in Fred-ericton to load his car when a shooter opened fire, killing police officers Robb Costello and Sara Burns, and civilians Bobbie Lee Wright and her boyfriend, Donnie Robichaud.

Single dad Kamara and his 13-year-old son, Ayouba, sought refuge back in their apartment. When police arrived to tell them everything was okay, Ayouba was cowering on the floor. The duo was evacuated to safety, but the teen was too afraid to return to his new home. The pair arrived in Canada in August 2017 after escaping war-torn Liberia and spending 12 years in a refugee camp.

That day, when Kamara didn’t report for work at the York Care Centre, a retirement residence, his colleagues learned that he’d witnessed the shoot-ing. “We needed to do the right thing to get him through this,” says Tim Boone, a manager at the home.

The team offered Kamara and Ayouba the use of one of the centre’s 103 apartment units, as well as providing some food, clothing and personal-care

items. Boone also helped negoti-ate an insurance claim for

Kamara’s Ford Taurus, which had been

Abrahim Kamara

CA

TH

ER

INE

HA

RR

OP

/C

BC

LIC

EN

SIN

G

R E A D E R ’ S D I G E S T

34 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

damaged by an armoured vehicle at the crime scene.

“They came to my rescue,” Kamara says. “It was not easy. I feel so much closer to my co-workers now. And my son and I can once again feel happy and free.”

The Town That Farms TogetherMILESTONE, SASK.

With a population of just under 700, Milestone is the kind of place where the mayor knows your name—and your phone number.

On August 18, Mayor Jeff Brown learned that Brian Williams, one of his constituents, had died after a brief

illness. The farmer had left behind a wife, three sons and about 640 acres of unharvested durum wheat.

“Mid-August is go time for crops,” says Brown, himself a farmer. “And if a family is in need, the community pulls together.” He sent out a text to 10 or so locals, asking them to pitch in to help the grieving family. Word spread from there.

The next day, 20 farmers and their combines arrived at the Williams’ farm and completed the harvest. It took about three hours for them to do what would have taken the Williams sons several days. “Years ago, when the farm-ing machines weren’t so big, families would get together more to help out like this,” says Brown. “It’s in our DNA.”JE

FF

BR

OW

N

A team effort at the Williams’

farm, August 19, 2018.

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 35

A Roadside AngelCALGARY

On August 5 just after 7:30 p.m., Mike Estepa suffered

a massive heart attack. The fervent cyclist was 40

kilometres into his Sunday ride when he stopped

by the side of the road to text his family saying

he’d be home in about 30 minutes. Moments

later, he was lying in the ditch, unconscious.

Larissa Arthur was driving back to Calgary

from a hike in Field, B.C., with a friend. It was a

warm and sunny day, and the two were chat-

ting when a flash of yellow caught Arthur’s

eye. She immediately pulled off the road.

As Arthur approached the figure, she

feared the worst: Estepa was covered in

ants and exhibited no signs of life.

“There was no pulse, and he wasn’t

breathing,” says Arthur. A bystander

called 911 and Arthur, a registered

nurse, started chest compressions.

She and two other drivers took turns

administering CPR for the next 15

minutes before paramedics arrived

and whisked Estepa away.

Two days later, when Estepa

woke up in the hospital, he was

stunned to learn he had gone

into cardiac arrest. How did

this happen, and why was he

lucky enough to have sur-

vived? He needed to speak

with the woman who had saved

him, whom he dubbed his “angel.”

“It was emotional,” says Arthur of

her meeting with Estepa a few weeks

later. Saving his life has extra signifi-

cance for her: the trek she was return-

ing from that day was one of 100

she’s planned to commemorate her

father, who died in 2017 after he fell

during a hike that Arthur was meant

to be on. “I couldn’t save my father’s

life,” Arthur says, “but this was a

chance for me to save someone.”

R E A D E R ’ S D I G E S T

36 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

Fox on the RocksST. LEWIS, N.L.

One morning in June, three crab fish-ers from St. Lewis happened upon an unusual sight at sea: an Arctic fox. The unfortunate creature was stuck atop a mushroom-shaped iceberg, around seven kilometres from shore.

Mallory Harrigan, Alan Russell and his dad, Cliff Russell, set about rescuing the distressed animal, but they couldn’t get the boat close enough to reach him. Their only choice was to use the vessel to smash the iceberg and then scoop the fox out of the water with a long-handled net. The operation was a suc-cess: the shivering animal was dried off and fed a meal of Vienna sausages.

Back on land, the crew kept the creature in a dog kennel for a couple days, ensuring he was in good health,

before releasing him. Since then, his silver silhouette has been spotted once or twice around nearby William’s Har-bour, looking fit as, well, a fox.

A Campaign for Compassion RIVERVIEW, N.B.

Two years ago, when she was 17 years old, Rebecca Schofield was told her brain tumours were inoperable and she had only months to live. Forgoing math class was one item on the bucket list she drew up, as were playing board games with family, enjoying her favou-rite meals (her dad’s mac and cheese among them) and a wish to encour-age people to do kind things.

Becca shared her idea on Facebook: she wasn’t asking for big gestures, just small, random acts of kindness that

The wayward Arctic fox

before and after his rescue.

(O

PP

OS

ITE

PA

GE

) C

OL

IN W

AY

; (T

HIS

PA

GE

) C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F M

AL

LO

RY

HA

RR

IGA

N

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 37

might brighten someone else’s day. Thousands of people took up the call, posting stories with the hashtag #Beccatoldmeto about opening doors, buying coffee for strangers, giving out granola bars at the gym.

Becca Schofield died on February 17 at the age of 18, but #Beccatoldmeto continues to flourish. “Every day I’m reminded of her legacy,” her mother, Anne Schofield, says.

Hero on the HighwayTORONTO

In his 32 years as a truck driver, Frank Vieira estimates he’s covered nearly 10 million kilometres without incident. On the morning of August 24, 2017, his drive from Toronto to Hamilton shifted

gears when he heard a loud crash. The 48-year-old pulled his rig over to find that an SUV had smashed into the back of a truck stopped in traffic going the opposite direction.

When he approached the SUV, he saw the driver’s neck had been pierced with a broken fragment of steering wheel. With his right hand, Vieira quickly pulled out his phone and dialled 911; with his left, he applied pressure directly to the driver’s neck to stem the bleeding. Moments later, the driver of the rear-ended truck walked over to see what had happened—and immediately fainted. With his hand still on the first man’s neck, Vieira used his foot to pull the second man’s leg safely away from oncoming traffic.

In March, Vieira received the Good-year Highway Hero Award for his life-saving juggling act, but he remains pragmatic about his role: “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Expanding Support for Women MONTREAL

When Andrew Harper, 95, was look-ing to bestow a charitable donation, he wanted to make his late wife, Car-ole, proud and to address Montreal’s escalating poverty rates. In May, he chose Chez Doris, a local day shelter that provides vital services—meals, clothing, showers and various educa-tional, legal and health programs—

Becca Schofield

sitting with her

dog, Benny,

June 20, 2017.

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

AN

NE

SC

HO

FIE

LD

R E A D E R ’ S D I G E S T

38 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

for women in vulnerable situations. Harper’s unexpected gift of $1 million is not only the largest in the non-prof-it’s 41-year history; it’s a game changer.

“A donation of this scale is common for a university or a hospital, but not for a poverty-relief organization,” says Chez Doris executive director Marina Boulos-Winton.

She notes that there are only 70 to 110 emergency beds in Montreal avail-able to women, who make up a quarter of the city’s homeless population. With the help of Harp-er’s donation, Chez Doris has pur-chased a new building, allowing them to expand their efforts and offer 20 emergency beds. Boulos-Winton estimates Harper’s dona-tion will provide refuge to 300 women every year.

Rescued From the TracksTORONTO

Kyle Busquine isn’t usually on the subway at 3 p.m., but on June 28 he’d finished his landscaping job a little early and was headed east, toward his home in Scarborough, when the train stopped abruptly at Broadview station.

Busquine, 24, poked his head out the door to check what was causing the delay. That’s when he spotted a visually impaired man who had fallen onto the westbound tracks and was crying for help. “I could hear him

saying he was injured, so for me it was just pure adrenalin,” he says. He jumped down onto the tracks to help.

Once he reached the fallen man, who appeared to have broken his leg, Busquine quickly realized he wouldn’t be able to lift him by himself without injuring him further. Luckily, two other bystanders—Julio Cabrera, who works for the city as a ferry deckhand, and engineering graduate Jehangir

Faisal—realized the same thing and joined Busquine in hoisting the man to safety on the platform, where TTC officials took over his care.

Later that day, Julie Caniglia, who witnessed the rapid-response rescue, described the events on Facebook. The post has been shared almost 60,000 times and received over 7,000 com-ments, including this one: “Canadians do help one another. These are the heroes we should be hearing about. God bless you.”BE

RN

AR

D W

EIL

/T

OR

ON

TO

ST

AR

/G

ET

TY

IM

AG

ES

From left: Kyle Busquine,

Jehangir Faisal and Julio

Cabrera, on July 10, 2018.

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 39

Ready to Party?PAINFUL SHYNESS has affected Karen Chapelle, a 48-year-old welder from Toronto, for her entire life. While she has many friends that she sees one-on-one, trying to socialize with more than a few people—especially if she doesn’t know them—sends her into a cold sweat.

“Dinner parties are the worst,” she adds, recalling one 30-person Pass-over Seder that she once bailed on at the last minute because she knew the hosts were planning to ask everyone around the table to speak about what they were thankful for. “I really wanted to go but I just couldn’t. Too

What you need to know about social

anxiety and surviving the holiday season

BY LEAH RUMACK

ILLUSTRATION BY KATY DOCKRILL

40 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

LIFE LESSON

much sharing, too many people. It was overwhelming.”

Like Chapelle, many socially anx-ious people brace themselves in prep-aration for another forced march through a line of punch bowls during the holidays. And while most people feel bashful some of the time, or under some circumstances, an estimated 12 per cent struggle with a more ser-ious social-anxiety disorder, which significantly impacts their lives.

Here are some strategies to help everyone from garden-variety blushers to serial party-avoiders get through the season—and maybe have some fun while they’re at it.

Be Conscious of Your Body Language“Much of the time, when people are anxious or are afraid of being rejected, they have a very closed body posture. They fold their arms over their chest, speak quietly, or stand far away from other people,” says Martin Antony, a psychology professor at Ryerson Uni-versity and co-author of The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook. “Other people read those cues and think, This person doesn’t want to be social right now, so I’m going to stay away.”

Antony says actively counteracting these “get away from me” signals can go a long way toward breaking the cycle of awkwardness and self-exile. Don’t know what’s actually appropri-ate in terms of personal space? Antony

suggests watching how closely others are standing to people you’re talking to and model yourself after them. Also, he adds, speak a little more loudly than you’re used to—if people can’t hear you, it’s very easy for them to unwittingly ignore you, making you feel even more uncomfortable.

Examine Your ThoughtsWhen Chapelle does decide to attend an event, she spends a great deal of time beforehand—sometimes even weeks—imagining every possible scen-ario that could go wrong (and hence providing “evidence” for why she probably shouldn’t go at all). “Some-times I realize that I’m panicking over nothing,” she says, and finds that peo-ple are always pleasantly surprised when she arrives.

Judith Laposa, a psychologist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, says one of the main ways that even capital-S social-anxiety dis-order is treated is by evaluating your thought patterns more critically. This is a cornerstone of cognitive behavioural therapy, which can also be helpful for milder cases.

“A practical thing you can do is ask yourself: ‘What am I afraid is going to happen?’” she says. “Maybe you’re scared that people are going to laugh at you and walk out. But how likely is that, really?” Laposa says most people, when anxious, overestimate the odds of something disastrous occurring. (S

TR

ING

LIG

HT

S O

N P

RE

VIO

US

PA

GE

) I

ST

OC

K.C

OM

/K

AM

ES

HK

OV

A

R E A D E R ’ S D I G E S T

42 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

Practice Makes PerfectWhen it comes to attending events, you’re allowed to prioritize and pace yourself—you probably don’t need to go to every cookie exchange and client cocktail—but avoiding all festivities isn’t going to help you get over your social phobia. It could actually make it worse.

“For someone who’s socially anx-ious, the best thing to do is expose themselves to situations where they have to face their fear again and again,” says Antony. In the short term, he admits it will likely make them more anxious, but it’s like exercise—over time, social muscles grow. “If you don’t exercise much and then work out, you might feel more tired afterwards, but the answer isn’t to avoid exercise—because then you’re going to feel tired for the rest of your life!”

While this strategy isn’t a huge help if you’re facing the holiday start line without any time to warm up, Laposa says you can still implement your own social self-improvement plan by tak-ing small steps. “Instead of not going to the party, or leaving after 30 min-utes, tell yourself, ‘I’m going to stay for an hour and a half,’” Laposa says. “Then build yourself up with positive coping strategies.”

If getting yourself moving helps calm your nerves, she suggests going for a walk before a party. Or she’s found that other people respond well if they promise themselves some type of reward if they go through with it.

Come Prepared, but Not Too PreparedStressed out about making small talk? Laposa says she’s okay with patients showing up to soirees armed with a few talking points, but she suggests staying away from rehearsing or trying to stick to a script. Since the other person won’t know their lines, this scheme can easily go off the rails.

A better strategy, Laposa says, is to bring up things that interest you, even if you’re unsure anyone else shares in them. “Self-disclosure is important,” she says. “If you’re talking about some-thing that’s meaningful to you, the other person is more likely to reciprocate.” If they do, listening and asking follow-up questions is an easy way to keep the conversation going.

One thing both Antony and Laposa suggest avoiding, however, is getting drunk to keep yourself loose; alcohol is an unpredictable crutch that ultimately doesn’t help you get over your fears.

NO MATTER HOW you navigate the holiday season, Antony encourages you to give yourself some slack. “It’s not good or bad if you’re anxious or if your heart is racing,” he says. “Remember that it’s normal, not harmful and the worst thing that will happen is you’ll feel uncomfortable.”

“One thing that I’ve found really helps me is just reminding myself to breathe,” says Chapelle. “It sounds silly, but it works.”

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 43

What working in Toronto’s

Out in the Cold taught me about

the challenges of serving healthy

food to those who need it most

BY COREY MINTZ FROM THE LOCAL

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAIME HOGGE

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 45

FOOD

What I like about cooking in a shel-ter is the demand for improvisation. I’ve cooked in res-

taurants, a spa, a dinner theatre, and in my home for my wife, my friends and my family. I have cooked, as well, for newspaper readers, rigorously test-ing recipes with a stopwatch to makesure the results can be duplicated.

At home, you plan meals, go grocery shopping and then cook. The process is a privilege—an experience to besavoured if you’re fortunate enough to enjoy the luxury of time and money.

When cooking in a restaurant, at the end of a shift you make a list of anyingredients you’re short on. You call in orders and everything shows up the next morning neatly packed in boxes. If something doesn’t look good or isn’twhat you ordered, you send it back. Then you spend five hours furiously prepping for dinner service.

The production demands of a shel-ter kitchen are similar in some ways—high volume, short deadlines. But the supply side of things is different, which changes everything. You never knowwhat you’ll have to work with.

THE OUT OF THE COLD kitchen at Toronto’s University Settlement rec-reation centre, where I cook on Sun-days, is run by Monique McBean. In addition to preparing food at the shelter, the 43-year-old is also the chef

at her sister’s restaurant, Nice n Easy. If she’s in a good mood, she greets me as “honey” or “sweetheart.” She asks how my wife is and hugs me enthusi-astically. If she just waves or calls me “boss,” I know she worked past 2 a.m. last night, maybe as late as 4 a.m.

For a few hours every Sunday, I stop checking my phone. I catch up with McBean. I show her pictures of the kit-tens we’re fostering, and she shows me pictures of her grandchild. The base-ment kitchen is small, with a lot of space taken up by a six-burner stove. As wecook, we listen to a local call-in show that tends to showcase Caribbean-Canadian voices. McBean shares Jamai-can cooking tips: how to use browningsauce (caramelized and burnt brown sugar) or how to make rice and peas (I didn’t know how essential coconut milk is). While we prep, elderly Chi-nese men play ping-pong in an adja-cent room, cheering after each point. Later in the day, the space is trans-formed into a dining hall.

When I began volunteering here in January 2017, McBean would give me a breakdown of what she had cooking and what she wanted me to make.These days, she just tells me to make whatever I want from what we have, and enough to feed 85 people.

Until I show up, I don’t know what’sgoing to be in the fridge. But whatever it is, we need to make at least two dishes containing protein, starch and vegetables. Our goal is not just to fill

R E A D E R ’ S D I G E S T

46 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

stomachs, but to treat clients with dig-nity. And that can mean the dignity of having a choice, or of seeing that some-one cares enough to cook food that both looks and tastes appetizing.

For me, having no control over the ingredients is refreshing. For a few hours on Sundays, it’s therapeutic to relinquish my need to control things, particularly food. The problem is that for the people who eat here, unpre-dictability is not a pleasure.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” says Nick Saul, CEO of Community Food Centres Canada. “When you’re shoot-ing in the dark like that, it’s liberating for you. But there’s also something that’s fundamentally wrong that you’re not able to plan and think about who is walking through the door and curate a meal that reflects their cultural back-grounds or their health needs.”

Saul operates upstream in the food insecurity ecosystem, where the focus is on teaching people to cook and gar-den, while advocating for access to

good food. At University Settlement, we are serving people at the emergency level. Clients tend to be over 50 years old and are dealing with mobility prob-lems, joint pain and arthritis. They also face homelessness, addiction and all the related health issues of food inse-curity—like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, anxiety, back pain, bowel dis-orders and asthma.

I just cook here. I don’t serve din-ner. But we often get someone knock-ing at the kitchen door, asking for food. They’re usually polite. And McBean knows they likely haven’t eaten all day. She makes sure everyone has something to eat. We’ll fix up a plate of whatever is ready, but it’s usually insufficient to address their larger dietary needs.

Food insecurity makes it more dif-ficult for people to manage chronic health problems. In turn, health care costs for food insecure households in Ontario are more than double those of households that have enough to eat, according to 2015 statistics from Food Insecurity Policy Research. That’s why it’s so vital that we serve guests a bal-anced meal with fresh ingredients and diversity, and avoid the pitfall of too much rice and pasta, which are inex-pensive but lacking in nutrients.

ON FRIDAYS, Saturdays and Sundays, the centre offers a bed, dinner and breakfast to 85 people (with Friday service pausing between June and

WE UNDERSTAND THAT FOOD INSECURITY MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO MANAGE CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS.

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 47

September). The annual food budget is $50,000, provided by the City of Toronto’s Shelter, Support and Hous-ing Administration. We’re pretty frugal with ingredients. The small jug of cook-ing oil does not get splashed around. Cleaning supplies come out of the food budget, so we dilute soap with water and use a sponge until it disin-tegrates in order to make sure that every dollar ends up on the plate.

Roughly 75 per cent of the staples we need to have on hand (milk, eggs, chicken, fish, apples, bread, etc.) are purchased. The protein we work with is likely to be a tube of ground beef or a frozen brick of chicken legs. McBean likes to turn the chicken into a Jamai-can curry. When she’s sick, different chefs lend their own cultural influ-ences to the food. Bernie, who is Filipino, makes adobo chicken, sim-mering the legs in vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Ritsuko falls back on Japa-nese staples like nikujaga, a meat and potato stew.

This is supplemented with food donated by two local organizations: dry goods from Daily Bread Food Bank and fresh produce from Second Har-vest Food Rescue. Some weeks we get random meats—cellophane-wrapped packages of beef, pork or lamb in vari-ous stages of colour and smell, stick-ered with labels proclaiming “40% Off.” With the rescued meat, I smell every piece before stripping them from the bone to make a stew. Most of it is still good. It just needs to be cooked and eaten right away.

There’s even less predictability to the produce, which comes from the same two organizations. But that’s the most important part of the meal, as it’s likely the food group our clients have the least access to. Some weeks we’ll get a case of half-rotted Swiss chard or moulding carrots. Other weeks it’s ripe heirloom tomatoes or small bags of Persian cucumbers, in near-pristine shape—a lucky haul from some upscale supermarket, where less than perfect produce is unsellable.

There are always technical difficul-ties, which sometimes threaten the goal of getting dinner on the table. We are cooking out of a tiny, unventilated kitchen in an old building. Half of the stove’s elements don’t work. One week the basement flooded. Our sinks are insufficient for large batch cooking, and there’s no room or equipment to save food through freezing, pickling or curing. When we get meat bones, we

SOME WEEKS WE’LL GET MOULDING CARROTS. OTHER WEEKS IT’S HEIRLOOM TOMATOES IN NEAR- PRISTINE SHAPE.

R E A D E R ’ S D I G E S T

48 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

should be making stock for soup, but we have no freezer space.

That’s the biggest challenge, says manager Toby Druce, who has been looking into leasing a chest freezer because the annual budget has no room for a purchase. “The Second Harvest food, we end up throwing a lot of it out,” he says. “Partly because it’s already started to rot. But if we had the ability to process the food as it came in and freeze it, that would be really helpful.”

ONE WEEK McBEAN asked me to make something with frozen haddock. There were onions, carrots and peppers, too, and a handful of pork sausages. So I cooked a roux and built it into what we called “shelter gumbo.” McBean is my Yelp, convening reviews of last week’s meal. The gumbo was a hit and has gone into regular rotation.

Three years ago, on a trip to New Orleans, someone gave me a gallon jar of crawfish boil seasoning. It’s incred-ibly salty and spicy—so much so that I’ve only used half of it. I bring it with me to University Settlement and use some to finish the dish that has become a staple of the kitchen. Some weeks we have potatoes, and I boil those down until they thicken the broth. Some weeks it gets bumped up with lamb or pork sausages. Our “shel-ter gumbo” may lack shrimp and okra, but I think it’s a delicious and econ-omical use of frozen fish and whatever vegetables I can manage to sneak into the dish.

Nobody should have to depend on a shelter for food. But in our current system, it makes me happy to know that at least people look forward to the cooking from our kitchen.

© 2018, COREY MINTZ. FROM THE LOCAL (JULY 11, 2018), THELOCAL.TO

BUMP IN THE NIGHT

I hate when boxing announcers say a boxer is “down

for the count.” I don’t care that he loves Dracula.

I just want to know who’s winning.

@KIMMYMONTE

Every time someone says, “I’m aware,” I wait a

couple seconds in case they add “wolf.”

@THEMILTRON

rd.ca | 12 • 2018 | 49

A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR (by her granddaughter, network news producerAllison Arlene Hansen):

Not long before she died, at age 94, I snuck away for a Grandma sleepover. A character who was always full of surprises, she motioned me to her beloved writing desk—black with gold chinoiserie and a white leather top. “That’s yours,” she said.“You’re a writer, like me. You get the purple box inside, too.” I opened the box to find stacks of her stories, some sweet, some adventurous, some droll—just like her. This one, an amusing look back written when she was in her 70s, shows her fond-ness for the unexpected path.

A brief memoir about why I’ve decided not to write my memoirs

BY ARLENE AIKENS

ILLUSTRATION BY JOANA AVILLEZ

Off the

Record

50 | 12 • 2018 | rd.ca

DEPARTMENT OF WIT

Dear Children,As you know, for years I’ve planned

to write up the memories I’ve been sav-ing on scraps of paper since you were young. I’ve kept them put away in safe places, like memory hooks holding on to funny remarks and actions.

“Guess Who Gets to Keep the White Rat for the Summer?” was always one of my favourites.

And the one about the frog we planned to train for the frog jump at the Calaveras County Fair until your father hit it with the lawn mower in the backyard. (My training as a nurse came in handy when I was called to splint its leg with a Popsicle stick.) And the one about the baby alligators that lived in our pond.

We do have an interesting history with animals, don’t we?

Now that you are grown and off hav-ing adventures with your own children, I’ve enrolled in a memoir-writing class. You know what? It’s such a struggle!

I wake up in the middle of the night with just the right