Table of contents for May 2021 in Reader's Digest

FOR ME, change is in the air. The snow is thawing in the town where Susan and I are living. We both got vaccinated (I’ve never been so happy to have type 1 diabetes, which qualified me for early shots). And by the time you read this, our daughter will have been married, surrounded by family, on a Mexican beach. Hooyah! This spirit of change and joy has struck RD too. In this issue, you’ll find new sections meant to delight you as much as tossing rice at your grinning daughter—i.e., a lot. A knowledge quiz. Sharpen your pencils. Brain Games now features “Fact or Fiction” (page 117) to test your recall and worldliness in equal measure. I scored six and got the bonus question only by cheating and consulting…

Our teenage granddaughter was thrilled when she landed her first real job waiting tables. But after one shift, the excitement seemed to have waned. “How do you like being a waitress?” I asked. She shrugged, “It would be OK if people wouldn’t keep asking for stuff.” —CHARLES FINLON Bradenton, Florida We were dining with my husband’s colleague, a therapist, who told us that her seven-year-old daughter had recently asked, “Mommy, what’s normal?” Our friend gave a response that only a mother who’s analyzed one too many patients could give: “Honey, normal is what people are before you get to know them.” —MARY-ANNE REED Ventura, California A customer called our Los Angeles travel agency asking how much a round-trip flight to Hawaii would cost. Evidently, she didn’t care for the price…

While spending the day at Mount Rushmore, I decided to get lunch from a stand being worked by Boy Scouts. The three hot dogs I ordered cost $4 each, and I also picked up beverages worth $7. “That’ll be $10,” said the young Scout ringing up my order. Recognizing his math error, I said, “You might want to try that again, son.” He replied, “That’ll be $10, please.” —JIM MOELLER Rice, Minnesota Mommy’s Little Girl? Priceless Many years ago, my two sons spent time coaching their toddler sister to say something special to me on Mother’s Day. They had been teaching her, “You are priceless.” Certain that she had the words lined up right, they watched, peeking out from behind their door, as their little sister made her way down…

1 THREE MILLION people visit Arlington National Cemetery each year to honor the 400,000 veterans (and their dependents) who are interred, inurned, or memorialized within its 639 acres. Arlington has the distinction of being the only national cemetery with service members from every major U.S. war and conflict. 2 THE PROPERTY belonged to George Washington Parke Custis, who was both the adopted grandson of our first president and the father-in-law of Robert E. Lee. His daughter Mary Custis Lee inherited the land, but when the Civil War broke out in 1861, the Lees abandoned their Arlington estate. The U.S. Army seized it to help defend the capital-then buried the North’s war dead there as a further insult to the Lee family. 3 THOSE EARLY burials were racially integrated. But once…

On a trip to a rural Irish village, a friend of mine stopped off at the only shop in town to buy a newspaper. However, all it had was the previous day’s edition. “Excuse me,” he asked the shop owner, “do you have today’s newspaper?” “Yes, I do,” answered the man. “It’ll be here tomorrow.” —H.H.via rd.com My wife often surprises me with her unusual perspective on life, but never more so than when she walked outside one breezy afternoon, threw open her arms, and announced, “I love living on a planet with wind!” —BILL SPENCER Cullowhee, North Carolina After our Siamese kitten ran up our expensive curtains, snagging them, my wife took him to the veterinarian to have him neutered, hoping it would calm him down. A few weeks…

Sandy began a job as a school counselor and was eager to help. One day during recess, she noticed a girl standing by herself on one end of a playing field while the rest of the kids enjoyed a game of soccer at the other. Sandy approached the girl and asked if she was all right. The girl said she was. But a little while later, Sandy noticed the girl in the same spot, still by herself. Approaching again, Sandy offered, “Would you like me to be your friend?” “OK,” said the girl, looking at Sandy suspiciously. Feeling she was making progress, Sandy then asked, “Why are you standing here all alone?” “Because,” said the girl with great exasperation, “I’m the goalie!”—COURSHERO.COM When I find myself walking through the valley…

ADAPTED FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES IT’S AUTUMN AGAIN, the eighth since my father died, and I’m craving chicken nuggets. My father would have understood. I don’t remember him saying “I love you,” which isn’t a common phrase in Mandarin, his preferred language. We always had a bit of a communication issue. But his love language was the simple pleasure of processed food. I have a photo of the two of us, taken when I was two, at the gleaming flagship McDonald’s in Beijing. In the photo, I’m feeding my father a fry. We both beam. My father was the fun parent, the indulgent one. He introduced me to fries, Cool Whip straight from the tub, and fizzy drinks. My father never reprimanded me for overindulgence as my mother did.…

MARTY VEREL, a 59-year-old kidney transplant recipient in Ohio, should have been near the top of the list to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Yet like millions of others, he wasn’t having any luck scheduling an appointment. Marty and his wife, Nancy Verel, would sit with computers on their laps trying for hours to book an appointment on different sites, all of which were slow and convoluted. “I felt hopeless,” Nancy says. Then Nancy heard about Marla Zwinggi, a 40-year-old mom of three from a Cleveland suburb who was spending up to ten hours a day online trying to secure appointments for vulnerable individuals. So Nancy messaged Zwinggi on Facebook: Can you help? Twenty-five minutes later, Zwinggi responded by asking for Marty’s legal name, date of birth, and other information. Nine…

1 Rejuvenate Strawberries That Go Soft FOOD With strawberry season almost upon us, try this if yours turn a bit mushy before you get a chance to finish them: Move them to a large bowl, taking care not to mash any and leaving an inch between the berries and the bowl’s rim. Cover with ice and pour cool water over the top so the ice is floating. After 20 minutes, the strawberries will have a plumper shape and lighter color. This trick works for wilted lettuce too! 2 Keep Your Plants Safe in the Car GARDENING When you head to the nursery this spring, don’t forget the step- ladder-not for climbing, but to secure your plant haul. Lay the ladder down in the trunk and place your most top-heavy or…

In a 3-quart saucepan, combine 3¼ cups whole milk with ½ cup uncooked long grain rice and a pinch of salt. Add the whole spices of your choice: 4 cardamom pods, a cinnamon stick, or a split and scraped vanilla bean pod and its seeds. Bring to a simmer over medium- high heat, stirring and scraping the sides and bottom frequently with a silicone spatula to prevent scorching. Lower heat to maintain a bare simmer and cook, stirring often, until rice is soft and the liquid has taken on a thick, creamy consistency, about 40 minutes. Discard the whole spices. Stir in ½ cup sugar until dissolved. Serve warm or chilled. (When chilled, the pudding will thicken considerably; stir in milk a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency…

If not shaving or combing your hair is superstitious, then I’ve been superstitious for years.—Chris Stapleton, MUSICIAN What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here, have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first.”—Danusha Laméris, POET It feels like this 10,000-pound weight went from the left shoulder to the right shoulder now that I’ve got the job because I’ve got to do it well.—Kim Ng, BASEBALL’S FIRST FEMALE GENERAL MANAGER You can take a girl out of the Midwest but don’t come for her baby back ribs.—Shonda Rhimes, TV PRODUCER Don’t spend any time whatsoever thinking about what might have been.—Alex Trebek, GAME SHOW HOST…

Hangry, a portmanteau that describes the irritability that arises from hunger, succinctly gets at a very particular human emotion. Shouldn’t we have more of these terms? Here are some clever nominees. ✦ BURALYSIS: The paralyzing anxiety you feel when confronted with bureaucracy. ✦ PRETEDIUM: The mixture of frustration, ennui, and anxiety that washes over you when you realize you’ve been cornered by a known long-talker. ✦ CINE-VOID: The guilt that follows browsing Netflix and seeing an “important” film that you know you should watch but choosing John Wick: Chapter 2, a movie you’ll convince yourself you’ve never seen. ✦ REMBARRASSMENT: A feeling of humiliation at the memory of an awkward or shameful experience from long ago, often unrelated to current circumstances. ✦ CREDITPHORIA: The pleasure, denial, delusion, and mania of…

RD’S GLOBAL PETS COLUMNIST I love my dog, but he might not be the brightest, and I sometimes have trouble getting him to do what I need him to. Do you have any suggestions? Just like a human’s, a dog’s intelligence can be increased through education and training, so invest time and communicate with him. Contrary to popular belief, you can teach an old dog new tricks, so if you have an older guy, it’s still worth the effort. But the earlier you start, the more likely you are to achieve results. Short bursts of regular training throughout your dog’s life are best. They can be brief and spontaneous—what’s important is the regularity. Run through simple commands before you give him his dinner, when he’ll be really keen to respond.…

LIKE MANY kids, 11-year-old Ashlyn MacDonald of Attleboro, Massachusetts, has a favorite meal: SpaghettiOs with meatballs, which she eats at least once a day, and sometimes three times. Unlike other kids, Ashlyn’s need for this comfort food is serious. She is autistic and nonverbal, and a mouthful of the canned pasta soothes her. “Structure is what centers her—it gives her a sense of control when everything else seems chaotic and overwhelming,” says her mom, Crystal MacDonald. “Ashlyn is most comfortable when she feels as if she’s living Groundhog Day every day. SpaghettiOs are a sensory experience for her.” Naturally, the MacDonalds keep their pantry stocked with SpaghettiOs, but during the run on supplies caused by the pandemic last year, stores suddenly ran out. Crystal had to drive farther and farther…

My mom was ex-Army, so during the holidays she and Dad would invite local Marines from Camp Pendleton over for dinner. One night, my sister came home from work at Kentucky Fried Chicken, still in her uniform. One of the Marines asked where she’d been. “I’ve been to visit the colonel,” my sister joked. The Marine looked confused. “Colonel Sanders!” she explained. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said, “I don’t know those higher-ups.” —STEVE CHIALES Corona, California A young airman showed up at formation needing a shave. When I asked why he hadn’t taken care of that before he arrived, he complained, “Somebody moved my piano.” “Why would moving the piano cause you to miss shaving?” I asked. His reply: “My razor was on the piano.” —ROBERT RHODES Fallon, Nevada GOT A…

A FEW THINGS YOU might not know about tulips: They occur naturally in every color—except for blue. Their petals are edible. (Some taste like lettuce; others, more like peas or cucumbers.) And the 17th-century tulip-buying craze in Holland didn’t make the country go broke. The Netherlands does produce about 60 percent of the world’s supply, but tulips grow like weeds across coastal swaths of Europe, Asia, the South Pacific, and even the United States. Also thriving here: Dutch-inspired place names, though only a lucky few are also tulip meccas, like the location of this photo. Where is it? (Answer on PAGE 123.) A Holland, Michigan B Wooden Shoe Farm, Oregon C Dutch Mills, Arkansas D Rembrandt, Iowa…

Jeannie & Chad BONITA SPRINGS, FLORIDA CHAD IS AN English Lop bunny who believes he is a dog. He eats from dog bowls, sleeps in the dog’s bed, and follows us around the backyard like a dog. Naturally, his best friend is our dog, Jeannie. We actually have four rabbits. Funnily enough, Jeannie loves to chase after wild rabbits and will pull until the leash is taut if she sees one on a walk. But she never chases ours, and Chad has always been her favorite. When we let them out in the yard together, they each do their own thing at first: Jeannie wanders and sniffs around while Chad munches on grass. But eventually, Jeannie will come back to find a spot in the shade, and Chad will come…

FROM THEATLANTIC.COM I DON’T KNOW HOW to say it except to say it. It sounds like the paranoid nightmare of an overprotective parent, but it is what happened. I saw my eight-year-old son go over a waterfall. At this point, I need to tell you that he’s fine. Because when I tell this story, I can see people’s faces contort as they conjure up horrible outcomes. It wasn’t a huge fall, but in many other ways it was huge. It was last August. We were on vacation, having driven from our home in Washington, DC, to New Hampshire. We wouldn’t see friends or family—it would be just me, my husband, and our two kids out for a nice, safe, socially distanced week away. We had hiked about half a mile…

No 1 America’s Highway ROUTE 66 STARTS CHICAGO ENDS SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA 2,448 MILES The Mother Road. America’s Highway. The Main Street of America. The Will Rogers Highway. Route 66 goes by many names, but there’s one thing everyone can agree on: “Historic Route 66 is the quintessential American experience,” says Ken Busby, executive director and CEO of the Route 66 Alliance. “It speaks to westward migration during the Great Depression, a road of hopes and dreams and opportunities.” Route 66 also represents the entrepreneurial spirit of America. From kitsch to classics, these only-here spots are worth the trip in themselves. A few favorite roadside pit stops: Follow the 1960s green-and-yellow neon sign to Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger drive-through for towers of sweet soft serve, crisp fried pickle spears, and sizzling…

FROM THE GEORGIA REVIEW I. The Cabin Jerry McGahan was not well when he stepped out of his Montana cabin on a gusty mid-September afternoon in 2016. His hair was wiry and white. Steroids had swollen his face, rounding the usual angles of his jaw. He elbowed open the front door and slowly crossed the porch. His feet had memorized the distance. The cabin was older than he was, but solid. In 1973, he found it for sale at the foot of the Mission Mountains just north of here. He paid $300 for it and gathered some friends to help take it apart. Jerry numbered the logs, loaded them onto a truck, and reassembled them along the Jocko River with his first wife, Libby. Using skills he learned from carpentry…

LAST LABOR DAY, 30-year-old Emily DelFavero was enjoying a rare day off from her job as an auto mechanic. She was puttering around her house in Syracuse, New York, when she paused to check her Facebook feed. To DelFavero’s delight, there was a new post from one of her favorite Facebook groups, Weird (and Wonderful) Secondhand Finds That Just Need To Be Shared. The latest find, spotted at a shop in Baltimore by Thea Lenna, was a chair beyond compare, and when DelFavero saw it, she just about fell out of hers. It had pastel polka dots along its frame, bright stripes on the seat cushion, and, as its back, two giant fish carved out of wood. She recognized it right away. This was the hand-painted handiwork of well-known designer…