An uncomplicated friend in your little world.

An article I was reading led me to the Reader’s Digest.   I was surprised that it still exists, and that it’s worth visiting.

If you are weary of reading about Trump, Biden, P. Diddy and Pope Leo, the Reader’s Digest is what you need.

Growing up, my grandmother took the Reader’s Digest.  My parents didn’t subscribe to magazines.  Dad picked them up on airplanes and Mom’s friends passed around women’s magazines.  Doctors and dentists used to have Reader’s Digest.  I wish they still did.

Reader’s Digest always had at least one interesting article about a person fighting a cougar or being lost in the wilderness.  They had a couple of ongoing reader-submitted amusing anecdote features like “Humor in Uniform” or “Amusing Anecdotes”.

The online version of Reader’s Digest is still light reading, but the focus has shifted.  Here is what is currently trending:

1. The Trick to Peeling Hard-Boiled Eggs.  I should care, Sparky gets a hard-boiled egg each day, but I don’t.
2. Here’s Why Amazon Doesn’t Sell These 14 Things.  Not just what they don’t sell, but why.  That’s good journalism.
3. Here’s Why Aldi’s Cashiers Stay Seated. I will click on every article about Aldi.
4. Why McDonald’s Won’t Call Its Shakes “Milkshakes”.  I bet there is no milk in it and nothing shakes, but your belly after drinking one.
5. Social Security Just Announced a COL Increase.  Here’s How Much You’ll Get.  You’ll get whatever they send you.
6. 27 of the Hardest Riddles Ever. Can You Solve Them?  Slow down.  I did not come here to think.
7. Costco Just Discontinued Another Beloved Kirkland Product.  If it’s discontinued, I’m not interested.

Early in President Obama’s first term, he observed that, “There’s something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee-weed up. I don’t know what it is. But that’s what happens.” 

 The journalists and commentators made sport of Obama for saying, “wee-wee’ed up”, and seemed to be confused by what he meant.  I’d never heard the term, but the meaning seemed clear.  Obama meant that people get too focused on politics, and that makes them jumpy and excitable about any little development. 

The response to his statement showed that when you are all wee-wee’ed up, you don’t see it.

The media likes people to be wee-wee’ed up.  It drives engagement and web traffic.

Friends can get wee-wee’ed up about President Trump or his opponents.  Nobody I know is in charge of anything on a national scale.  We can keep up on the news, but it’s good to step away.  Read or watch something unrelated to existential threats.

The Readers Digest is good for that.  Their motto is, “A trusted friend in a complicated world.”  That isn’t very accurate. It should be, “An uncomplicated friend in your little world.”