ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: My mom keeps inviting my ex-husband to our family gatherings, even though I told her not to. She insists he is still a part of our family, especially since he and I have three children together. My ex-husband and I honestly aren't on great terms since our marriage ended due to him cheating on me, so I prefer not to see him at ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Friends and strangers often say to me, "Your hair is really long." While this is better than "you look tired," it is still not exactly a compliment, so I don't feel right saying "thank you."

Is there anything more interesting to say than "yes, it is"?

GENTLE READER: There are many more interesting responses. But as you are ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have now been married and divorced three times, with a total of over 37 years of married life. Though I doubt I will marry again at this stage of life, I would like to find a woman interested in a lasting, serious relationship. In trying online dating services, thus far I have found most women run the other way or quickly giving ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I got permission from my estranged brother to invite his 17-year-old daughter, "Ella," to spend a month with my family this summer. We live on the East Coast, and she lives on the West Coast.

Ella is about to graduate from high school and has had a difficult home life and relationship with her dad and stepmother. After making her ...Read more

It's that time again, that magic season of change and rebirth. And it's in that spirit that I offer you the words of my son, Scott, the amazing next generation of my gene pool. You are about to digest his words exactly as he wrote them, unchanged and unedited, when he offered to pen the closing pages of my book on living single. I claim no ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My husband recently screwed over his business partner by taking significantly more of the profit for himself. I feel so appalled this is the man I married. I knew my husband was ambitious and very competitive, but I never thought he would intentionally take advantage of someone he had built a business with. His business partner ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We were driving in a rural area with two grandkids in the back seat. One of them vomited.

We deemed the narrow shoulders of the state highway unsafe for a stop, so we made a right turn into the first available road. That road had no shoulder at all, so we turned again. What we thought was another rural road turned out to be ...Read more

Dear Annie: My father passed away earlier this year, and afterward my mother and sister moved to be closer to me. Since then, I have tried to help my mother as much as I can. I take her to doctors' appointments, help with everyday needs and do my best to make sure she is cared for.

Recently, my husband had to go out of state for work, and my ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a 63-year-old man. My fiancee (57) and I have been dating exclusively, or so I thought, for four years. I just found out she has a male friend she has been seeing without my knowledge. They go to lunch and dinner and other activities.

She says they are just friends. He is her attorney, and he wants a romantic relationship. She ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: Is it vain to dream of fame? For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of the glitz and glam synonymous with fame. The paparazzi, fans, money and endless opportunities entice me. I thought I would've outgrown this by college; however, I feel like my hunger and desire have only grown. I have started enacting plans to reach the...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a college student at a small, private art school, and work part-time at the school's reception desk, receiving and directing phone calls and visitors. When dealing with rude and polite callers alike, I greet them with a pleasant tone and promptly answer their questions to the best of my ability.

What concerns me are the ...Read more

Dear Annie: In response to all the working mothers who are weighed down by guilt, I'd like to share my experience.

I am 75 years old, and when I was growing up, my mother worked from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. I usually came home from school around 3:30 or 4, and my memories of that time are nothing but warm.

Before leaving for work, my mother made ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: After nearly 18 years of marriage, I left my wife. Our daughters were 10 and 12. We had married quickly, and only later did I realize how deeply judgmental her "born-again" beliefs were -- so much so that she gradually cut off my entire side of the family. I tried for years to reason with her, to no avail, and we divorced. What I ...Read more