Health care aide is in danger while at work
I put care and thought into several items, which I then mailed at the cost of $18.
I almost missed the thank-you I received because it was one line written on Facebook.
I believe it to be a sad commentary on our times that a young woman, with plenty of time on her hands, could not make the effort to sit down and write, on paper, a sincere thank-you. I love today's technology but firmly believe it should not replace good old-fashioned manners. -- Frustrated
DEAR FRUSTRATED: I agree with you, naturally. I do sense a slight uptick in the practice of writing and sending cards and letters, however (I hope I'm right about that). Could this be because the same technology that makes it so easy for us to connect also denies us the ability to touch, hold and tape a card or note onto the refrigerator?
My feedback for people who don't write notes is: Paper and a stamp! It's authentic! It's artisanal! Handwritten notes are cool and impressive -- and they make people smile.
DEAR AMY: "Feeling Abandoned" was a young man who wrote in because he'd been trying to re-establish a relationship with his dad, who had remarried a controlling woman. The wife had kicked all of the father's kids out of the household.
The young man said his dad was no longer responding to phone calls, emails, etc.
I wouldn't be surprised if the second wife is making sure the dad never gets those messages. The young man should try other avenues, like visiting in person, as you suggested. -- Saddened
DEAR SADDENED: The scenario described by "Feeling Abandoned" contained some classic hallmarks of an abusive relationship. I agree with you that there is every possibility that the spouse was denying access to Abandoned's father. Or the spouse had a way of making the dad so miserable whenever he received or responded to contact with any of his children that the father simply had stopped responding in an effort to "keep the peace."
I was moved by this letter from a young adult who desperately wanted his father in his life. I hope he finds a way to visit his father and try to keep the connection alive.
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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@tribpub.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook. Amy Dickinson's memoir, "The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter and the Town that Raised Them" (Hyperion), is available in bookstores.)
