ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: My husband asked me for a divorce and then a week later he said he changed his mind and wanted to stay with me. I now want to divorce him because that was such an odd change of heart that I don't think his motives to stay with me are good ones. He keeps telling me it was a mistake and he said it in a moment of weakness. He says ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Some months ago, you asked your readers for a way of addressing strangers whose gender is not obvious, but I have not seen the answer. We need it, so as to keep from insulting unknown people when we need to get their attention and don't want to say "Hey, you."

Didn't anyone have any ideas? Did you give up?

GENTLE READER: No;...Read more

Dear Annie: My father died two years ago after more than 50 years of marriage. Since then, my mother seems to have stopped living.

She spent her entire adult life caring for my father and raising our family. She rarely did anything just for herself. My father handled the finances, made most of the decisions and was the more social one.

Now ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My brother "Earl" and I always had a very bad relationship. When I was 6 and Earl was 13, he molested me. Actually, he took my virginity. My mother caught him but whipped both of us and told me I should have known better than to allow it to happen. Fast-forward to when I was 17. I woke up to find him lying in bed with me, stroking my ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My neighbor's child recently vandalized my fence and got caught lying about it. My husband and I have security cameras, so when we first saw the damage to the fence, we immediately went and checked them. We clearly saw our next-door neighbor's child do it purposely. We went over to their house and asked if anyone in the family ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When I am sick, I need to rest and conserve my energy. I don't want visitors, as then I feel I have to host, perform and even offer food and drink when all I want to do is sleep.

I don't look presentable, and I shouldn't feel obligated to shave and shower to receive guests. I don't want them to see me in pajamas, unshaven, ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are at odds over whether to send our two children to sleepaway camp next summer. He went every year from the time he was 8 and talks about it as one of the happiest parts of his childhood. He says camp taught him independence, helped him make lifelong friends and gave him a confidence he never would have developed ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have friends who are kind, intelligent and warm. However, as we have spent more time with them, "Phyllis'" compulsive talking has become a real problem for us. She hijacks whichever one of us is sitting next to her and starts a monologue that goes on and on.

Phyllis doesn't even look at the person she's talking to ...Read more

It was a meeting-heavy week. They were mostly one-on-one, which I like best, but those tend to take the most effort. The morning of day three, bracing for more meetings and sitting outside a cafe with the creeping heat starting, I watched a mother and son walk past me into the shop. Cute, I thought. Then, a continuation: Even though those two ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 16 and met a girl while visiting relatives over summer break. We spent almost every day together, and I felt closer to her than I have ever felt to anyone. By the end of the summer, we both admitted that we had fallen in love.

The problem is that she lives on the opposite coast. Since coming home, we text constantly and talk ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I suggested to my husband that he invite his nephew "Ryan" (age 26) to stay with us. Ryan definitely needed some male direction. He was homeless, jobless and didn't even know how to apply for a job. Ryan is not mentally challenged. He simply was never taught anything until he was thrown out on the street with no skills.

Once Ryan ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I went to Ariana Grande's concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. I had an amazing time at the concert, especially since she's my favorite singer of all time. As a result of my excitement, I felt the need to purchase a $50 T-shirt. When leaving the concert, I made it all the way out of the arena before realizing I left the ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I'm 62 and have been divorced for 26 years. I've been dating the love of my life for 15 years -- we are obviously not in a hurry to tie the knot, though I did give her a beautiful engagement ring last summer.

My problem is my past history. A couple of times, in conversations with other people while my fiancee is present, I ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm 37 and the oldest of four siblings. We lost our mother to cancer 15 months ago, and then about a month ago, our father died very unexpectedly at 60. We never expected to be orphans this young, and the whole thing has been a shock for us.

But we were in for an even bigger shock. After Mom died, Dad apparently rewrote their will...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have a chronic illness and have been on a long-term leave of absence from my job for two years now. I have always surrounded myself with good people and have been blessed with great friends and family. When I was diagnosed, everyone was supportive. There were many platitudes, not the least of which was the ole standby, "Let me know ...Read more