ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: My 71-year-old husband is refusing to retire even though we have more than enough money for both our retirement funds. He's been working at the same bank for 45 years and won't let go of the company. I have told him so many times that it is his time to retire and rest, but he says he'll get bored without working. I understand his...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I hope you will weigh in on a situation that has caused quite a hubbub in our community. At public meetings, a member of our school board knits. It seems rude to me to be preoccupied when you are supposed to be listening to reports from the staff or comments from the public.

Others defend her with outcries of, "You're dissing...Read more

Dear Annie: My aunt has the strangest quality. I see her at every holiday and family party, and she always brings something delicious made from scratch. For my cousin's birthday, it was a key lime pie that disappeared within minutes. It was unreal.

On several occasions, I've asked her for the recipe. I like to cook, and she clearly has good ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been together for 16 years, married for 14. I was injured in a bad car wreck 12 years ago, and I stockpiled the leftover pain medicine. We scheduled a cruise nine years ago, and I was going to take a few with me just in case. When I went to get some, they were all gone! My oldest son had been staying here for a ...Read more

Of all the aftershocks of love's endings, bitterness does the most damage because it's sneaky. While it clouds perception, it silently fulfills its own prophecy, which is that people will stay away. Potential friends and lovers keep their distance from an embittered person, which only serves to confirm his/her sour view of life, completing the ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: Our pastor shamed my husband and me for not tithing to the church. My husband just lost his job, so we have cut down our tithings to essentially nothing. We used to give 20% to the church, but now we're left wondering how we are going to pay our bills if my husband can't find another job soon. We have always believed in giving to...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I received an invitation from neighbors to a house party to meet a mayoral candidate in our town. I RSVPed that I hoped I could make it, even though I already knew that I supported another candidate, the incumbent mayor.

Shortly thereafter, the campaign manager for the incumbent asked me if I would put a yard sign for him in ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for 12 years, and we agree on most things. We like the same kind of vacations, have similar values and rarely argue about family. Money, however, is our recurring sore spot.

I am a saver. I grew up in a household where unexpected expenses could throw everything into chaos, so having money set ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a senior woman who has been dating someone for three years. He is my age. I recently learned he has been cheating on me with a much younger woman with three kids. We are sexually active and enjoy each other very much, or at least I thought so. She knows about me.

Although he treats me well, I have found evidence that he's having ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: A couple months back, I met a guy at a local festival. We exchanged our names, numbers and social accounts, and in the week following, we spent several nights on the phone talking and getting to know one another. We talked for hours and hours, and he asked me on our first date. He said he'd plan it within the next few days and ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I find the word "perfect" is now overused to the point of confusion. It seems to have replaced "OK," "thank you" and even "message received."

I hear "perfect" as I'm filling out forms or giving someone information. But the speaker doesn't mean "no mistakes" or "that's correct." It just means that I have the information that ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm starting to wonder if headphones have gone out of style. Last week, I was sitting in a doctor's waiting room when a woman across from me put her phone on speaker and had a very loud, very personal conversation for nearly 20 minutes. Everyone in the room could hear about her sister, her husband and what sounded like an argument ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been married for 20 years. She's an academic, and we've lived a transient lifestyle to accommodate her career. She had a greater professional vision than I ever did, so I opted to stay at home and raise the children. I became Mr. Mom at great social cost. It was hard to make friends, and many in my social circles (...Read more