ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: Thank you for your thoughtful message about 9/11, calling for harmony, peace and justice that is inclusive for all.

It brought strong feelings about that horrific event. I had lived in New Jersey for 30 years and was visiting friends there that week in 2001. The morning of 9/11, I drove down the Garden State Parkway to the home ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I own and operate a successful RV park in the Midwest. We have spent eight years keeping our park spotless and well maintained. We are friendly with our customers, and help them any way we can while they are staying with us. As a result, we have hundreds of perfect reviews on dozens of sites.

People constantly ...Read more

Dear Annie: Recently, an old friend got back in touch with me. He had gotten a divorce, and I wanted to be a friend to him because he was going through a lot of grieving. His ex-wife had alcohol issues and was abusing her bipolar medication. She also, prior to their marriage falling apart, got gastric bypass surgery and, after the procedure, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Your advice to the grieving widower In Need of Someone (June 22) was spot on. I met my husband when I was 14. We married at 18, and he died when he was 44. After his death, I had no idea how to be a person because I had always been a partner.

In the early years, I cried every day and was searching, like In Need, to fill that empty ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 20-year-old male who currently lives with my parents. I just started my first year of college.

Both of my parents have prescriptions to Xanax. When I was 15, I took a few from my dad's bottle. My parents labeled me a thief and an addict. I knew it was wrong and haven't done it since. I thought we had moved on from that ...Read more

DEAR READERS: Many of you wrote in about the man who was afraid to get a colonoscopy. I am sharing a few of your comments here. Thank you all for your caring and thoughtful comments.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I read your column today in the Bay Area News Group paper. Thank you for addressing the need for people over 50 to get colon cancer screenings and ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I can't make small talk. At a gathering, if I have nothing to say, I say nothing.

If someone asks me a question, I will certainly try to answer to the best of my ability, but that's it. People will actually come up to me and ask why I don't talk, and I simply tell them I have nothing to say.

Around women, it's worse. I tend ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been married to my husband for 10 years, and we've been together for 12 years. I love this guy, but his hygiene is atrocious. I admit that he was like this before we married, but I thought I could change this habit. My mistake. We've had endless discussions about this, and he always says he'll get better. He seems to be ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for 30 years. He has always been self-centered. We have discussed this over the years, and it hasn't changed his disposition. I bought him an It's All About Me coffee cup years ago as a joke, and he enjoys using it!

We both have office jobs and day-to-day issues and problems with our employees and ...Read more

Dear Annie: Recently, new neighbors moved in next door. They seem nice. The problem is, the husband smokes on their porch, which is on the side of their house and only a few yards from ours. It is close enough that we can smell cigarette smoke in our bedrooms, which are all on that side of the house.

My husband is highly allergic to cigarette ...Read more

My husband drives 45 minutes from our home to his business, in an unincorporated community out in the desert. He was approached to start his office there in part due to being a native Spanish speaker. He's been there for almost three years, trying to learn about the community, running toy drives and attending community meetings when he can. ...Read more

Dear Annie: Once a year, I spend a weekend over at my son's house to babysit my grandkids. They always take a trip for their anniversary so my son asks me in advance. I don't mind because I really don't get to see them often.

My husband has a real issue with this. I would let them come stay with us, but we always have company and there really...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a 41-year-old woman who has been with my fiance for eight years. Before we decided to become a couple, I made clear to him that if he had no intention of moving south once my kids graduate, he should not get into a relationship with me. When we got together, I assumed he understood and would be moving with me. We have bought ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a divorced dad and my 20-something son, "Adam," is deeply troubled. He lacks drive and ambition, and he also drinks and uses drugs. Worse, he is a chronic liar.

I reached the end of my rope and arranged to send him to a rehab facility. Adam then approached my siblings and told abssurd tales that I was abusing him. My siblings, ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My boyfriend and I just moved in together about three months ago with each of our dogs. We have brought our dogs together for playdates before, and they were always playful. Since we have moved in, and they are together all the time, they are fighting and terrorizing our household. We have tried to keep them separate, but it's ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is there a protocol that should be followed when new neighbors move in, either for the new residents or the old ones? Is one party responsible for going over and introducing themselves?

GENTLE READER: Typically the established residents are the ones to initiate contact, but Miss Manners thinks that whoever gets there first, ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a dear male friend, "Trey," who is in quite a predicament. Some background on him: He suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of his mother when he was a child.

His current problem is that he is in a loveless marriage. He and his wife have been married 32 years. But five years into their marriage, after they'd had a child ...Read more