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Ask Amy: Step-children offer humiliation as their gift

Amy Dickinson, Tribune Content Agency on

Dear Incensed: I can think of a couple of legitimate reasons (aside from homophobia) for why someone might choose not to shake someone else’s hand, but your son obviously interpreted this choice as stemming from homophobia – and you do, too.

If you continue to stew on this, you should contact your friend, tell him what your son has told you, tell him that this is upsetting to you, and ask for an explanation.

He might tell you that he didn’t hear your son’s introduction, or that he is reluctant to shake hands these days for fear of passing along or contracting an illness.

You should accept whatever explanation he has offered, with the understanding that you have already conveyed your distress about this.

Dear Amy: Thank you for the comic relief with all of the questions about brides forcing wedding guests to dress a specific way.

Almost 59 years ago, I walked down the aisle to start a life with my hubby.

We were in our late teens.

Naysayers thought we were doomed from the start.

Even my parents disagreed with my choice to marry. I paid for my own modest church wedding.

Afterward, as I looked at the amateur pictures, I caught a glimpse of the pastor’s wife in “curlers.”

 

She thought there would be a need for a witness at this “teen marriage.” (The church was full.)

We’re still married, and I still smile at that memory.

My advice is for guests to “come as you are,” and to be supportive.

– A Sweet Home Bride

Dear Bride: These goofy questions would be flat-out funny, if they weren’t so oppressively sad.

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(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

©2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


 

 

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