ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I read your column every day and am a faithful fan. Your column reaches a multitude of readers and is a valuable way to enlighten and educate on topics either not talked about or not well known. I wanted to write to you about a condition that my son has, in hopes of educating people about it, as there are many others who have the ...Read more

Dear Readers: Fathers and father figures deserve more than one day of recognition for all their work and love, and the amount of beautiful words sent in reflected this. Below are a few more moving tributes submitted for Father's Day.

'My Father's Example'

A father gives instruction to his family,

Is willing to go the extra mile.

Always ...Read more

Dear Readers: Below are just a few of the very touching and beautiful tributes you submitted for Fathers Day. It was so nice to read about all of the love, gratitude and humor you expressed about your fathers. Happy Father's Day.

Dear Annie: My 94-year-old father, Fred Koenig, has been writing poetry for many years. We have printed a book of ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have known one of my friends, "Pam," for more than 50 years, and at times she has been a very good friend. She and her husband introduced me to my now-ex-husband and were both in my wedding party.

Last year, I had a disagreement with a mutual friend, "Sharon." Quite frankly, I thought Sharon was in the wrong, but I decided her ...Read more

Dear Annie: I lived with my husband for 50 years. We met spontaneously, and I moved in with him soon afterward. He was different from the norm. He was smart, always outgoing and had many great friends. I fell deeply in love. We got married after a few years together and began to build our careers in businesses, where we both became respected ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter was 14 weeks pregnant when the baby died. The nurse midwives, who were wonderful, sent her home to have the miscarriage and told her it could take up to two weeks to "be complete."

I was surprised and extremely saddened by how she was treated by her supervisor at work. She is a professional engineer, and when she ...Read more

Dear Annie: My 81-year-old mom and I live together. I work 52 hours a week, so she is home alone a lot. She does get picked up by friends a few times a week to play bingo.

But something serious has happened. A guy started an online chat with her on a "Words with Friends" game. She chatted back, and by the fourth chat he had asked for her for ...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife and I have three perfect grandchildren, ages 1, 5 and 7. We love watching them at least one day a week. Their parents are caring and careful. But occasionally when I am just about to fall asleep, I have "waking dreams" that the most horrible things happen to the kids. Why? I am able to push these disturbing thoughts out of ...Read more

Dear Annie: When did airplane seats become so small? I hadn't flown in six years until this past spring, when I booked a flight to attend a family wedding. I reserved a window seat so that I could relax in comfort. But the experience was anything but comfortable.

For starters, the man next to me in the middle seat must have been 6'2" tall and...Read more

Dear Annie: My youngest is set to move out of the family home in the next month or two. We don't mind her living at home, but she needs to move out for her own peace of mind, so she can have her own space and start to live independently. She's 22. In the past -- and still -- she has often asked for money so that she can make important payments...Read more

Dear Annie: My office mates and I enjoy a good prank as a way of keeping things light. Recently, a good friend of mine, "Jimmy," went on an extended vacation with his family. I decided to do a prank I have long wanted to do: put his house up for sale. My wife, "Diana," told me that I would get arrested and go to jail. I laughed it off, as she ...Read more

Dear Annie: Growing up, my siblings and I would make fun of my mom's snoring all the time. To be fair, the noise seemingly could wake the dead; she sounded like she was sawing logs every night. Her snoring became one of our favorite family jokes, and to this day it's brought up on a pretty regular basis.

Recently, I discovered that my mom ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a mother to five beautiful children. I do not have custody of any of them. I'm an addict, and I refuse to raise my kids the way my parents raised me. I want them to have and see a better life than I did. Growing up wasn't great for me. We were homeless. Sleeping in backyards in tents wasn't cool. My siblings and I had to ...Read more

Dear Annie: I lived in a bad marriage for more than 25 years. There was mental, emotional and some physical abuse. I stayed for the sake of my children and planned to leave when they were out of the house. Now, my children are in their early 20s. I could not take it anymore, so I left their dad. My husband sought treatment for his anger, but I...Read more

Dear Annie: I want to take a cross-country road trip -- just me, myself and the highway. My plan is to drive through the Southern half of the United States. Anything I should make sure not to miss? Also, I'm having trouble sorting out the logistics. This trip would take about three to four weeks, depending on how I split up the driving. I don'...Read more

Dear Readers: Though I do my best to keep my personal life out of this column, I'm writing today about something that has deeply impacted me. A person very close to me was recently diagnosed with stage IV esophageal cancer. Unfortunately, that's the stage at which this relatively rare type of cancer is typically caught, due to its lack of ...Read more

I was overwhelmed by the love and empathy that many of you expressed for "Just Existing," the man who was hoping to fade away from life. Even if you don't think people care, they do! Here are two of my favorite letters offering advice and encouragement.

Dear Annie: I am responding to today's column signed by "Just Existing." My heart goes out...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I bought a house in a safe neighborhood 12 years ago primarily because it has a great school district. We have two children, a boy and a girl, and I am writing about our oldest child, "Alan," who is 12. Alan is very sensitive and wants for everyone to get along. He can't stand it when people fight.

Alan used to love ...Read more

Dear Annie: Our daughter, "Jenny," is graduating from college in a few weeks, and my husband and I are very proud. We were unable to afford college, but once we had a child, we knew how important it was for her to go. My husband has worked in a factory his whole life and two years ago became a supervisor.

We have always been a close family, ...Read more

Dear Annie: I was brought up to say, "Excuse me," when someone was in the way and I needed to pass. I have noticed when I say this to younger people they reply, "Oh, you're fine," and don't move.

One day a store employee was blocking the aisle with boxes all around, making it impossible to navigate, and I said, "Excuse me." When she replied, ...Read more