Dear Lindy
by Lore Sjöberg

Dear Lindy,
I read your advice to "Last Straw in Palo Alto," and I have to say I couldn't disagree more. I was married to a man like Last Straw's husband and let me tell you, if they haven't shaped up by the fourth or fifth time you catch them cheating, they're never going to shape up. I say she should be talking to a good divorce lawyer, the sooner the better.
Been There, Married That

Dear Been There,
Boy, I screwed up this time. Hundreds of readers wrote to tell me that Last Straw's husband didn't deserve yet another chance and that she would be better off without him. So if you're reading, Last Straw, consider my advice changed: get rid of him! And good luck.

Dear Lindy,
No offense, but your advice to Worried Mother was off the wall. There's no reason a fifteen year old boy needs to be out with his friends until two in the morning four nights a week, especially not if his only explanation for his whereabouts is "out doing stuff." It's true that friendship and fitting in are important to teenagers, but it sounds to me like he needs to find a new group of friends to fit in with.
No Son of Mine

Dear No Son of Mine,
You should have seen the mail that came in after I told Worried Mother to stop worrying! It seemed like good advice at the time, but it sounds like I messed up big time. So let me set the record straight: you should know where your children are and what they're doing, and 2 AM is way too late to be out.

Dear Lindy,
I know you meant well when you told Make Mine Well Done that the polite thing to do when faced with a barely-warm pork chop is to smile, dig in, and compliment the hostess's cooking, but as a doctor I can assure you that politeness is not worth a hospital stay and the risk of death. Uncooked meat of any kind is a case of food poisoning waiting to happen, and you can nicely ask that undercooked pork be sent back to the grill without offending the hostess.
Doctor Alfred Teberin, Ph.D.

Dear Doctor Teberin,
I must have been coming down with something myself when I gave that advice, because I got all sorts of mail from readers telling Make Mine Well Done to send the meat back and assuring him that they'd much prefer that their guests do the same if (heaven forbid) they ever accidentally served a raw pork chop. I'm a convert! Just say no to raw meat, readers!

Dear Lindy,
I'm an elderly woman whose husand has just died. We were never much for going out, Lindy, so now that he's gone I find myself spending all my time alone in this big empty house. I'd like to meet new people and make friends, but I just don't know where to begin. Do you have any idea where someone like me might start to look for a new social circle?
Lonely

Dear Lonely,
Honestly, I can't think of a one. I tried looking in the phone book, but from here it looks like all the fun places cater to a younger clientele, and you'd probably just feel like an awkward outsider. My advice is to find things you can do around the house to keep you occupied for the next few years until you go to meet your husband in the world after this one. Perhaps you can find comfort in looking over cemetary pamphlets and staring for hours at pictures of you and your husband from happier times. I hope that helps!