ArcaMax

DEAR SUSAN: OK, so there are shy men and shy women -- and not-so-shy men and not-so-shy women. Why should shyness be seen as something bad, something that needs correcting? Shyness isn't always bad; assertiveness isn't always good. We're just trying to be ourselves in a world that demands conformity. And, Susan, please don't promote women ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: Is it OK to be selective about where or when I spend time with certain friends? Or does that make me shallow? One of my best friends is loud and often asks invasive questions. She likes being in the limelight, so she draws attention to our group by joking incessantly or interjecting in conversations. I love her because she is ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: After well over a year of enduring political campaigning, we are quite fatigued from it all. The results were quite disappointing to us.

Then our dear neighbor announced they were mounting a campaign to run for a state district office and requested our substantial financial and fundraising support.

While understanding the ...Read more

Dear Annie: When I married my husband, I was completely inexperienced and unaware of his interest in kink. Six months into our marriage, a woman contacted me claiming to be one of his submissives. She said she couldn't live with the guilt of me not knowing. I had just found out I was pregnant, and the stress led to a miscarriage.

We went to ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: We recently suffered the loss of our first grandchild. She was only 24 and taken far too soon. My partner and I are working through our grief, which is challenging as we are in different stages. He also struggles with multiple mental health issues. They make things even more difficult, as I need to help him through some outbursts ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: Now that my siblings and I are "orphans" -- both of our parents have died -- we have only one another left. This is proving to be challenging. All of our old childhood behaviors are coming back, and I feel stuck in the past. My older sister is really pushing my buttons, and I am finding it difficult to interact well with her ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I own a beachfront timeshare with two bedrooms, each with a full bath attached. When I invite a guest, should I offer them the much larger "owner's suite," or the very-nice-but-smaller guest suite?

Do I take my guidance from the names of these spaces, or should I give my guest the larger space?

GENTLE READER: The reason you ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been married for over 25 years, and from the outside, it probably looks like we have a stable life. We raised kids together; we pay the bills; we attend family functions. But inside the walls of our home, I feel painfully alone.

My husband and I barely talk anymore unless it's about schedules, errands or something to do with ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been married for 22 years. It was a normal relationship, and I was very happy. However, over the last 12 years, my wife has changed. There is ZERO affection, no hugging, holding hands and nothing sexual. We are like roommates. She blames it on having been molested when she was a child. Our level of intimacy was normal for 10 ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently broke my foot, and as a result, I'm now in a walking boot and on crutches for the next two to three months. It's been a major adjustment; everything from getting dressed to running errands has become a challenge.

I live alone in a major city where I rely heavily on public transportation, which has made things even ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Relative to the longstanding tradition of men proposing marriage to women, and in this day of slow (but hopefully inexorable) movement towards gender equity, I wonder if the percent of marriage proposals initiated by women has increased. Should it?

GENTLE READER: Sure, it should. In a sensible world, it would hardly matter ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a 66-year-old woman, married to my second husband for nearly 17 years. Like many couples, we've had our share of struggles -- serious enough that we were close to separating. Wanting to save our marriage, I asked him to attend counseling with me, and to his credit, he agreed. We've been doing much better since then and have ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have a roommate, "Don," I have lived with for 11 years. At first, we were dating, but we broke up, and Don moved out for a year. We remained friends, and he moved back in to help me with rent and because he missed the cat. Our relationship has been strictly platonic for the last seven years.

What drives me nuts is when we get in a ...Read more

For the first story I ever had published in a paper, I was almost run over by a mail truck. I'll tell you, the driver was none too pleased by a faux reporter jumping in front of his hood for a quote. I don't blame him. But here I am, more than 20 years later, writing for the same paper.

But I should back up. I spent my first year in college at ...Read more