DEAR ABBY: I was at the store yesterday with my Gramma when she ran into a friend she hadn't seen in some time. (Her friend is about 87.) As they were talking, Gramma asked her a question that shocked me. She asked, "Do you still have your husband?"
After we left, I told Gramma I thought it was rude to ask someone that question. Her response was, "It's perfectly fine to ask that of someone her age." Is she right? -- KNOW I'M RIGHT IN LAS VEGAS, N.M.
DEAR KNOW YOU'RE RIGHT: The question was not a breach of etiquette. By the time women reach their eighth decade, I'm sad to say, most of them have lost their husbands. Your grandmother's question was legitimate, although she might have been more diplomatic and asked "how" her friend's husband was, rather than if she still had him.