Hot off the press -- Abby's new booklet, "The Anger in All of Us and How to Deal With It." To order, send a long, business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054. (Postage is included.)
DEAR ABBY: My problem is my husband's driving. Whenever another motorist breaks one of the highway courtesy rules and cuts in front of my husband, or passes him when another car is coming in the opposite direction, my husband has to get back at him. He'll pull up real close to him, or he'll immediately pass him to let him know that he is not going to let him get away with anything.
Sometimes he doesn't like the way a truck driver is driving, so he'll start playing games with him. I get scared half to death and beg him not to take such foolish chances, but he insists that he's going to "teach them a lesson."
We've had a few minor scrapes and several close calls, but nothing really serious yet. He argues that he is a safe driver, but to me, that's not safe.
What's the matter with this 33-year-old baby? How can I make him realize that that kind of driving is not safe? -- WORRIED IN OREGON
DEAR WORRIED: Part of my definition for maturity is ... "the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even." Your husband isn't mature. Just keep on nagging him to let the other guy have the road -- unless he's trying to beat him to the cemetery, and take you with him.
DEAR ABBY: I am 29 years old, have seven kids and am pregnant again. I've never been married, but I've been engaged twice and I've been pinned several times. Don't tell me I should have been more careful because I WAS careful, but nothing seemed to work with me.
A doctor put me on birth control pills and I followed his instructions, but I turned up pregnant anyway. The dcotor said it must have been the fault of the pills, so he put me on another brand, and the same thing happened.
I've used other methods including marking the calendar, but they all failed. I must be one of those super fertile types.
I don't want any more kids after this, at least not until I get married, but I don't want an operation to make me sterile because I might meet a guy who wants a kid of his own, and then what will I do?
Is there a method of birth control that is positively sure? Don't send me to a doctor. They're the ones who got me into this fix. -- FERTILE MYRTLE
DEAR MYRTLE: When it comes to birth control, the only method that's 100 percent effective is self-control.
You don't say who's supporting all those kids, but if we taxpayers are, you owe it to your country to visit the Planned Parenthood people and turn off that baby machine.
DEAR ABBY: I have two big, good-looking sons. One is 16 and the other is 18, and they've been fighting each other ever since they were old enough to swing their arms.
The 18-year-old just bought a car and drove past his brother walking down the road, and he wouldn't even stop to give him a ride.
The 16-year-old, who's as big as his brother, keeps his clothes in better shape, so the older one helps himself to his kid brother's clothes without asking.
The boys fight and cuss each other out like a couple of mule skinners. Why can't they act like brothers? -- WEST VIRGINIA MOM
DEAR MOM: They do. Cain and Abel.
DEAR ABBY: I am going steady with a girl on my block. She's 10 and I'm 11. She gave me her I.D. bracelet, and I gave her my frog. She has gotten very bossy lately, and I would like to break off with her. How should I go about it? -- ALLEN
DEAR ALLEN: Return her I.D. bracelet and tell her you don't want to go steady anymore. Then ask for your frog. But hurry before the frog croaks.
DEAR ABBY: I am a 17-year-old boy who was able to graduate from high school early because I passed the required tests. My problem is I need to get a job, but nobody will hire me because I have had no experience. Abby, how can a person get experience if nobody will hire him?
I am a responsible, hard-working boy who has never been in any kind of trouble, and I'm willing to do anything -- run errands, wait on tables, sweep the floors, answer the phone, box groceries -- you name it. And if I don't know how to do it, I will learn.
So far I have applied for 22 jobs, but nothing has materialized.
Abby, how can a person without pull or connections get a job? I'm beginning to think it's impossible. -- DISCOURAGED
DEAR DISCOURAGED: Go back to some of the places you've applied and tell them that you are honest, dependable, hard-working and so eager to prove your worth that you'll work for one week with no obligation on their part, and if they feel you don't qualify, they owe you nothing.
You may not be hired instantly, but I'll bet your name goes to the top of the list.
DEAR ABBY: I hope you will take time to give me your opinion on a problem that involves two partners in a small business.
Partner A bought a $100 ticket to a charity ball with company funds, a normal procedure. The day of the ball, partner A asked partner B if he would like to use the ticket. Partner B said no. Partner A offered it to others. No takers. At the last minute, partner A decided to go himself.
The ticket was the winning number. It won $4,000!
Partner A insists the money is his. Partner B thinks it should be split 50-50. What do you think? -- P.R.
DEAR P.R.: If partner A, with the knowledge and consent of partner B, invested company funds in an oil well, and it brought in a million-dollar gusher, wouldn't partner B be entitled to half the proceeds? The same principle applies.
By popular request, Abby shares more of her favorite prize-winning, easy-to-prepare recipes. To order, send a long, business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054. (Postage is included.)
DEAR ABBY: Our middle son, Andy, is a very intelligent young man of 19. He went to college for one year just to please us, then he quit, saying, "I don't want to waste any more of my time and your money."
His grades were fine, but he says he prefers working with his hands. He's now enrolled in a trade school and we're so disappointed in him!
I'm not putting down people who work with their hands, Abby, but it seems to me that people who work with their hands do so because they aren't smart enough to work with their minds.
Andy's father is a professional man, and both of Andy's brothers plan to enter professions.
Please say in your column that a college degree is absolutely necessary these days. After Andy graduates from college he can do anything he chooses, but we desperately want him to have a college degree first. -- ANDY'S MOTHER
DEAR MOTHER: I disagree. College is NOT for everybody. If Andy prefers to work with his hands, that's what he should do.
It's not true that people work with their hands because they aren't smart enough to work with their minds. Some handwork requires more skill, talent and know-how than many professions. You do your son a tremendous disservice by telling him he's "disappointed you" and urging him to go to college. Change your tune.
DEAR ABBY: I just read in a local newspaper that a clergyman urges a ban on babies attending church. After what happened at our church last Sunday, I have to agree with him.
Today, parents dress up their kids real cute and take them to church to show them off, but they don't discipline them.
One little girl about 18 months old did everything but swing from the chandelier, and all her mother did was "shush" her by putting her fingers to her lips. Her brother (about 8) kept stirring her up by poking her, and the mother just gave him a few dirty looks.
Another child sitting behind me kept trying to grab my earrings. When I turned around and glared, her mother just smiled. At one point, when announcements were made over the loudspeaker, there was so much commotion from kids yelling that no one could hear the announcements.
The minister was disgusted, but he didn't have the courage to say anything. He should have told the mothers of those unruly children to take them to the bathroom and give them a good learning experience!
What do you think? I am ... HOPPING MAD IN POCATELLO, IDAHO
DEAR HOPPING: I think you're right. Parents who love their children discipline them. And contrary to common belief, "to discipline" does not mean "to punish." It means "to teach."
"How to Be Popular" is an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more attractive person. To order, send a long, business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054. (Postage is included.)