DEAR ABBY: Regarding the 19-year-old bride-to-be who resented being asked her age: The insensitive comments made to her by others had nothing to do with how old she looked. They were meant to suggest that she was making a big mistake because she was too young to be contemplating marriage. While statistics support the increased fragility of early marriages, those insensitive people should have trusted that "Irritated" and her fiancé had discussed the pros and cons and made a mutual decision to marry.
If some people believe that 19- and 20-year-olds are too young to take this important step, my advice to them is to keep their doubts to themselves, and wish the engaged couple the best of luck.
In the meantime, "Irritated" could just smile and respond, "Yes, we are young, but that means we'll have more happy years together." -- ROBIN CAUSEBECK, ROCKFORD, ILL.