DEAR ABBY: Bravo to you for your recent response to the letter from the Canadian woman whose husband was in prison.
My father went to prison just before I was born. My mother always told me he was "in the Army," since, like your reader, she didn't think I was old enough to understand. Unfortunately, the neighborhood children didn't take my young age into consideration when they informed me that my father was a "jailbird."
Later, my mother apologized for her mistake in not being the one to tell me the truth, even though it wasn't pretty. She never lied to me again about anything, as she expected me to always be truthful with her.
How much better it will be for your Canadian reader's children to hear the truth from someone who can convey it to them in a loving, sensitive manner. They have the added bonus of their father not being guilty of the crime. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about my father. -- EVERGREEN, COLO.