DEAR ABBY: I read with great interest the letter from the American sailor with the Filipina wife. The lady is jealous of her husband's absences.
I was in the same situation when I was in the Navy and married my wife, also a Filipina. "Sasebo Sailor" needs to get into the local group of Filipinos in our Navy. (Our Navy recruited Filipinos in the Philippines until 1992.) If "Sailor" and his wife became socially involved in this group, she would no longer be anxious when her husband deploys.
The "bamboo pipeline" (Asian gossip) has more connections than any phone company and it's far more efficient. The Filipina (woman) will be assured that her husband is not availing himself of any other women, plus she will have a support network of people from her homeland.
My wife and I have been married for 11 years, are still very much in love, and have learned to live with our cultural differences. There are reasons why many Asian women prefer American men, and there are many American men who are crazy about their Oriental wives. -- JOE CHASSE, SAGINAW, TEXAS