DEAR ABBY: Here is my 2 cents for "Bent Out of Shape in San Francisco." It is sad that he lost his car and tried to keep the female, but his priorities are screwed up. They should be:
1. Fix car.
2. Dump girlfriend.
Since he bought the car 30 years ago, he is about my age (50). I, too, have a classic car that I drove off the dealer's lot in 1968. I've never found a woman I would trade the car for. Classic cars are too hard to find nowadays, and the restoration costs are high.
Most of the women I've met bailed out when the going got tough, and yet my car (and motorcycle) are still there taking me to job interviews and getting me through the difficult times.
It's far better to be alone and lonely than to be married and lonely. -- PAT IN FONTANA, CALIF.
DEAR PAT: Sorry about your bad luck with females. However, far more women stick it out rather than bail out when times get tough. Fiftieth wedding anniversaries are common, and that's testimony to the ability of many females to last for the duration of a run of bad luck. Furthermore, they're a lot softer and warmer to snuggle up to than cold steel and leather on a chilly night.