DEAR ABBY: I have been thinking about writing to you for a long time to share a memory about my mother, who lived to be 93 years old.
She spent the last seven years of her life with my husband and me. Every morning we had breakfast together and read the newspaper. Our favorite column was "Dear Abby."
One morning I glanced up and saw a small curl of smoke rising from the section of the newspaper she was reading. I thought, "Abby must have a hot article in her column today!"
The source of the smoke soon became apparent. Mother's eyesight was poor, and she was using a magnifying glass to read. The sun was shining through the window and the angle was just right for the rays to pass through the magnifying glass onto the paper. She was so engrossed in your column that at first she didn't notice the heat was burning a hole in the newspaper!
Needless to say, I corrected the problem immediately. -- MAY FREISINGER, MISSION VIEJO, CALIF.
DEAR MAY: I've taken a lot of heat for some of the letters I've printed, but nothing like what you've described. Thanks for sharing the memory.