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DEAR ABBY: I'm writing about your response to "Disappointed in Seattle" regarding security in marriage. You above all should know that marriage does not necessarily mean security. You have printed enough letters from victims of marriages to have responded differently.
Abby, there are con-men, gamblers, alcoholics, abusers, and people who just abandon mates and children. Finding security in marriage is like catching a feather in the wind -- some catch it, most don't, no matter how hard they try.
Want security? Get your own job, open a bank account, and earn some self-esteem and confidence. Don't rely on someone else for your security. -- JOAN C. IN BAY SHORE, N.Y.
DEAR JOAN: While I agree that a marriage certificate is not a one-way ticket to easy street, the kind of security to which I was referring were rights of inheritance and, should illness strike, the authority to instruct doctors about each other's wishes.