DEAR ABBY: I have lived, so far, through eight years of hell with my husband. The one year of heaven was the year before we were married. I won't go into the hell I have been put through, I just want your definition of a real man. If you put this in the paper, please don't reveal my name. - - NEEDS TO KNOW IN SACRAMENTO
DEAR NEEDS TO KNOW: I'm willing to bet that if you asked 10 people for their definition of a "real man," you'd get a different answer from each one. However, to me, a "real man" is a person of the male gender who lives his life with integrity, puts his responsibility toward his family before his own selfish interests, and doesn't have to prove to himself or others that he is a "real man."