DEAR ABBY: Our family just returned from a funeral, and "Aunt Mabel" is enjoying one of her favorite pastimes. She loves to discuss in great detail the survivors' reactions. She will tell anyone who will listen the exact reaction of each loved one when they heard the bad news and how they are "holding up."
I hate the thought that she'll be discussing me that way someday. It violates my sense of privacy for the people she is gossiping about.
This isn't just a nervous reaction on her part. Aunt Mabel will be telling the same stories with relish three years from now.
Is this a common topic of conversation? Are there some privacy issues here? What would be an appropriate reaction next time she launches into her blow-by-blow of grief? -- MABEL'S NIECE
DEAR NIECE: You have described someone who has nothing else to talk about and who takes pleasure in the pain of others. The next time Aunt Mabel raises the subject, tell her that hearing about people's emotional pain depresses you. Then ask her if she's seen any good movies lately -- or the latest episode of "Dancing With the Stars."