DEAR ABBY: Want another letter for your "Can you top this?" file? I have one for you.
My wife and I were invited to a 25th wedding anniversary party for my brother and his wife. We arrived with a gift, as did the other guests. It was a lovely gathering, and everyone congratulated "Bob and Mary" on their 25 wedded years.
A little over a year ago, Bob and Mary "separated." Imagine our family's surprise when Bob revealed that he and Mary had been divorced eight years earlier! Our family had no idea and neither did their friends.
Abby, this couple thought they were "entitled" to a 25th anniversary party and all the presents that go with it -- which they kept, by the way. Some folks will do anything for gifts, I guess. -- DISILLUSIONED IN VIRGINIA
DEAR DISILLUSIONED: Some people will do almost anything to keep up appearances. But faking a marriage eight years after the union has been dissolved is carrying things a bit too far -- and accepting 25th anniversary gifts for a marriage that's been over for almost a decade is out of the ballpark.