DEAR ABBY: I am a middle-aged man with an older sister who criticizes the way I sneeze. She thinks my sneezing isn't "restrained" enough. It's not a question of direction or whether I put my hand in front of my mouth or not. She believes if I don't try to stifle my sneeze I'm uncouth. In my opinion, sneezing is a natural automatic response and serves to relieve whatever causes it. What do you think? -- SOMETHING TO SNEEZE AT
DEAR SOMETHING: I agree with you. And I am not convinced that trying to stifle a sneeze is healthy because it's nature's way of expelling something from the nose that is irritating. Sneeze away, and -- God bless you!