DEAR ABBY: Recently my mother and I got into an argument on a four-hour road trip. She didn't like my opinions or my answers, so she kicked my 17-year-old daughter and me out of her vehicle and abandoned us in an unsafe neighborhood two hours from our home. She has done it twice before, and I have yet to hear an apology from her for dumping us on the curb.
Luckily, my son was able to come and retrieve us. Most people would have cut her off the first time she pulled this stunt, but I'm a "three-strikes-you're-out" kind of person. I have given my mother many opportunities to apologize for her behavior, but she refuses to acknowledge her own wrongdoing.
I have decided this is the last time this will happen to me. I no longer speak to her and won't allow my daughter to go anywhere with her for fear she will be dumped somewhere unsafe. My other kids -- ages 21 and 22 -- say I should get over it. Was cutting her off a reasonable response? -- THUMBIN' FOR A RIDE
DEAR THUMBIN': Your mother appears to have a short fuse and poor judgment. Is cutting her off a reasonable response? I think so. Dumping someone in an unsafe neighborhood could get the person killed, something we see all too often in the media. If you ever decide to relent, however, and go anywhere with her, make sure you are the one behind the wheel because it's clear Mama can't be trusted when she's in the driver's seat.