DEAR ABBY: I have wonderful neighbors. They own a fish market in Chinatown. Since they moved in three years ago, he has given me fish almost every other week. My dilemma is, he speaks almost no English, and she speaks only broken English. Some of the fish he gives me I don't use, so I offer it to another neighbor or throw it out.
I would like to tell him which fish I prefer, but don't want to seem ungrateful or like it's shopping from home. Any suggestions on how to handle this? -- GRATEFUL IN NEW YORK
DEAR GRATEFUL: You might "innocently" mention which fish you especially appreciate when he brings it to you, but other than that, I think you should be grateful for your neighbor's generosity and forget about "placing an order" for something you're not paying for. You should also make an effort to reciprocate in some way so the man and his wife are not doing all the giving.