DEAR READERS: To my delight, I learned that world-famous evangelist Billy Graham quoted from my column in Minneapolis recently. I have run the letter several times, but here it is again:

DEAR ABBY: A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in that affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate an automobile. "Bill" and his father had spent months looking at cars, and the week before graduation, they found the perfect car.

On the eve of his graduation, his father handed him a gift-wrapped Bible. Bill was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again. It was the news of his father's death that brought Bill home again.

As he sat one night going through his father's possessions that he was to inherit, he came across the Bible his father had given him. He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier's check, dated the day of his graduation -- in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together. -- BECKAH FINK, TEXAS

DEAR BECKAH: I hope Bill read the Bible cover to cover, for it contained much that he needed to learn: "A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him." (Proverbs 17:25)

DEAR ABBY: I have to get something off my chest. If I don't, I'll continue having migraines from pent-up anger. My husband and I have an exceptional relationship -- or we did have until he took a business trip with his associates.

The first day he was gone was filled with tours, audits, business meetings, etc. In the evening, he called me since I was home with the flu. While I appreciated his thoughtfulness, when he explained the plans for the evening, I became upset. I wasn't happy about his going to a strip show, but I couldn't talk him out of it. (He said he had to go along with the boss's plans so he wouldn't be branded a henpecked husband.)

About 1:30 in the morning, he called from the club and tried to convince me that the "good ole boys" conduct their business this way, and if he wanted to advance with the company, he had to follow suit. He was not exactly sober when he called.

I trust my husband, and I know that strippers don't date their customers (besides, I'm pretty good-looking myself), but I think it's disgraceful that wives have to put up with this kind of trash in the name of doing business. My husband argues that I don't understand the corporate world, and don't have a clue about what it takes to succeed.

Abby, am I out of touch, or is my husband trying to sell me a bill of goods? -- TIRED OF OUT-OF-TOWN MONKEY BUSINESS

DEAR TIRED: You are not out of touch, and your husband is trying to sell you a bill of goods. Tell him you're not buying.

YOUR CHUCKLE FOR THE DAY: "If I had done everything I'm credited with, I'd be speaking to you from a laboratory jar at Harvard." -- FRANK SINATRA

To receive a collection of Abby's most memorable -- and most frequently requested -- poems and essays, send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby's "Keepers," P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: We are a group of women who meet each week to play cards. Last week one women mentioned she had promised to baby-sit her 2-year-old grandson while her son and daughter-in-law go away for the weekend.

She indicated she really wasn't looking forward to caring for the child, and that if he resisted her attempts to put him to sleep, she would "give him a little something" to make him sleep. This woman's husband is a dentist and they have any number of drugs available to them.

When we expressed our shock over what she was planning to do, she brushed us off and said it was perfectly all right, because she and her husband had done the same thing to their own children when they were small.

We are tempted to notify the child's parents. Please help us decide what to do. -- LONG ISLAND CANASTA LADIES

DEAR LONG ISLAND LADIES: Children are not miniature adults; their bodies are developing and they respond to medication differently than do adults. Children should never be given alcohol or any medication unless prescribed by a pediatrician.

Grandma needs to be educated before she is entrusted with a 2-year-old. Tell her that unless she changes her mind, you will feel compelled to inform the child's parents.

DEAR ABBY: I am a man who by most people's standards would be considered normal. I am an architect in my late 40s and lead an average life, except for my hobby: baton twirling.

I have been fascinated with baton twirling since I was a boy. I never took it up, however, for fear of appearing effeminate. Now that I am a man and comfortable with my masculinity, I twirl in my home or back yard during my leisure moments. Abby, I cannot describe to you how much flak I have received about this.

While baton twirling may be an unusual hobby, I don't see what is so wrong with it. What do you think? I am unashamed, and proud to print my name. -- MICHAEL DEIBELE, PORTLAND, ORE.

DEAR MICHAEL: Baton twirling is an admirable feat. It require perfect timing as well as nimble fingers. If you wore a tall hat and had a marching band behind you, no one would give it a second thought. Besides, I would rather see men twirling batons than hurling them. Enjoy yourself.

DEAR ABBY: For some time now, I have been meaning to write to you about something that concerns me. I'm a catalog shopper and I'm distressed to see how many children's items are made to be monogrammed for a small charge. It is very tempting to put a child's name on something, but it is so dangerous if the item is one that will be used in public -- either worn, carried or played with.

With a child's name spelled out for those who would wish to do the child harm, it is all the more easy for them to call the child by name and thereby allay any fears the child might have of strangers. After all, if someone calls you by your name, he or she must know you.

Please caution mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and gift-givers to refrain from putting children's names on items they will use in public. I think you will be doing a great service to the safety of children by doing so. -- BETTE K. STEWARD, BRIDGEWATER, MASS.

DEAR BETTE STEWART: I've had this warning in my column several times, but one cannot alert the public too often when the welfare of our children is concerned.

To order "How to Write Letters for All Occasions," send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Letter Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: I recently read your column in which you quoted disgruntled jurors. I believe you have given the wrong impression to your readers.

I have been a trial judge for 25 years and have presided over literally thousands of jury trials. For many years I even gave jurors forms on which they could anonymously give me their complaints. With rare exception, nobody disparaged jury service as did your readers. Most thought it was not only their duty, but a privilege to serve.

Some of your correspondents suggest we abolish juries and have professional jurors and judges as fact finders. They might be interested to know that this was the system used in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, resulting in millions dying in concentration camps.

The reason for the Magna Carta and the Sixth and Seventh Amendments in the Bill of Rights was to curtail the absolute power of the sovereign and allow judgments to be made by one's peers.

The jury system rightly has been called the "cornerstone of democracy." Americans should be proud to serve as jurors. They should be paid a very substantial fee for their services -- and parenthetically, those employers who refuse to continue to pay their employees' wages while they are serving as jurors should be jailed. -- ROBERT E. DAUER, PRESIDENT JUDGE, ALLEGHENY COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, PITTSBURGH

DEAR ABBY: Our dad was married to his second wife for 20 years. He recently died.

Our stepmom is a nice lady, but she seldom invited us to their home when Dad was living, and now that he is gone, we never see her.

We're not interested in Dad's money; we just wish that we could each have a memento of his. We asked her once, but nothing happened. She has already given away (or sold) most of Dad's things.

Should we ask her if there is anything left that we could buy? -- HURT IN RENTON, WASH.

DEAR HURT: Yes. And I suggest you hurry.

DEAR ABBY: I am one of a group of ladies who meet once a week for Bible study. We are all very congenial and I enjoy the meetings.

Now, my problem: Every week we take turns preparing a nice lunch, but one lady (I'll call her Sally) always brings her own lunch -- a large salad. She claims she is on a diet and the food prepared by the hostess would sabotage her diet.

I think this is extremely rude and an insult to the hostess. I voiced my opinion to a friend, and she said she saw no harm in Sally's behavior. I must add that Sally is far from discreet about eating her "lunch." I think it would be more polite to eat a small portion of the prepared meal provided by the hostess.

What do you think, Abby? We will abide by your opinion. -- STEAMED

DEAR STEAMED: Sorry, I vote for Sally's right to stick with her diet. (What's eating YOU?)

What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS, and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." To order, send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)