DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are newly married and have been working for a large, well-known retail store for several years.

When a store posts its hours on the front door, there is no excuse for a customer to waltz in three minutes before closing time and expect to shop the entire store. Even if no hours are posted, one can assume that the doors will be closing at 9 p.m. This is standard for retail stores. (Holidays and weekends may vary.)

Almost every night people stroll in three to five minutes before closing time. We will approach them and ask, "Is there anything I can help you find?" Invariably they say, "No, thanks. I'm just looking." (On rare occasions, a considerate customer will say, "Oh, thank you, I'll come back tomorrow.") Thirty minutes after we have locked the doors and are waiting to close the registers, these "lookie-loos" stroll out, without so much as a thank-you or apology.

How I wish I could say, "You may have nothing to do and nowhere to go, but most of us clerks have families waiting for us at home, sometimes a hot dinner cooling on the table, or a child waiting for a goodnight kiss. We're tired and want to get out of the store. Please give us a break." -- ANONYMOUS, NATURALLY

DEAR ANONYMOUS: Some stores have public address systems over which they announce that the store will be closing in 15 minutes, and it's the policy in others to flash the overhead lights to signal closing time. In others, clerks are allowed to approach the late customer and say, "We are closing in three minutes. May I help you find something?"

Discuss closing policies with your manager to determine if one of these practices can be instituted in your store.

DEAR ABBY: This is in response to the letter about using closed military bases for vocational schools. I'm not criticizing the idea, but I am criticizing the writer's misconception of vocational school students. I was offended at his statement that those of us who attend these schools are disadvantaged kids who are not college material.

I am a girl completing 10th grade at a vocational-technical high school in Delaware. Students must achieve a certain grade point average and fill out an application even to be accepted into this school. If they get into any trouble or don't keep up their grades, they are removed from the school. Furthermore, 60 percent of the students here go on to college after graduation.

My grandmother told me that vocational schools were first established for disadvantaged "problem children," but times have changed since Granny's day. These schools are not for dumb kids who come to learn a trade because they'll never do anything else productive in their lives. Students at my school are intelligent and excel academically as well as in their "shops."

Abby, people need to change their views about vocational schools. I speak for many of us students when I say that we are not "disadvantaged" and we are, indeed, "college material." -- HONOR STUDENT ATTENDING VOCATIONAL SCHOOL IN DELAWARE

DEAR HONOR STUDENT: Thank you for righting this misconception. You are living proof that vocational students can be college material. There are also students attending vocational schools who are learning a trade to provide themselves with comfortable livelihoods. My hat is off to them.

Good advice for everyone -- teens to seniors -- is in "The Anger in All of Us and How to Deal With It." To order, send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: I need your opinion on a very unusual subject. I am a single guy with a "foot fetish." I have this tremendous fantasy of worshipping women's feet -- bare or with stockings. I love to do everything from kissing and sniffing their feet to sucking their toes.

My question to you, Abby: How common is this fetish among guys, and is it curable? -- RAY IN CANADA

DEAR RAY: Having a foot fetish simply means that you are "turned on" (sexually stimulated) by feet. It's nothing new, and it's not dangerous. If you want to know what causes it, a psychotherapist could probably dig it out of your subconscious. Or, if you find a willing "sole-mate," you can explore the reason together.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are hurt and angry about a thank-you note our niece sent us for the $50 we gave her for her high school graduation. Her friends might think it was funny, but we don't.

The note read: "Uncle Jack and Aunt Judy: Thank you for the dollars and the card. Screw college! The cash will be used on wiser things, like a trip to Acapulco, Mexico (and alcohol). Love, Sally."

Should we let Sally and her mother know how we feel? Or should we just give her gifts instead of money from now on? -- IRRITATED IN MICHIGAN

DEAR IRRITATED: Don't be so hard on your niece. She is no doubt feeling independent now that she is about to be out on her own, and she was trying to be funny. At least you received a thank-you note. There is nothing to be gained by confronting Sally and her mother. And by all means, in the future, send her gifts instead of cash if you're afraid she'll spend the money frivolously.

DEAR ABBY: I am a 53-year-old widow with four grown children who are not financially well-off. My deceased husband left me fairly well-fixed financially. I have several bank accounts that I share jointly with my 28-year-old son. The house is in my name alone.

I recently met a very attractive man. We're discussing marriage, and he has moved in with me. He is twice-divorced and claims he doesn't have anything -- just an old car and some furniture he's had in storage since he moved in with me. I have a small joint bank account with him.

Abby, do you think I need a prenuptial agreement? He is an honest, decent man. -- UNCERTAIN IN UTAH

DEAR UNCERTAIN: I think a prenuptial agreement is an excellent idea. Put everything in writing before you tie the knot. Good luck and best wishes.

DEAR ABBY: I'd like to add to your collection of random acts of kindness.

I live in a retirement community of about 125 ranch homes. Two neighborhood men get up for an early walk every morning. As they pass the homes that have newspapers delivered there, they pick up the papers that have been pitched into bushes or slightly off the porches, and place them near the front doors -- rain or shine. Isn't that nice? -- SUN CITY SENIOR

DEAR SENIOR: Yes, it's very nice. The two men who perform this generous service daily receive instant rewards from the healthful exercise, but they also deserve verbal thanks. Hooray for them -- and hooray to you for citing their daily good deeds.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: A column you published in 1977 saved my life. I was 4 years old and having dinner with my family. My father, sitting across from me, noticed that I was turning blue. My mother realized I was choking on a piece of potato. Just the week before, having read about it in your column, she had learned how to do the Heimlich maneuver. She performed the maneuver on me and successfully dislodged the potato.

Abby, please urge everyone to learn this technique. You never know whose life you may save. -- INGRID, WILTON, CONN.

DEAR INGRID: I'm delighted you reminded me how vitally important it is to know the Heimlich maneuver. Your family's experience says it all.

For those who are not familiar with the Heimlich maneuver, call your American Red Cross and ask for a schedule of classes or demonstrations. Remember to learn the variation for infants and children as well as the standard adult procedure. (Fees/donations for classes vary by location.)

DEAR ABBY: This is in response to "Examining Life in Ohio," who seemed to have a solid marriage, but didn't think she had married her "soul mate."

I am 60 years old and have had two husbands and six gentleman friends throughout the years. I have never felt the giddy, swept-away feeling of being "in love," and I've decided that's OK by me.

Too many young women marry someone who "turns them on" only to find out some years later after the passion wanes (and it does) that they've married someone who lacks the qualities to sustain a long-standing, loving relationship. Far too many women pass up perfectly good potential mates while waiting for "Mr. Right" to come along and light their fire.

I've talked to other women who also have never been "in love," so I know there are many of us out there. One of the things we seem to have in common is a logical, rather analytical way of thinking. -- DONE EXAMINING, WHITTIER, CALIF.

DEAR DONE EXAMINING: I have received a flurry of letters from readers who agree that a flaming passion is not the most important ingredient for a solid marriage. Read on for some input from the clergy:

DEAR ABBY: I am a pastor and have been involved in marital and premarital counseling during my 10 years of ministry. My experience has taught me that happiness and passion in marriages do not come from finding the "right" partner, but in BEING the right partner.

I once heard about a woman who was unhappy in her marriage and angry at her husband. When she went to her lawyer to begin divorce proceedings, she asked his advice on what she could do to really hurt her lousy husband. The lawyer thought for a moment, and suggested that for the next couple of months she love him and romance him with every ounce of her being, and once he was happy and fulfilled, she serve him with the divorce papers. "It will rip his heart out," the lawyer promised.

The woman followed his advice. Several months later she returned to the lawyer's office. He handed her the divorce papers to examine before serving them to her husband, and the woman replied, "I won't be needing them now. We're getting ready to leave on our second honeymoon." -- THE REV. SCOTT WOODDELL, FORT WORTH, TEXAS

DEAR REV. WOODDELL: There is much wisdom in your letter. The secret to a successful marriage is two people willing to work and sacrifice for the happiness of each other.

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more attractive person, order "How to Be Popular." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)