DEAR ABBY: Will you take one more comment about children at weddings?

Traditions defining many public ceremonies arose in times when the only public record was the public recollection. Centuries ago, before publicly recorded deeds secured property owners' rights, buyers and sellers would gather witnesses, including 10 small boys, and define the boundaries before exchanging a bag of gold for a symbolic clump of dirt. The men would then beat the boys to fix the transaction in their memories. This provided witnesses able to attest to the land sale covenant in the event a dispute arose, even decades later, in spite of limited life expectancies. I discovered this fact while researching land sales during law school.

It is my understanding that weddings included children for similar reasons. Celebrations, parades through the streets and processions into the church provided a positive reinforcement to the memories of the young children included to preserve a good public "record" of the marriage covenant. Modern ring bearers and flower girls apparently represent a remnant of this tradition. If correct, the tradition explains why such participants should be old enough to be cognizant, but otherwise very young.

Regardless of the reasons, sniffling, giggling, chattering children, missing their cues in the procession or fidgeting among the witnesses, remind me that some element of the family and community can attest to the vows long after the other witnesses and I are gone. In my opinion, a ceremony that excludes children misses the point of a public ceremony. -- BENJAMIN PITTS, CHATTANOOGA, TENN.

DEAR BENJAMIN: Thank you for a fascinating letter. However, let's agree to disagree on the subject of children at weddings. Older children, who know how to behave and are aware of their surroundings, can certainly be invited to share the festivities. Small children, with short attention spans, are disruptive and should not attend a wedding unless specifically invited.

P.S. Thank God society has progressed beyond beating boys to record real-estate transactions.

DEAR ABBY: I work with a team of 10 individuals in an open cubicle situation in customer service, so we have periods of downtime during the course of the day.

We have two team members who cannot be quiet! They have an opinion about everything and anything, and ramble on without regard to anyone's privacy. If no one is talking to them, they stand and strike up a conversation without encouragement, leaving the rest of us to listen to them babble on and on.

Since I work on creative writing projects, or read books during our slack periods, I feel uncomfortable complaining about them because they are not interfering with my work for the company. I brought this to our supervisor's attention and she was unwilling to intervene. I tried asking the whole team in a nice way to quiet down and preserve a more professional environment, but the talk continues. How can I make these guys get the message: "Say what you have to say, keep it short, then sit down and be quiet"? -- GOING CRAZY IN COLUMBUS, OHIO

DEAR GOING CRAZY: Since your supervisor declined to intervene, bring headphones to work and wear them during your downtime. (Whether or not sound is coming out is your business.) People whose main entertainment is hearing themselves talk are usually unable to believe that everyone around them isn't fascinated by their chatter.

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: As I have watched and cried about the tragedy in Littleton, I have wondered what I could do to help. Today I am writing in the hope that my family's experience with our teen-age son may help other parents.

When my son was a sophomore, our previously reasonable boy began acting out in an angry, defiant and violent way. After several months of this unexplainable behavior, I discovered some hate-type drawings on the desk in his bedroom. I couldn't believe this was the work of my son. My husband and I had worked hard to create a strong, happy family, and our son had been involved in church, Scouting and sports for years.

One evening after an angry episode that left me in tears, it suddenly became clear that our family needed help. I told my husband we needed counseling to help us understand what was happening, but I did not feel comfortable admitting to our minister or doctor that our family was in such trouble.

Long before this happened, I had heard about a local counselor who worked with adolescent boys. We knew our son would be so resistant to the idea of counseling that we needed someone who spoke his language and understood the local high school scene. The next morning I could hardly breathe as I picked up the phone and called the counselor's office. It was the hardest thing I've ever done.

My husband and I met with the counselor the following week. When we told our son what we had done, and that we would be taking him for weekly appointments, he was very angry, but we did not give in.

After several months, we again met with the counselor. He did not disclose the specifics of his sessions with our son, but he did say our son felt intimidated and threatened by groups of older students at his large suburban high school. The counselor also gave us a short course in modern-day male adolescent development issues in the context of today's high school environment and recommended several books.

Gradually we began seeing a change in our son. I just thank God I had heard about that counselor years earlier. He helped save our son -- and our family. Our son graduated from high school and is a successful college student today. My hope is that the media will run stories identifying counselors who specialize in adolescents.

Abby, I know this is long, but I'm sure there are many other parents out there struggling with their teen's unexplainable behavior. -- A MOM WHO LOVES HER SON, ANYWHERE, U.S.A.

DEAR MOM: Your letter deserves space in this column, and I commend you for having recognized that you had a serious problem brewing in your family and for seeking professional help before it got out of hand.

DEAR ABBY: I would like to offer another answer to "June Bride," who wrote to ask if she was obligated to invite the several single people on her wedding list to bring a guest.

My son was invited to a wedding as a single 12 years ago. He was seated at a table with other single guests. He caught the garter; she caught the bouquet.

We now have a wonderful daughter-in-law and three beautiful grandchildren because they were invited to the wedding as singles. -- MICHELLE'S MOTHER-IN-LAW

DEAR MOTHER-IN-LAW: What a delightful story. I'm not surprised that a romance blossomed -- love was in the air!

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.)

DEAR ABBY: I have read and enjoyed your wisdom, humor and honesty for many, many years and have always been impressed with your openness to different points of view. In that spirit, I offer mine:

I'm writing in response to the plight of "Sara," whose friends are angry with "Sam," a new boyfriend who beats her. At a party, the hostess wanted to attack Sam for this behavior, but feared this would cause him to beat Sara even more, so the guests were polite and did nothing. You replied that you would have done likewise for the same reason. You advised the hostess to tell Sara she doesn't have to tolerate Sam's abuse, that he won't change without counseling and to leave the relationship.

As a retired marriage and family counselor, may I offer a different perspective? The problem here is not Sam so much as Sara, who, I'm sure, knows already what you advised her friends to tell her. The fact that she can't take care of herself is the real issue. Personal counseling and attending Codependents Anonymous would help her disarm what appears to be an inner, self-destructive refusal to take action on her own behalf.

By complaining to her friends while doing nothing herself, she has initiated a "game" of what Eric Berne called "Ain't It Awful?" Here are the rules: Friends suggest and cajole, Sara admits they are right -- but does nothing. Each beating makes the friends angrier and Sara a more dramatic victim. The game continues until the friends tire or Sara changes.

The issue is really NOT Sam, villain though he is, because he, too, is only acting out what he believes is appropriate in relationships. I hope Sara and Sam find the strength to seek the help they both need. -- HOWARD D. BOTT, SAN MATEO, CALIF.

DEAR HOWARD: I, too, hope they both find the strength to get help. Whether Sam will do it or not depends on what type of batterer he is. If he's one of the minority who have a conscience and a sincere desire to change, there is hope for him.

As for Sara, people with low self-esteem can come to believe they are somehow responsible for the abuse they attract. However, it's possible that she's seeking reinforcement from her friends to gather the strength to do something positive for herself, like dump Sam. The problem battered women face is fear that no one else will want them -- and their batterer reinforces it while promising to change.

DEAR ABBY: I am now in the 20th year of my second marriage. My husband and I have children from our previous marriages. Now, after two decades of commingling our funds and working to secure a future for ourselves in our retirement years, my spouse has requested that we split everything and put it in separate individual names so that he will be able to leave his half of our assets to his children when he passes away. He feels that he will die before me, and it would not be fair to his children to be required to wait until I pass away before they receive his half of our assets. He also feels that there will be enough for me to survive on with my half of our assets.

Please print your answer and do not reveal my name or location. -- SECOND TIME AROUND AND WONDERING

DEAR SECOND TIME AROUND: If after 20 years your husband has decided to split your assets, stop wondering and consult an attorney immediately. I don't know what the marital property laws are in your state, but you need more advice than I could possibly offer in one column.

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.)