DEAR ABBY: On a recent trip back East, my father reunited with his childhood sweetheart and is now seeking a divorce after 32 years of marriage to my mother. Apparently my father has never gotten over this woman and had pined away for her since the day he married my mother.
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The trouble is, he feels the need to tell everyone (including friends, family, strangers and my new boyfriend) about his dilemma in complete detail. He goes on and on about how terrible my mother is, why he needs to leave her and be with this other woman, etc.
How can I approach my father on the subject of appropriateness? I would like to tell him to put a lid on it, but then he pouts because he feels I'm not "supporting" him. Have you any suggestions, Abby? He doesn't need to be airing our family laundry in such detail with each and every person he encounters. -– THROWN FOR A LOOP IN L.A.
DEAR THROWN FOR A LOOP: Tell him exactly what you have told me and don't mince any words, because you are absolutely right. Also, don't count on muzzling the old dog. He's trying to justify throwing away his marriage and abandoning the wife he "tolerated" for 32 years. And frankly, he's only making himself look bad.