DEAR ABBY: I have a co-worker who is always picking at everyone's food. At lunch or at break time, people hurry to eat before "Sam" comes into the lunchroom because he goes around helping himself to everyone's food. He doesn't even ask permission first.

People have told Sam it's all they have, but it doesn't faze him. He just finds a way to joke about it. These employees don't want to speak up because Sam is their supervisor.

Sam also creates a problem for the people in the front office. He goes to the front office every day and takes the candy they set out for customers and fellow employees to enjoy. He fills his pockets full and returns to "visit" several times a day until the candy is gone. This has gone on every single day for the past three years. Human Resources refuses to get involved.

How can I stop this? Sam is my co-worker and friend, and I'm the type of person who cannot hurt his feelings. How should I handle this? -- HUNGRY IN MADISON HEIGHTS, MICH.

DEAR HUNGRY: Sam's behavior is extremely inappropriate, and if he's been pigging out on everyone's candy for three years, I'm surprised his doctor hasn't told him he has to cut back on the sugar and fat.

He will continue this behavior until enough people -- and that includes you -- gather the courage to tell him "NO!" firmly and consistently enough that the message gets through.

As to the employees in the front office, their candy should be kept out of sight in their desk drawers and taken out and offered only to those customers and employees with whom they want to share it.

DEAR ABBY: I am currently a senior in high school and having the time of my life. But with only a couple of months until graduation, I can't get past the fact that this will soon be over, and we'll all go our separate ways.

Everyone's talking about where they're going to college, and how exciting it's going to be when they get there. Everyone except me, that is. I didn't get into the schools I really wanted to go to. I'm just happy being in high school. It's all I ever think about, and I get incredibly depressed thinking, "Oh, this will be our last Easter together," or, "It sucks that this is our last high school prom."

I don't want it to end, and I know the closer graduation comes the more I'm going to get freaked out about it. I try my best to make the most of every day and enjoy it while it lasts, but I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't sad about it. Am I the only one going through this? -- ERIC IN MINNEAPOLIS

DEAR ERIC: Of course you're not. There are big changes coming in the lives of every member of your senior class, and not everyone welcomes change without some degree of anxiety or even sadness. Please don't let these feelings ruin your present.

Although you may not be attending "your college of choice," you will be meeting new people, learning new things -- and who's to say that you can't transfer to another school in your junior year if you apply yourself and do well?

I am sure that if you discuss this with a trusted teacher or school counselor you will be assured that your feelings are typical of many seniors -- and excitement and challenges await you in the months and years to come. That's something to look forward to, not something to be afraid of. Trust me.

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 $6 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included in the price.)

DEAR ABBY: I'm writing in response to the letter from "Teresa in Daytona, Fla." (Jan. 14), who said she loves her husband dearly in the daytime, but at night she'd like to file for divorce. She said that the night before she wrote you, she'd had a nightmare that a growling animal was stalking her and awoke to find the noise was coming from him.

The same problem existed in my marriage -- but I was the problem, not my husband. I am a young wife and former snorer who underwent a sleep study at a sleep disorder clinic in order to appease my husband. The data collected from the sleep study led to procedures on my nose, tonsils and tongue that not only cured the snoring, but also improved my overall quality of life. -- QUIET SLEEPER IN SAN FRANCISCO

DEAR QUIET SLEEPER: Bless you for sharing the solution to your problem. The letters I received from readers who identified with "Teresa" and wanted to offer help were varied and enlightening. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: My husband snores so loud that he can be heard from the other side of the house. Sleeping in one of the other bedrooms isn't an option for me simply because, "ahem," we are married.

I have found that disposable 32-decibel earplugs, the kind that are used for shooting handguns and can be found in almost any sporting goods section or store, make for a more peaceful night's rest. (The 32-decibel is the highest range I have found.) They're made of a soft, comfortable foam, are very inexpensive and they have saved me countless sleepless nights and grouchy mornings. -- TAMMY IN CROWLEY, TEXAS

DEAR ABBY: My husband snores like Teresa's. For years I was awakened repeatedly throughout the night. I kept getting sick with colds and flu, which grew more severe. I became less effective at work and almost lost my job.

I now use a hearing protection headset I bought at an industrial safety store. (It's the kind worn by the workers on airport runways while they guide the jet planes to the dock.) Snoring and jet airplane engines are in about the same sound range, and the headset cuts 90 to 95 percent of the noise.

They cost about $60 and take some getting used to, but an added advantage is they also eliminate being awakened by garbage trucks, traffic noise or noisy people in hotel hallways. -- SLEEPING WELL NOW IN STOCKTON

DEAR ABBY: May I offer my two cents to Teresa with the snoring spouse? If he doesn't have sleep apnea, as she says, then he should ask his dentist about a "snore guard."

I have been providing this service to my patients for several years, after making one for my stepfather. My mother suffered for years with his snoring until I made one for him.

The procedure is simple and painless. The dentist takes impressions (or molds) of the patient's teeth and sends them to a laboratory, which then fabricates the guard. It's a clear plastic device that covers the patient's teeth, similar to the ones worn by patients who clench or grind their teeth at night. -- DR. CAROLINE C. IN ILLINOIS

DEAR ABBY: Please tell Teresa to take her husband to a doctor immediately. My husband snored loudly; I thought nothing of it. Then my co-worker's husband died of sleep apnea. I dragged my husband to the doctor, and per the specialists at Stanford Hospital, he had the worst case in recorded medical history. They said it was a miracle he was still alive. Please urge Teresa -- not just advise -- that she run, not walk, her husband to a doctor. -- THANKFUL I DID IN DAVIS, CALIF.

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-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $6 (U.S. funds only) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating "Crystal" for about a year. For the last seven months we shared a house together. We live in a very small town, and to make extra money as well as have something to occupy her time, Crystal started her own business. It has not been going well, and to top it off, I was laid off from my job.

Crystal decided to return to the city where she was living before I met her and take up her old job. She finally admitted to me, days after I proposed marriage, that she is a paid escort.

To me it is morally wrong, but she sees nothing wrong with it. I agreed to let her do it -- with limitations -- meaning nothing illegal or sexual. But I still have a problem with her going out with strange men for money. I also don't like the thought of her sharing her company this way.

Crystal insists that she's doing nothing wrong and now she is upset with me for having a problem with it. Am I wrong for feeling the way I do? I am teetering on the edge of telling her goodbye. -- TEETERING IN MONTANA

DEAR TEETERING: Please "teeter" no more, because I am giving you the little push you need to straighten out your thinking. Your feelings are your feelings, and you are entitled to them. Most men when confronted with this question would feel just the way you do. So face the fact that you and Crystal have very different values, and let her go.

DEAR ABBY: I have two stepchildren whom I love dearly. The older one, "Dawn," went through a difficult divorce and got bad credit because of it. Dawn is a single mother and has no major credit cards she could use in case of emergency, so I put her on one of mine that I don't use. I told her to use it as she saw fit, so she would have something to fall back on should something happen. It had a limit of $1,000.

In the year and a half that Dawn has had the card, the limit has gone to $1,800. However, she has missed some payments, and several over-the-limit fees have been assessed. The last time, I confronted her about the situation and she blew up at me and said that I had told her to use the card "as she saw fit."

Abby, I don't have the heart to remind Dawn that she's damaging MY credit with her poor payment history. (I can ill afford to assume the payments.) I have been denied credit because of this and have lost points off my credit score. I feel I am being punished for trying to be nice. I also hesitate bringing it up because I love my granddaughter to death, and I'm afraid Dawn won't bring her around if I mention something. What should I do? -- NERVOUS AND ANGRY

DEAR NERVOUS AND ANGRY: You were extremely kind to have given your stepdaughter your credit card as a safety net in case of an emergency. However, your mistake was in telling her it could be used "as she saw fit" without giving her realistic guidelines, because it seems she "saw fit" to use the card irresponsibly.

Please do not allow this mess to continue out of fear that your grandchild will be used as leverage. You have already been damaged enough, and this will continue as long as you continue to allow it. It is imperative that, for your own financial health -- not to mention your peace of mind -- that you cancel the card immediately. Sadly, if your stepdaughter does not make good on the balance, you are going to have to, and that's reality.

Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: "Abby's Favorite Recipes" and "More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby." Send a business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $12 (U.S. funds)

to: Dear Abby -- Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included in price.)