Opinions

From his deathbed in May of 1863, in his final moments, Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson calmly said: “Let us cross over the river.” Jackson had spent the day fading in and out of consciousness, at times frantically shouting orders as if still in the fray of battle.

DEAR ABBY: I’m a 55-year-old man who dated a very special lady, “Dawn,” for 12 years. We were both married when we met. I fell in love with her, and after we divorced our spouses, we continued being together. I have two kids. Dawn didn’t get along with the older one.

DEARABBY: My 58-yearold husband recently shared a bed in our camper with a 21-year-old family friend. The friend is female. This happened in my absence.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are retired and happy. Each of us was married before. We’re not rich, but we get by without help from anyone. We have been blessed with a big family. Between us, we have six children, 15 grandchildren and a great grandchild.

DEAR ABBY: Ten years ago, I connected with “Christi,” a daughter I fathered with a woman I was in a relationship with for a short time decades ago. We split before Christi was born. My ex-girlfriend didn’t tell me about her until after she was born.

Simply kick and scream and pout until God makes everything good for you again. Maybe that way of dealing with your problems seems like a good idea to you. After all, you have been told repeatedly all your life that He is a good and loving God, who always wants the best for you.

Among other things, the holidays are a time of giving and receiving gifts. The question most often asked of people is, “what did you get?” Much less frequently asked is, “what did you give?” Invariably, the inquiries concern material gifts.

Memories from my childhood of Christmas included the morning we woke, hurried to the tree to see presents ’Santa’ brought. We could smell the cedar tree, the apples and oranges that were always in a big bowl nestled in pecans and walnuts.

DEAR ABBY: As my parents have aged, my father has been misremembering things or making wrong assumptions. It has increasingly gotten on my mom’s nerves (she has also become more impatient and snappy lately), and she has been yelling at him in response.

DEAR ABBY: I had a friend, “Mylene,” for many years. We swapped dog-sitting to offset the cost for each other. I helped her when she was sick and broke her foot. I walked her dog whenever she needed me. If a funeral, wedding or family emergency came up, I was always there for her.