Opinions

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for years and have two children. When we met, he worked two union jobs, paid his bills, saved his money and took care of his mother and grandmother when they needed his financial support.

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, “Adam,” and I have been together for four years. We are very much in love and share similar views on most things. We agree that a marriage license is just a piece of paper and our relationship is already a marriage, so we don’t need one.

DEAR ABBY: Our nephew “Conrad” is engaged to be married soon. For several reasons, we are unable to attend the wedding. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate to send a generous gift as I have for our other nieces and nephews. However, Conrad is not normal.

DEAR ABBY: After many years living near and helping my parents, I moved to another state to retire. My dad died three months after I moved. I begged my mother to let me fly back and help her with his arrangements, but she insisted I stay put.

Mules are remarkable animals. The hybrid combination of a female horse and a male donkey, the mule, has been in service to mankind since ancient times. They were first mentioned in Mesopotamian writings from 3,000 BC and are mentioned several times in the Bible.

Steve, the cowboy on the board of directors of the Mule Barn truck stop’s philosophy counter and world dilemma think tank, swears on his coffee it happened. “Tourist guy got off the train the other day when I was down there picking up a friend,” Steve said.

Absolutely nobody I’ve ever known loves to go to see the doctor. In fact, we usually put up with pain until it becomes pretty unbearable, and only then do we begrudgingly drag ourself to visit that dreaded human being.

DEAR ABBY: My husband has a twin brother and a younger brother. After I met his family, it became clear that his parents openly favor his twin, “Kaden.” Based on childhood stories my husband and other family members told me, his parents have spent most of their time, energy and money on Kaden.

THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2026 Today is the 197th day of 2026 and the 26th day of summer. TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1790, the District of Columbia was established as the permanent capital of the United States.

DEAR ABBY: I’ve been with my wife for 23 years. We have three kids and are in our early 40s. My wife has always struggled with her weight, but two years ago she started a plan and has been successful.