Opinions

DEAR ABBY: My unpleasant older sister lives by the creed, “It’s my way or the highway.” As a result, she has no close friends, no husband or partner, no social circle. She was “strongly encouraged” to take early retirement from teaching because she couldn’t get along with her co-workers.

The elderly president had been with the company for so many years that no employee there could remember a time he wasn’t slumped over his desk, muttering about the ineptness of the younger generation.

Philosophers have struggled with the Problem of the One and the Many for centuries. At its foundation, the problem concerns the inability to reconcile the existence of unity (one) and diversity (many) occurring within reality.

A child should learn right from wrong from the beginning—if being raised by smart parents or guardians. And, knowing the difference, will give a child a better chance on becoming more successful in life.

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.