DEAR GLORIA: Yes, I will. Here it is:
DEAR ABBY: About a year and a half ago, a woman wrote you a very moving letter about her sister who had died of lung cancer. Then a Denver woman wrote to say that the letter had caused HER to quit smoking. Please run them again. Someone I love very much needs to see those letters in print. - WM. McD, TORONTO, CANADA
DEAR WILLIAM: Here they are:
DEAR ABBY: I am hurting more right now than I ever have in my whole life. My beloved younger sister died nine months ago. I still can't believe I will never be able to call her on the phone again to gossip and giggle as only sisters do. God, how I miss her!
I asked her doctor what actually killed her, and without batting an eye, he said, "Cigarettes!" Now I feel so guilty because I, her older sister, smoked. Thank God, I was able to quit in time. She tried to quit, but it was too late for her.
Her husband and children are inconsolable. I have learned a lot from this terrible experience. A smoker has a lot more to worry about than dying. My sister's stay in the hospital with lung cancer wiped out her family financially.
Abby, why do advertisers make cigarette ads so attractive? Instead, they should run a before-and-after picture of a once-beautiful woman vomiting and bald from radiation therapy.
I know this letter is too long for your column, but if it will help just one person to reach into her purse (or his pocket) and throw that pack of cigarettes in the trash, it will be worth it. - GRIEVING
DEAR ABBY: On April 5, I read a letter in your column in the Rocky Mountain News that did something for me that nothing else was able to do. It made me quit smoking.
It was written by a woman signed "Grieving," whose beloved younger sister had died from lung cancer. Her doctor bluntly stated, "Cigarettes killed her."
"Grieving's" final paragraphs hit me like a thunderbolt. Abby, please tell "Grieving" that her letter made this 42-year-old, four-pack-a-day woman reach into her purse and throw her cigarettes in the trash! I've taken an oath never to smoke again.
Too bad she didn't sign her name. She deserves to be thanked publicly. - FREE IN DENVER
DEAR FREE: She did sign her name but requested that her letter be signed "Grieving" if published.
However, I telephoned her to tell her what a terrific impact her letter had made and asked if I could reveal her identity. She said, "If you think it will help just one person, go ahead." So, orchids to you, Dorothy Sosebee!
DEAR ABBY: Thank you for your continuing efforts to get people to quit smoking.
My beloved brother died last week. He was a special person, loved by many. He was a good Christian, and we find some comfort in knowing that he is with our Lord, but selfishly, we want him here with us now. He knew that cigarettes could kill, but he never thought it would happen to him. He loved us and did not want to cause us all this pain and sorrow.
Abby, please give this message to your readers: If you can't quit smoking for yourselves, please do it for those who love you. - HEARTBROKEN IN INDIANA
Everything you'll need to know about planning a wedding can be found in Abby's booklet, "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." To order, send a long, business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada), to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054. (Postage is included.)