Dear Abby: Here's my pet peeve: Parents who insist on bringing their small children to high-class restaurants. Why they do this is beyond me. It's unfair to the children, the establishment and the other patrons.
If the tykes are well-behaved, they quietly play with their food and make a minor mess, which the restaurant personnel must then clean up. At worst, the children yell, cry, throw food, and/or run around the restaurant - disrupting the servers as they deliver food to the tables, and destroying the ambiance for those who are trying to dine in peace. More than once, I have left a fine restaurant with a headache from trying to ignore the earsplitting racket while entertaining important guests.It is unfair to put children in adult situations, expecting them to act like adults for two hours or more. I am sure the children would rather have a hamburger in a fast-food restaurant any day.
One of my co-workers recently complained to me that he and his family (his wife, 21/2-year-old twins and a newborn) had been turned away by a restaurant that would not admit small children. I immediately asked for the name and location of the place. Now I know where my wife and I can go for a quiet dinner. Sign this . . .
- Adults Only, San Marino, Calif.
Dear A.O.: I'm sure there are many others who feel as you do. However, don't blame the children; blame their parents for failing to teach them the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior in "fine restaurants," and for failing to enforce proper behavior.
Dear Abby: Ten years ago, after 18 years of marriage, my husband left me for a silicone princess. My college-age son said, "Fight fire with fire," so I went to a plastic surgeon and had a "UTES" - upper torso enhancement surgery. I went from a 32B to a 36DD. You cannot believe how it changed my life.
I needed a job and was hired on the first interview. My first day on the job, I was asked to dinner by three single men. A year later, I married a man 10 years my junior. He's wonderful; he doesn't smoke, drink, swear or nag, and he adores me. I am in heaven!
He told me after we were married that he was attracted to me because of my figure. I was tempted to tell him it wasn't always this way, but I couldn't get the words out.
I love the way I look, but sometimes I feel as though I've been dishonest. Should I tell him?
- Feeling Guilty
Dear Feeling Guilty: Absolutely not; there is no reason to feel guilty.
Dear Abby: My husband and I have been married for nine years, and although we tried to have a child, we were not so blessed, so we adopted a beautiful baby girl.
A nosy neighbor asked, "Is she illegitimate?" My husband spoke up and said, "Of course not; we've been married for years!"
- Proud Mama
Dear Mama: What a snappy comeback. Congratulations to you and your quick-thinking husband.
Confidential - To Eddie Phillips in Minneapolis: Happy birthday, Son. Love, Mom and Dad.
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-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)
1993 Universal Press Syndicate