Dear Abby: After two divorces, I thought I had had my fill of marriage - little did I know.
At a New Year's Eve party, I met Edna, a beautiful widow. She had three children, ages 4, 8 and 12.When I started dating her, all my friends screamed, "Jim, are you out of your mind? She has three kids!"
Well, love is not only blind, it's also deaf. So, to make a long story short, I asked her to marry me and she replied, "Is tomorrow too soon?"
Edna and I had had 40 years of wedded bliss when the good Lord took her to heaven.
I just celebrated my 87th birthday, am in excellent health and live in a beautiful retirement home in Florida. My children and grandchildren overwhelm me with long-distance telephone calls, letters and gifts. I don't want to bore you, but the point of this letter is: Just because a man has two strikes against him doesn't mean he's out.
- Jimmy Woodward
Dear Jimmy: Thanks for a letter that may inspire others to realize that with a little bit of luck and the willingness to try, they can be winners, too.
Dear Abby: Your comment on "Larry King Live" recently was very disturbing. When someone called in and asked you if sex on the first date was OK, you replied, "Why not?"
- Betty Bozard, Greenwood, S.C.
Dear Betty: Thank you for writing. I understood the question to be: "Is a KISS on the first date OK?"
Never would I approve of sex on the first date, or the second or even the third date.
Dear Abby: I have enjoyed your column for many years - your wisdom has helped me a great deal. I would like to share an article that was read to us parents at a recent Fitchburg State College football banquet by one of the trainers.
- A Concerned Parent, Boston
Dear Parent: Thanks for sharing a perceptive essay from which we can all benefit:
"Be Careful"
Be careful of your thoughts
For your thoughts become your words.
Be careful of your words
For your words become your actions.
Be careful of your actions
For your actions become your habits.
Be careful of your habits
For your habits become your character.
Be careful of your character
For your character becomes your destiny.
- Author Unknown
Dear Readers: A truism: "An optimist is the kind of person who believes that a housefly is looking for a way to get out." - George Jean Nathan
What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS, and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." To order, send a business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)
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CROSSROADS
All of the Dear Abby columns since 1988 are available online. Search for "DEAR ABBY" in the Lifestyle section and the Deseret News archives.