Dear Abby: Gotcha!
A 23-year-old woman tricked the advice columnist with a letter she claimed was written by one of her parents' friends - a 50-year-old male architect she said had a secret compulsion to twirl a baton."Baton twirling is an admirable feat," Abigail Van Buren, also known as Dear Abby, responded. "It requires perfect timing as well as nimble fingers. I would rather see men twirling batons than hurling them. Enjoy yourself."
The letter written by Julie Wilborn - but with the bogus signature of Michael Deibele - ran last week and was revealed as a hoax a few days later, prompting Van Buren to tighten up her letter verification policy. The letter ran in the Deseret News.
Wilborn said she was repaying Deibele for a practical joke he played on her as a child. "I can't top it," Deibele said Thursday.
Van Buren said nothing like this had ever happened to her. "Usually I can spot a phony and won't use it," she said.