If you ask me...
November 2010
Dear Bettye: My friend always wants me to make flirtatious and silly calls to her husband to see what he will say. I don’t want to. What can I say? No. Dear Bettye: I’ve heard that the chirps a cricket makes can be used to tell the temperature. Is that true? Yes. My grandfather told me when I was a child to count the chirps they make in 14 seconds – use your watch – and add 40. The answer will be the temperature – and in degrees Fahrenheit, too. Dear Bettye: I suspect the man I am dating is being pursued by one of my friends. What can I do? Short of a 24-hour surveillance I don’t see how you can do much about it. The thing to understand here is that she’s not your friend and he’s not worth having if he pays the slightest bit of attend to her. Dear Bettye: I didn’t tell the truth about my age when I went to work 25 years ago. Age is so important when you need to keep a job. Now that I’m ready to retire, what do I do? Just make your claim for Social Security benefits and if you are asked to present your birth certificate and if any questions are asked just say someone apparently made a mistake 25 years ago on your employment records. You don’t have to say whose mistake it was. Dear Bettye I am thrown into social contact with someone I had to sue several years ago because he was dishonest. Do I have to pretend to be friendly? If I snub him people will think I am rude. What can I do? You own him nothing, but your hostess everything. Say nothing – just nod your head and don’t smile. You appear to be charming and it drives people crazy to be nodded at. I’ve done it many times. Dear Bettye: Should I keep dating a woman I know I will never marry? Yes, as long as she knows it and no, if she doesn’t. Dear Bettye: Do you ever crumble crackers in your soup in public? We don’t care what you do at home. Our office is in disagreement about this. I don’t ever crumble crackers in anything, anywhere not only because my mother, who was always right, sad it was ill-mannered, but mainly because I don’t like soggy crackers. Dear Bettye: A friend’s husband called to say he was coming over, laughed, and acted silly. He had had too much to drink. I said no, but he came over anyway. He banged on the door and I ran upstairs and shouted out the window that I would call his wife unless he left immediately. I feel like an idiot. What should I have done? You did the right thing. The only other thing you might have done is pour a bucket of ice water on him. I guess boiling oil would have been too severe. Dear Bettye: I want to write to a U. S. Senator and I seem to remember that he is called something different in person than in a letter. He is Senator Blank in person and in a letter, but his formal address should be his full name preceded by The Honorable. Or you may be thinking of what he is called behind his back. Dear Bettye : It seems that all my friends are dying. It’s depressing me. What can people do in times like this? Allow yourself to grieve for your friends, but you must bring new people and new Dear Bettye: I have never liked my brother and he doesn’t like me. Now that we are in our 60s is there any point in trying to change things? It’s always worth the effort to have a good relationship with relatives. Just tell him you realize things have not always been great between you but you are willing to start over. .Dear Bettye: My ex-husband will be at the wedding of a friend. I dread seeing him. What should I do? Get a drop-dead dress, a new hairstyle, a good looking escort, a new attitude and go. I hope you have the time of your life. Let me know. Send your questions or comments to bdekrcoa@AOL.com
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