Dear Queenie,
Recently new neighbors moved into the house next door and they are just impossible! They shout back and forth at each other so loud even the privacy fence between our yards doesn’t keep out the noise.
What’s more, they change their baby’s diapers right outside where anyone can see (and smell) and they let their older kids run around outside naked. It’s all so gross!
Queenie, what to do?—Disgusted neighbor
Dear Disgusted,
If they too have a privacy fence around their yard, there is not much you can do but mention to them that they still are visible to outsiders and ask them to try to keep the noise level down a bit.
You also could invest in fans and white noise devices to keep out the noise and odours.
Dear Queenie,
My husband has a habit of touching me in “private” ways while we are talking. He doesn’t do this in public, but even so I don’t like it unless we are actually making love.
I’ve told him I don’t like it, but he still gets grabby.
Queenie, how can I get him to behave himself?—Fed up wife
Dear Wife,
He is “behaving himself,” just very inappropriately.
If he is getting older and this is a recent development, a visit to your family doctor, with necessary explanations, might be a good idea.
Couples counselling might help convince him to try to break this habit.
And I must confess, in your place I would be tempted to grab something sharp or heavy when he does this and jab/whack his hand with it, but I think (hope) I would be able to resist the temptation. After all, what if I missed his hand and ended up hitting myself?
Dear Queenie,
I must say how tragic it is that in this era some individuals still deem women as inferior and defective in comparison to men. What is even more disconcerting is that this subservient ideology is advanced by a female, the parent of two sisters in an early September advice article.
Although I do respect the advice given to the pair of girls, I think that it is crucial to admonish them to exercise caution as they seek validation from various sources outside the home.
Not everyone who portrays him or herself as a role model is authentic. Some individuals with unveiled sinister objectives may seek opportunity to weave themselves into their being and use their fragile self-image as an opportunity to capitalize their agenda, thus bringing psychological and emotional malaise on both girls.
Queenie, in addition to your advice, I would like to encourage them to be extremely cautious and prudent in their selection of mentors.—Concerned Teacher
Dear Concerned Teacher,
You make a very good point, Thank you for your input.
Dear Queenie,
My elderly mother recently sent me a friend request on Facebook, I didn’t know she even knew what Facebook is, let alone how to use it, but I guess she does.
The problem is, we haven’t been close since I moved out and went on my own, because she still tried to tell me what I should be doing and how I should be doing it, so I just limited contact with her as much as I could. I’m sure she will do the same thing if we get back in touch, but on the other hand I don’t want to cut her off completely.
Queenie, how should I handle this?—Distant daughter
Dear Daughter,
You can ignore your mother’s request and continue to have whatever limited contact (if any) the two of you have been sharing up to now. Or you can accept her request, but put whatever privacy restrictions on it you find necessary.
I do not recommend cutting her off entirely. You may come to regret it as you and she get even older.
Dear Queenie,
If you have a gift certificate for a meal for two at a restaurant that someone gave you or you won in a raffle, would it look cheap to use it on a date?—Bargain hunter
Dear Bargain hunter,
It might.
It would be better to save the gift certificate to use after you have taken the girl out several times and you have gotten to know each other fairly well. Then you can whip it out to use on some special occasion, like her birthday (or yours) and instead of thinking you are cheap she probably (hopefully) will think you are just financially responsible.
