Dear Queenie,
My boss is quite well-off, maybe you’d even call him rich. The problem is he’s always telling me about the things he has and how much they cost and the things he’s going to get and how much he’s going to spend on them – as if I care! To hear him tell, he spends more in a single month than he pays me for the whole year.
Queenie, how can I shut him up without losing my job?—Fed up
Dear Fed up,
Tell him it is just amazing how much things cost these days and ask him for a raise.
Dear Queenie,
My mother and I were very close when I was little and it was just the 2 of us. But now I’ve grown up, gone away to college, got married and have my own life away from her and things aren’t so good between us.
The problem is that she doesn’t have any good relationships with anyone else and the older I get the more I realise that it’s because she always blames them for being mean to her when the truth is she gets offended at the littlest things, but has no consideration for how others may feel.
Queenie, is there anything I can do to help her see the truth?—Grown up son
Dear Grown up son,
Your mother may have medical problems of which she may or may not be aware, and she also may be suffering from depression.
The first things she need is a complete medical check-up, especially if she has not had one recently, and you might want to inform the doctor ahead of time about her attitude and behaviour.
The doctor then might prescribe appropriate medication and, if indicated, psychological counselling, and hopefully your mother will follow through on his (or her) recommendations.
Dear Queenie,
I don’t know if you would respond to this letter, but I have always wondered who you were.
The way that you answer your letters reminds me of a teacher that I had in high school. I won’t mention which one or what subject you taught, since I think that may make you more reluctant to tell me whether or not my hunch is correct. I assume you cannot give out your real identity, but I have been wondering for many years now if you are her.
I haven’t been living on the island for almost 8 years now. I just came home for the summer this year and saw your little column still there going in The Daily Herald and I had to smile, because it instantly reminded me of how much I always suspected you as being this teacher (who was one of my favorite teachers, but I never asked her personally if she was Queenie; I was somewhat afraid of her (lol)).
If you can confirm my hunch I will be forever grateful and I promise I won’t tell anyone.
Queenie, I leave the island this weekend, so I might not get to read the papers. So I would be happy with an e-mail response.—Eternally curious
Dear Eternally curious,
To answer your second question first, I do not respond individually to any letter addressed to this column, as I have said many times before. All letters will be answered in the newspaper, so I hope you have arranged with someone to send you any of my columns you have not already seen, or you can read them online at www.thedailyherald.com in the opinion section.
As for your first question, I am flattered that you think I might be someone of whom you have such a good opinion, but no, I am not the person you think I am. I have never taught school in St. Maarten.
However, I hope you have kept in contact with that teacher you remember and liked so much, and told her how much she has meant to you.
Dear Queenie,
My mother and I were very close when I was little and it was just the 2 of us. But now I’ve grown up, gone away to college, got married and have my own life away from her and things aren’t so good between us.
The problem is that she doesn’t have any good relationships with anyone else and the older I get the more I realise that it’s because she always blames them for being mean to her when the truth is she gets offended at the littlest things, but has no consideration for how others may feel.
Queenie, is there anything I can do to help her see the truth?—Grown up son
Dear Grown up son,
Your mother may have medical problems of which she may or may not be aware, and she also may be suffering from depression.
The first things she need is a complete medical check-up, especially if she has not had one recently, and you might want to inform the doctor ahead of time about her attitude and behaviour.
The doctor then might prescribe appropriate medication and, if indicated, psychological counselling, and hopefully your mother will follow through on his (or her) recommendations.
Dear Queenie,
I don’t know if you would respond to this letter, but I have always wondered who you were.
The way that you answer your letters reminds me of a teacher that I had in high school. I won’t mention which one or what subject you taught, since I think that may make you more reluctant to tell me whether or not my hunch is correct. I assume you cannot give out your real identity, but I have been wondering for many years now if you are her.
I haven’t been living on the island for almost 8 years now. I just came home for the summer this year and saw your little column still there going in The Daily Herald and I had to smile, because it instantly reminded me of how much I always suspected you as being this teacher (who was one of my favorite teachers, but I never asked her personally if she was Queenie; I was somewhat afraid of her (lol)).
If you can confirm my hunch I will be forever grateful and I promise I won’t tell anyone.
Queenie, I leave the island this weekend, so I might not get to read the papers. So I would be happy with an e-mail response.—Eternally curious
Dear Eternally curious,
To answer your second question first, I do not respond individually to any letter addressed to this column, as I have said many times before. All letters will be answered in the newspaper, so I hope you have arranged with someone to send you any of my columns you have not already seen, or you can read them online at www.thedailyherald.com in the opinion section.
As for your first question, I am flattered that you think I might be someone of whom you have such a good opinion, but no, I am not the person you think I am. I have never taught school in St. Maarten.
However, I hope you have kept in contact with that teacher you remember and liked so much, and told her how much she has meant to you.
