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,
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,
A family on my street had a sweet dog that they never seemed to take care of. The people next door to them told me they fed him, but that’s about all they did and even that wasn’t much. He was always out on the street even though they had a fenced-in yard and the poor dog was always as skinny as a rail.
A few days ago that same next-door neighbour told me they had moved away and just left the dog behind. She said she had been feeding him, but she couldn’t take him in because she takes care of children in her house.
I told her I would take him in and that’s what I have done and he’s settling in just fine
But Queenie, what should I say to those people who just abandoned him if they ever come looking for him?—Angry animal-lover
Dear Angry,
I do not think you have to be concerned about saying anything to those people, but if that ever happens I hope you would try to keep the “conversation” printable. I doubt I would be able to manage such self-control.
And in the unlikely event that they should want to take the dog back, just tell them how much they owe you for boarding their dog while they were away, making the price so high that they will not be willing to pay it. Then, if they try to give you a hard time about it, call the police. Even here in St. Maarten there are laws about animal cruelty and abandonment.
Dear Queenie,
A family on my street had a sweet dog that they never seemed to take care of. The people next door to them told me they fed him, but that’s about all they did and even that wasn’t much. He was always out on the street even though they had a fenced-in yard and the poor dog was always as skinny as a rail.
A few days ago that same next-door neighbour told me they had moved away and just left the dog behind. She said she had been feeding him, but she couldn’t take him in because she takes care of children in her house.
I told her I would take him in and that’s what I have done and he’s settling in just fine
But Queenie, what should I say to those people who just abandoned him if they ever come looking for him?—Angry animal-lover
Dear Angry,
I do not think you have to be concerned about saying anything to those people, but if that ever happens I hope you would try to keep the “conversation” printable. I doubt I would be able to manage such self-control.
And in the unlikely event that they should want to take the dog back, just tell them how much they owe you for boarding their dog while they were away, making the price so high that they will not be willing to pay it. Then, if they try to give you a hard time about it, call the police. Even here in St. Maarten there are laws about animal cruelty and abandonment.
Dear Queenie,
My husband and I are retired, but he still stays in touch with some of the people he used to work with, mostly women, and he flirts a lot with the women.
He says it doesn’t mean anything and he never would actually do anything more than flirt, but I really have to wonder why these young women find an old man so attractive – it’s not as if we’re rich or anything like that – and whether I really can trust him with them.
Queenie, should I be worried?—Doubtful
Dear Doubtful,
That depends on where this flirting takes place and how far it goes. If the flirting is all by text message and/or e-mail and your husband does not see these young women when you are not present, I do not think you have anything to worry about. Probably he is flattered by their attention and they are being “charitable” to an old man.
But if he is sneaking around and getting together with them behind your back, that is something else.
