Dear Queenie,

My elderly parents do not get along well with each other. My father yells at my mother a lot and sometimes he even hits her. My mother is starting to forget things and makes a lot of mistakes. She blames my father for it and he yells at her for it, but she still cooks for him and helps him get dressed and get around.

She says she’s sick of him and he says he can’t stand looking at her, but it seems like they can’t get along without each other.

Queenie, what do you advise?—Worried sons and daughters

Dear Sons and Daughters,

Arrange to go with each of your parents when they go for their next physical check-up and talk to the doctor about the problem. Keep a close eye on their situation and try to get them out of the house separately as often as possible. Beyond that, there is not much you can do if they will not admit that they have problems.

Dear Queenie,

My boss is always nagging at one of my co-workers without reason. I would like to stand up for him, but I don’t want put my own (good!) relationship with my boss at risk.

Queenie, what should I do?—Worried co-worker

Dear Worried co-worker,

If your place of work has a Human Resources Department, this issue should be brought to their attention. If there is no HR Department, but your boss has a supervisor over him, perhaps that person could help resolve this issue. Other than that, there is not much you can do without, as you say, putting your own relationship with your boss at risk.

Basically, it is up to your co-worker to deal with his problem, if it bothers him as much as it bothers you. Is it possible there is a reason for this situation that you don’t know about, such as a personal relationship?

Dear Queenie,

I am a single woman with a young son and I would like to have a man in my life, but when I meet a man I don’t know how to let him know about my son and when I start going out with a man I don’t intend to bring him into my son’s life until we have been going together for at least a year and not unless we are getting serious about each other. Meanwhile, I’m not sure what to do.

Queenie, what can you suggest?—Lonely single mom

Dear Lonely single mom,

It is a good idea not to bring various men into your son’s life, but do not be in a hurry to find someone to get serious about.

Get involved in community activities such as volunteer work, church, civic organisations where you can make friends and meet interesting men. As you get to know people it will come up naturally that you have a young child, and if/when you get serious about someone it will be time to introduce him and your son to each other.

Hi Queenie!

In a column you once wrote, a young woman is in search for a “real man.”

Well, guess what! I am a serious young man and I'm interested in meeting “Single and searching.” From what I read “Single and searching” has the qualities I'm looking for in a woman.

Please, Queenie, link this info to “Single and searching” so I can meet her. I appreciate you doing this very much!—Interested young man

Dear Interested young man and all

the other men who wrote similar letters,

As I have said before, my column is not a dating service and I never give out names, addresses or other personal information of the people who write to me; not in the newspaper, not by mail or e-mail or word of mouth or any other way. Never!

If you want to make contact with Single and Searching, you could run an ad in the newspaper. If she is interested, she can then make contact with you.

This is the last letter I will publish about Single and Searching.