Breaking News

Columns

Look for A Badge

Dear Heloise: A warning for your readers: A big online retailer sells T-shirts and baseball caps preprinted with names of some of the big delivery companies! It is possible for someone with bad intent to don these clothing items, knock on your door and possibly gain entry to your home. An unsuspecting person wouldn’t know the difference. Legitimate employees will wear a photo identification badge. Look for it, and don’t open the door to someone you don’t know, isn’t identifiable or isn’t expected. — Henry in Texas TECH TALK TUESDAY Dear Readers: Seniors need and enjoy the ...

Hound Is Nothing But Trouble During his Owner’s Vacations

DEAR ABBY: My daughter and son-in-law’s dog, “Zeke,” is a poor houseguest. We have kept him several times while they were vacationing. This last time, a long weekend, was very stressful. Zeke is a hound dog (58 pounds) and stubborn. He jumps on furniture, jumps up to the kitchen counter and dining table trying to steal food, urinates in the house (not all the time, but often enough), doesn’t want to stay outside in the backyard unless someone is out there with him and, when he is outside alone, he constantly howls. He also chases our cats. Whenever it’s muddy in our ...

Surgery Is Last Resort For Man’s Chronic Back Pain

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 70-year-old man with chronic back pain. I first started having serious back pain in college after spending much of my time hunched over a drawing board. Later, as an architect, my back pain recurred frequently. About 20 years ago, after having terrible sciatica in my left leg, I had a surgical procedure done called a laminectomy, which successfully relieved my back pain for many years. Now I have developed pretty serious arthritis in my lower back, and I am in pain constantly. I can no longer lie flat in bed to sleep. I started having to sleep in my recliner, ...

Father-in-Law Expects Future Grandchildren To Be Catholic

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are trying to have children. He was raised Catholic, but is now agnostic. I’m also agnostic. My deeply religious father-in-law insists that our future children be baptized Catholic. I’m against it because I think it should be a person’s right to choose which faith, if any, to follow when they are ready. I also think it would be hypocritical to go through a baptismal ceremony, with godparents and vows to raise our child a certain way when we have no intention of doing it. My husband thinks it would be best to baptize our future children to ...

Tight Pants and Packed Pockets May Cause Tingling, Numbness

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have had meralgia paresthetica for two and a half years. I have all the classic symptoms: tingling, pins and needles, some numbness and stinging in the top and side of my left thigh. I have tried numerous exercises and been treated by a physical therapist and an acupuncturist. Nothing has helped. My doctor has suggested the possibility of medication and/or an injection. I am 70 years old, do not smoke, am not overweight and am extremely active. This condition has made it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. What are your thoughts? — K.B. ANSWER: Meralgia ...

Couple Planning Wedding Want to Keep Haters Away

DEAR ABBY: My fiance and I have begun planning our wedding for next year. We have both been married before, so the family doesn’t think we should have a “big” celebration. Mom actually told me that it can’t be as special as my first one. While lying in bed the other night, we were discussing how to address people’s opinions because we don’t want our wedding day to be full of people complaining about being there, choices we made regarding our celebration and thinking they need to give us a gift. We would like to include a “disclaimer” saying something like, “If ...