In a recent installment of the widely syndicated "Dear Abby" column, advice was dispensed on a variety of personal matters, including a reader's frustration with a noisy physical therapy center, concerns about a daughter's hasty engagement, and confusion over marital status on official forms.
The column, penned by Jeanne Phillips under the pseudonym Abby Van Buren, addressed a reader from Florida who expressed distress over a loud television at their physical therapy center. The reader stated that the "tedious, stressful and distracting" television programming, coupled with declining hearing, made it difficult to understand their therapist. Despite repeated requests for the therapist to face them and suggestions for alternative audio like music, the issue persisted. The reader noted that this was the only facility covered by their insurance and that they dreaded attending sessions.
Dear Abby advised the reader that they were not unreasonable and suggested speaking directly with the manager of the therapy center about the problem, rather than continuing to address it with the individual therapist.
Another reader, identified as "Concerned Mom" from Indiana, sought guidance regarding her 64-year-old daughter's rapid engagement. The daughter had moved to Florida a year prior, with her mother purchasing a mobile home for her. The daughter had agreed to cover lot rent and utilities. However, she recently met a 60-year-old man with no job, car, or home. The daughter met him two months ago, and he has since proposed, with wedding plans for later this year. The daughter asked her mother if she was happy for her. When the mother suggested a pet as a companion, her daughter laughed. The mother expressed concern that two months was too short a time for such a decision and felt the fiancé should at least have employment and a vehicle.
Dear Abby responded that the daughter likely knew she wouldn't like the honest answer but advised the mother to share her opinion if asked. Phillips stated that a union with someone who has "nothing" would be "foolish and self-destructive" and that the man should focus on finding work instead of planning a wedding.
A third query involved a reader in Indiana who was "befuddled" about how to answer forms asking for marital status. Having been divorced and subsequently widowed, the reader was unsure which option to select.
Dear Abby clarified that the correct answer in this situation is "divorced." She explained that if an ex-husband remarried after a divorce, his second wife would be the widow.