August 2011, LIVING, LOVING & LAUGHING (Dear Deb)

Dear Readers,

Just about up to September 2011 deadline. Would love your comments about the question to readers in THE COMMUNITY REPORTER August 2011 column. You may comment here. Email me or drop off an anonymous note or email the COMMUNITY REPORTER. Love hearing from all of you.

In April a reader submitted a question about her elderly aunt who could not be dissuaded from sending her niece un-welcome emails. Last month a reader from Seattle wrote in response to my suggestion and we published her comments. I received a delightful and beautifully written letter on the same topic this month from “Forwarder”:

Dear Deb,

I am a recipe, joke and religious ditty forwarder who wonders whether you have room in your busy day to receive my offerings. We are a group that seeks only to nourish (recipes), amuse (jokes), and enlighten (religious ditties). We have no other agenda. It hurts us to be rejected, as it hurts anyone else. It seems ironic that with all the incredibly stupid material being circulated on the internet, social networking sites and the like, that people are so intolerant of our small efforts to contribute to the flood. Since you also give advice, maybe you could come up with something for us?

By the way, have you heard the one about the rabbi, minister and priest who walk into a bar…?

Sincerely,

Forwarder

Dear Forwarder,

I so loved your letter! And, no, I had not heard the one about the rabbi, minister and priest who walk into a bar and quickly wrote my editor to ask if he happened to know the joke. He knew it. He shared it. I laughed and laughed. Is this it? The one you mean? “A rabbi, minister and a priest walk into a bar. The bartender looks from one to the other, stops, says, “What is this supposed to be? … Some kind of a joke??”

But I digress. The reader who was annoyed by her aunt represents only her own point of view. My personal point of view is I’m open to people sending me all sorts of stuff and if I don’t want to open it or, having opened it, don’t want to view it. it is my perfect right to close it, delete it or respond to it that I don’t like it and don’t want any more of same. Also, I can open it, view it, get a huge kick out of it and forward it to everyone on my list (and often do). Sometimes a recipient writes me and asks to be removed from my mailing list and I oblige. I can’t thank you enough for your fun submission. You can forward me recipes, jokes and/or religious ditties any old time.

READERS’ QUESTION: This is such a good one and the answer could be complicated. Please, dear readers, give me your suggestions for a response.

Dear Deb,

There is a very nice young girl on my street who worries me a bit. Just 2 years ago she and her other girl friend actually wanted to talk to me, even hang out, they wanted me to show them how to draw. They even brought some other art work over to my house and I looked at it on my front porch. Now, they are suddenly a half foot taller and sorta lanky and they don't have anytime for me. I'm guessing they were 10 back then and now must be 12 or 13 maximum. Well anyway. Recently One warm Sunday I was walking in a very open park near my house and I saw one of these girls sunbathing on a towel, she was wearing a very tiny bikini and was bending around in an immodest way. There was one very young man like 20 or so and two other boys maybe 12 and 14 years of age milling around her texting and talking on a cell phones. The older boy had a truck and was carting the other two boys around. I thought it was a natural thing to do, show off your beautiful body once you discover it has feelings and that boys like it… But I thought that combination of one scantily clad girl, three boys (fully clothed mind you), cell phones, and a vehicle was a stereotypically bad situation. I see her now and again hanging with that youngest boy who’s probably her age. It seems he must be her first boyfriend. Should I tell her father or her mom what I saw at the park? Her parents are divorced and I mainly see the father.

Yours truly,

Anonymous