Dear Annie: Recently, my wife and I stayed for four days at the home of one of her school chums.
The gals yakked until late at night, so I was the first one up every morning. I’m an early riser anyway.
I like reading the newspaper with my breakfast, so when I’d get up, I’d go outside and pick up the paper and bring it in.
My wife says it was wrong to get the paper before our hostess.
Anyway, after a couple of days, the school friend seemed in a snit about something, and my wife says that was the reason, even though she never said so when I asked whether something was bothering her.
Recently, we were invited to stay with different friends for a weekend, and I am getting no end of hassle from my wife to make sure I wait for our hosts to finish with the paper.
I figure I’ll just go out for coffee somewhere and buy a paper. My wife says it would be rude to take off at breakfast.
Is this idiotic or what? — California
Dear California: It would be rude to read the paper in such a way that your hosts must wait for you to finish, or that you drag sections of it all over the house and fill in all the clues to the crossword puzzle. But there is nothing wrong with reading the paper early, putting it back together nicely and having it available to your hosts when they awaken.
You can resolve this simply enough. When you arrive, inform your hosts that you are an early riser, and ask whether they would mind if you fetch their paper and read it with your coffee, promising to keep it in pristine condition for when they are ready to read it.
You also could offer to go to the local coffee shop and bring back coffee and muffins (and a newspaper) for everyone else.
Dear Annie: I need to vent.
My daughter, my 8-year-old granddaughter and I recently went to a Broadway show. After we were seated, a woman, her young daughter and her mother sat next to us.
The woman was rather large, but instead of taking the aisle seat, she gave that to her mother and sat next to me.
She was practically sitting on top of the chair arms due to her size and was taking up part of my space.
At the end of the show, she told us we would need to climb over her because her knees hurt and she couldn’t move yet. I’m sure her knee problems are due to her size.
This woman looked to be in her mid-30s. At this rate, she might not live long enough to see her daughter reach adulthood.
Don’t you think she should have taken the aisle seat? — Loved the Show, Disliked the Seat
Dear Loved: It seems logical that the person with the most difficulty moving would prefer the aisle seat, but perhaps the woman’s mother insisted on taking it.
When stuck in these situations, there isn’t much you can do other than show tolerance for two hours.
Dear Annie: I had to laugh when I read “Frustrated Cook’s” letter.
I remember how my parents battled with me over eating broccoli when I was a kid. I was forced to finish it, so I would wash small bites down with my sweet tea, as if they were pills.
I’m 48 now, and broccoli is one of my favorite foods.
However, I can no longer tolerate sweet tea. I think texture is often the issue, as it was for me.
When I had kids, I never forced them to eat what I fixed. I gave them the option of making themselves a peanut butter sandwich if they did not want to eat my meals, but I also did not prepare a separate dish for them. — Memphis Mama
Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.