Gender roles and sexuality are not the same thing. Therefore, stereotypes are not useful in identifying whether or not a person is gay or straight. The popular media makes it seem so to straight people, but its not.

In any case, humans are too complicated to divide into two (or three) camps based on sexuality. If you have a good emotional relationship with these men and enjoy satisfying sex with them, what's the problem?

Tell your friend to stop watching "Sex and the City" and "Will and Grace" and start living her own life.

The most insufferable type of religious person is the recent convert. This is especially true when that convert is the sort of person that you’d least expect to find Jesus. They think that if they could just explain their new beliefs to you, you’d understand their conversion and maybe become a convert yourself. The problem is that they are just trying to rationalize their conversion as something other than an abrupt and illogical abandonment of their previous set of values. The attitude of the recently converted is that you “just don’t understand” and that you’ve never considered their arguments. As a result, talking with them about their conversion (and every conversation comes back to that topic) is just disappointing and depressing. I can’t imagine subjecting myself to 304 pages of that.

Also, this essay is full of stereotypes and condescension. The jabs at Buddhism are particularly irritating. The authors view of the poor and their attitudes towards religion border on racist.

Ms. Dickerson has pointed out a truth of life. People with big dreams and goals can't achieve them alone. There just isn't enough time in the day to do the important stuff and the trivial stuff. Most of us live lives of trival stuff. However, those that are lucky enough to have made it to the point where their stuff is deamed important need to hire helpers. For example, how many of us would be able to pick out clothes that would hold up to the scrutiny of the entertainment media? How many of us thrust into Ms. Dickerson's line of work would be able to keep from going bankrupt without the help of an accountant? (Not me, for sure. My tax returns are simple.) How many of us could speak to the media on a regular basis and not make fools of ourselves without the help of a speech writer? Unfortunately, these helpers never get the public appreciation they deserve.

In response to some of the snarky letters, Ms. Dickerson does not refer to these helpers as "little people." She uses the term "professionals."

Dear LW,

Cary's suggestions are good. Realtors and lawyers will know how best to handle this. In any case, a small reduction in price for the bad neighbor will more than suffice and you’ll still be able to cash in on your increased property value. One way to make sure you are being ethical is to have a professional appraisal done on the property and then sell for no more than the appraised amount. These appraisals take the quality of the neighborhood into account, including the presence of rental property next door.

Also, you must call the police every time the neighbor does something objectionable. Loud fights and screaming are all nuisances, especially when they occur after 10 pm. This will apply pressure to the tenant and the landlord. Of course, don’t overdue it and make an issue out of something trivial. You don’t want to be “the boy who cried wolf” to the local PD. But, keep making a fuss. In particular, any overt signs of drug activity are important to report. My experience with noisy neighbors is that most of them will clean up their act when they know that they can’t get away with it. If the police do not respond in a timely or effective manner, try talking with police leadership and/or your local councilperson.

You can say whatever you want about air traffic control delays, blah, blah, blah. When something like the Jet Blue incident occurs, multiple people know what is going on and they are not taking action. Standing around watching a crime occur and not acting is a crime. Standing around and watching passengers be locked in a plane for 10 hours should also be a crime. Put one pilot in jail, or fine them thousands of dollars, and this will never happen again. At the very least, people should lose their jobs over this. Hopefully, Jet Blue will get sued.

In early December, I got stuck overnight in Atlanta when bad weather closed ABQ. The Delta ground crew handled it like pros. They kept us informed. The pilot even came out into the terminal and spoke to us. While no one enjoyed being stranded overnight without our luggage, we all knew that the crew was doing what they could. All passengers expect is to be given up to date and correct information regarding the delay or cancellation in a professional and respectful manner.

I am a reasonable person, but I have been lied to and spoken to like a child so many times by airport personnel that I now dread flying. This era of total disregard for the passenger that we are now in needs to end. If legislation is needed to end it, so be it. The airlines have had enough time to fix it themselves.

Wow! Salon.com actually has an article on an environmental issue written by someone who is not just knowledgeable, but a real expert on the topic. I enjoy Salon.com, but sometimes its opinion pieces are a little uniformed, especially on science and technology issues. I hope this is article is part of a larger trend.