He has multiple girlfriends.

Except that she's there all the time and keeps her clothes in his closet. I find it unlikely that the other "girlfriends" would be content with *that* arrangement.

It looks to me like he just wants her to jump when he says jump. If her description of him is accurate, he shows zero interest in accommodating her needs or desires, but expects her to accommodate his at all times (doesn't want her to move her stuff back home and doesn't want to stay at her place sometimes, but also doesn't want to make it easy for her to live by his desired arrangement.)

If he's threatening her with "we'll see less of each other" then it's a threat he's OK with following through on. That's the heart of the matter: he's fine with seeing less of her.

She needs to say now, "how about we see none of each other?" and make a clean break. Tough but necessary to save her sanity. Self-doubt is pernicious and will eat your soul.

Anyone with a shred of social acumen would know *NOT* to use the pool when your host has guests over! Come ON! So someone said the words "use the pool any time" -- would anyone with anything resembling a grain of common sense actually jump into a pool that doesn't belong to them while the pool owner is entertaining guests? Really?

Give me a fucking break. The husband overreached in his invitation (and I do get the notion of not wanting to offend the aunt and uncle, I come from a family where we conjure social slights out of whole cloth and invent grudges for sport), but the cousin is totally over the line in her creative interpretation of appropriate "guest" behavior.

Too late now, but when she showed up while you had guests you should have blocked her entrance and said "I'm sorry, we have guests here tonight. Another time perhaps." and left it at that.

I understand that poor people don't always have good (or any credit) but there are all sorts of stores that will allow you to buy anything from a car to a big screen on credit (even if the terms are sometimes less-than-favorable).

Those stores will also repossess those items if people don't pay off the debt. What would they do if a woman defaulted on her loan for an abortion? Make her get pregnant again?

Tuesdays With Morrie and The DaVinci Code? Deal's off, buddy!

In the interest of parity I'll promise to meet you halfway by not permitting any female-oriented "self actualization" crap, diet books, or "chick lit" into my house, and by keeping a bookshelf full of Neal Stephenson (autographed!), Kurt Vonnegut, and Lonely Planet hiking guides.

Everyone has their thing, I guess.

Oh relax, all you "You are so shallow you don't deserve love!" crowd. We're just engaging in a little silly hyperbole. The guy I'm hopelessly crushing on is addicted to World of Warcraft, for pete's sake; if that's not a dealbreaker, a little Dan Brown isn't going to bother me!

I tell my children, "We become good at what we practice." You are indulging in play-hate.

I love it when you scold me. Do it again.

Shameful, I know. But love me anyway, scurvy feminists.

I'm torn, Brightstar, you are so toxic in this letters forum but you love real Fresca (In glass bottles! With sugar!) and where am I going to find another man who loves Fresca as much as me?

What's a single gal to do?

Forwarded by a friend this morning:

http://wow-europe.com/wrath/features/bard/bardclass.xml

TWO addictions wrapped into one! It's like the planets have aligned, now you'll NEVER leave your house!

Max Headroom requires a three digit IQ to appreciate.

Funny, I was just having a conversation with a friend about Max Headroom. What a great show that was! They really need to bring it back, although the depressingly-prophetic point it was making would be lost on the audience.

Except those of us hip and cool enough to glory in its very meta-ness, of course.

Best.

Song.

Ever.

Reminds me of one of my friends, too. Huh.

I went to a Baptist (Northern!) summer camp for three years in late elementary/early jr high school. I recall turning into a Bible-thumper for about two weeks afterwards every time, but that faded, much to the relief of my agnostic-ex-Catholic parents. Truthfully, I only went because that's where my friends went to camp. When I went into jr high, I made new friends, and that was the end of that. Actually, *then* I went to a Quaker summer camp, which was populated almost exclusively by tie-dye-wearing, sneaking-off-into-the-woods-

to-smoke-weed-and-have-sex hippie kids. Deprogramming, of a sort. THAT was a fun camp (although I wasn't smoking any weed or having any sex).

I wouldn't worry overmuch about a week out of the year, especially if as you say your own parents are sensible enough to respect your wishes regarding the tone and tenor of the camp. Bible camp *is* manipulative, but only for one week. The other 51 weeks they live in your world, with your philosophy, and your teachings

Trust that you raised your kids well. Let them go to camp, and spend time with their family who clearly love them and are good to them in their way. Soon enough they'll be too cool for summer camp anyway.

The big push in the Catholic church for the virginity craze did not happen until after the 1900s, as that is when the Catholic church integrated into church doctrine the Immaculate conception: the belief that Mary's mother was without sin when Mary was conceived.

AAAAAAAH!

NO! Immaculate Conception doesn't have anything to do with virginity. It has to do with *Mary's soul* -- she was born without the stain of Original Sin, the knowledge of Good and Evil that got us booted from the garden way back when.

The Virgin Birth is something else entirely. MARY was the virgin, not Anne.