I'm not sure why I should feel guilty about having to let go my house cleaners. My husband lost his job and we have to economize. So we scaled back our cable and cell phones. We are going without new tires on my car and are fixing up his car so we don't have to get a new one. Should I feel bad that the cable and phone companies might have to cut employees too? Why should I as a middle-class income earner have to go into debt to buy thing that I don't need. Isn't that how a lot of people got into trouble in the first place? Having someone clean our house for us was a luxury (and no they aren't illegals nor do we call them "maids") that we could afford with two incomes. That has changed. Just like our wood floors that need refinishing, instead of paying someone to do it, we will do it ourselves. Especially now that my husband will have a lot of free time. Although if I was getting Botox, I would certainly cut that out also, but I'm not sure I'd want him giving me shots to the forehead!

Are people who eat in restaurants or buy clothing already made for them lazy? How about hiring a plummer or car mechanic when you can figure out how to fix it yourself. Since my husband and I grow our own vegetables, can I go and tell my neighbor who goes to the supermarket to buy her tomatoes (that were most likely picked by underpaid brownskinner workers) that she is a useless yuppie? No, it just seems to be the farming out of "women's work" that seems to piss people off. So why is it okay to take your shirts to the dry cleaners but not okay to have someone mop the floor?

Our housecleaners own a legal business in which they are paid quite well to do work that they have chosen to do. My mother owned a house cleaning business for years, she never felt ashamed at getting paid good money to clean other people's houses.

I don't see why I have to justify having someone clean my house. Do you have to justify why you ate in a restaurant, got your hair cut, your car fixed, etc? Or basically used any service provider? However, my husband and I do indeed work hard at our jobs and my husband does a second shift in the evening at school. It is incredibly wonderful to come home to a clean house after working ten hours. And I'm going to enjoy my one bit of luxury before it goes away.

Per your question, midnightdream. Most baby safety guides will tell you that for the best protection your baby or child should have his own seat and when under a certain age he should be in his car carrier strapped into the plane's seat. I'm also pretty sure that Patrick in this column has mentioned that babies in laps are very unsafe when something bad happens.

What I thought was old-fashioned was that WOMEN and children were evacuated first (per the news report). Personally as a woman and feminist, sure get those kids off first, but then the evacuation should as orderly and efficient as possible to maximize those saved. I did read somewhere that in the event of an emergency those sitting within 5 rows of an exit have the best survival chances.

Your dog might be a precious loving animal who would never bite. Or your dog might be aggressive. You might be a responsible pet owner who always has his dog under control. Or you might not. But when I'm walking down the street and am coming up on you and your dog, I don't know any of that. What I do know is that I could probably fend off a small dog, but definitely not a big dog. I know that if you have your dog on a leash with or without a muzzle and are paying attention to it, I'm at less risk from your dog. But if you aren't doing any of those things and your dog is large, I'm likely to switch to the other side of the road. And you have no right to get pissy about that, and bitch that I'm ignorant about your dog. The thing is, I AM ignorant about your dog, I don't know it's temperment, it's history or your ability to control it. Nor is it my responsibility to know this stuff. I am being SMART by avoiding you and your dog. I will only approach dogs (or let them approach me) with their people in which I do know these things, and only if the owner has said that it's okay.

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, I grew up with two of them and was heartbroken when they passed away. One was a small wire-haired fox terrier that we very tempermental but who loved her family. She had to kept away from strangers or have people warned off from trying to pet her because she would snap at strangers. Our other dog was a large Airedale terrier that was the most cowardly (and loving) dog ever. But she was big and had a loud bark, I completely understand why people would move away from her. And I would never hold that against them, they were acting completely rationally. They had no idea that she only wanted to be told she was a good girl and to lick every hand and face possible.

Anyway I hated Rebecca's story for a whole different reason...it made my cry in my morning coffee.