ArcaMax

Dear Readers: Thanksgiving has a way of sneaking up on us, doesn't it? One minute we're rushing through the year, taking the kids to games and meeting deadlines, and the next we're standing over turkey and wondering how the year flew by so fast. But beneath the noise of the dinner table and all the pie crusts, this day gives us something rare:...Read more

All right, moving right along to continue the findings of that exploratory survey you began last time here in "Single File":

--Do you expect to have sex on the first date? (About 76 percent of women said no; 6.7 percent said yes; 13.8 percent said sometimes. As for men, 15.1 percent said yes; 75.6 percent said no; 9.3 percent said sometimes.)

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Dear Annie: I'm writing about my sister, "Claire," who seems to be living two completely different lives. By day, she's a high-powered attorney, wearing tailored suits and commanding boardrooms. But on weekends, she disappears to a tiny town in Michigan, where she rents a cabin and paints. None of her colleagues know about her art, and she ...Read more

Dear Annie: My parents, especially my mother, were abusive throughout my childhood physically, verbally and emotionally. I lived in fear from the time I was 5 years old. I worked hard, stayed out of trouble and built my own life without asking them for help, but my mother still treated me with cruelty and favoritism toward my younger sister.

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Dear Annie: Every year, I host Thanksgiving for my family, and every year I start out with the same hopeful thought: "This time will be different." I picture everyone laughing, passing dishes around, maybe even helping with the cleanup without being asked. But by the time the turkey is carved, the dream has gone up in smoke along with the ...Read more

After a ten-hour overnight bus ride, our small Sister Cities delegation of four from Las Cruces arrived in Lerdo. Tired and rumpled, we were met by some of their Sister Cities committee; the rest would be at breakfast. One member came up to us with two posters welcoming us, signaling the start of an enthusiasm hard to find in public life.

At ...Read more

Dear Annie: My youngest just left for college, and the quiet in this house feels deafening. For more than 20 years, my whole world revolved around being a mom. My days were built around carpools, practices, grocery lists and late-night talks in the kitchen. Now the rooms are still, the laundry baskets are empty, and I find myself standing in ...Read more

Dear Annie: Hoping you can offer some advice! My son has been married for six years to a beautiful girl who rarely speaks to us and acts as though we don't exist. Her distance has gotten much worse over time, and we have no idea why. We love her and are just as kind to her as we are to our other kids and their wives. My husband and I are so ...Read more

Dear Annie: My co-worker "Dan" and I started at our company around the same time three years ago. We hit it off immediately and became good friends. We'd grab lunch together, vent about work and even hang out on weekends sometimes. Lately, though, things feel ... off. He's been distant, takes forever to respond to messages and only speaks to ...Read more

When I started asking the unmarried about their sex lives, survey mavens told me this was the first study ever to define single people's sexual patterns. Whether that's true or not I cannot say for sure, but I do know my research covers the emotional issues that can make or break fulfilling sexual union -- feelings seldom put on paper.

Deciding...Read more