My sister has a Kindle - the background is grayish, the letters not that clear and she can only see one page at a time.  She can’t look at the back of the book to see whether the book she is "consuming" with delight has the author’s e-mail address so she can write and express her pleasure.  She can’t sit, late at night, with a reading light on and turn pages, put in her pretty book marker when she’s through, bring it into the bathroom and/or kitchen and read some more.  She is holding a piece of cold plastic in her hands and to me the joy is gone.  I love reading the inside of the book cover to learn about the author, seeing the very readable print, touching the pages and shutting out the world while I magically begin a new adventure. My sister misses the pleasure of going to a bookstore or the library (the greatest thing about America is our free libraries - what a joy) and peruse the titles and book covers, looking inside to see if this is a book that "grabs" her.  I feel sorry for anyone who has foresworn books for the Kindle.

My sister lives in Brussels where there are no American libraries so the Kindle is necessary - she can’t download books from the Stgates while in Brussels and has to wait until she visits her family here in America and downloads them from Amazon.

It’s true, books tend to pile up - I’m about to donate a huge amount of them to the local library for their annual book sale so someone else can enjoy them, but there are books I will never give up, that I want to reread. 

To sit down in my recliner, a cup of steaming hot tea nearby and to open my newest book with a heightened sense of anticipation, going on yet another adventure, traveling to places unknown, getting to know the characters and temporarily living in their century, experiencing life through their eyes; there is no greater pleasure. I may find myself shedding tears one moment and laughing the next. What a wonderful way to develop one’s imagination and to escape, for a while, one’s sometime mundane existence. In addition to historical fiction, biographies and autobiographies let me come to know people I like and admire so much better. No Kindle for me thank you very much! 

Obama came into office with no money whatsoever in the treasury to do anything with while struggling to deal with overwhelming, costly, devastating problems that no previous president has ever had to face as well as struggling to bring about positive change while being thwarted at every turn by a hostile republican contingent that continuously puts personal animosity and roadblocks ahead of the good of the country.  No president can do all that needs to be done with one hand tied behind his back which has been the case here.  Obama has only been "in office" less than 11 months - the vast, overwhelming problems he’s been expected to solve have been in place for years. 

I’m so sick of politics - just one time I’d like both parties to put all their efforts into working together to help the citizens of this country get on their feet again, to somehow create jobs, to bring about a solution to the wars in the Middle East, and to care more about this wonderful, floundering country of ours more than political parties.  No president can begin to resolve the phenominal problems facing this country without cooperation from opposing parties.  He didn’t cause the problems and he sincerely wants to resolve them. We are "going down the tubes", millions of people are suffering terribly - only by cooperation from both sides and joining forces can they be helped. 

The first thing to be done would be to make it illegal for any American country to close their factories and plants in the US and reopen them in third world countries were labor is dirt cheap, thus depriving Americans of badly needed jobs.

No, of course not!  The overweight woman should buy her own seat belt extender and bring it with her, but better yet, she should just agree to meet the other women at their destination.  I’m just saying the extenders are out there and told whomever needed them to go to their car dealer and order one.  Not expensive and handy to have. Don’t blow me out of the water just because I provided a solution.

When I was much heavier than I am now, I needed a seat belt extender - got one from the company that manufactured my automobile - it was much like the extenders they give overweight people on planes - no installation.  When I was excessively heavy and sat in smaller automobiles the driver always had me sit in the front seat.  No doubt this is the case with this woman, too.  She wouldn’t fit in the back seat of most smaller cars. 

Another alternative to the problem would be to tell this woman to meet the other women at their destination and not ride with them at all.  If she still refuses to drive her own car (maybe she’s a bad driver?) that’s what I’d suggest. 

You can’t possibly derive any pleasure in keeping the ring - it represents a painful time in your life and hurt you badly. I’m surprised you’re even hesitating to return it.  If he’d purchased it, I’d check the laws in your state and if there wasn’t one, I’d keep it.  But this is his mother’s ring and the kind thing to do would be to return it directly to the mother. She already has to cope with the fact that her son is a sick schmuck - I would send a note along with the ring and tell Mom just why you left her little boy - I think she should know. 

There are indeed a lot of men out there who meet this man’s description but the only women who are attracted to them are those who have low self-esteem - strong women don’t tolerate abuse.  If you think you’re going to meet and keep anyone by treating them badly, think again!  There are more than a few men who learned too late that you can only abuse so long until the woman being maltreated rebels - many of those men are dead.

#1 - Please walk away from this marriage BEFORE YOU GET PREGNANT. The problems will magnify when children come along.  Why can you not recognize that this man means to hurt you; he enjoys hurting you; he gets his jollies by hurting you and humiliating you in front of his friends who are a jaded and cruel as he is to allow him to get away with it.  Anyone who enjoys seeing someone they are supposed to love and protect get hurt, who provides the fuel for that pain, is sadistic to say the least.  This man will not change and for heaven’s sake, don’t think he won’t cheat.  It’s very possible he already is cheating.  Did you ask him why it was he didn’t marry this woman to whom you seem to compare so unfavorably?  Probably because she was being compared unfavorably to someone else and had enough sense to walk away.

100 women - nah, I very much doubt it - gross exaggeration.  Your husband is a jerk - sorry, there’s no other word for him.  A sadistic, mean hearted, ignorant jerk. 

Pack your own bags, call the moving company and get out.  THEN go to a counselor who will help you get your self-esteem back.  

I often think the phrase "falling in love" should be called "falling insane". We imbue the beloved with wonderful character traits they don’t really have, overlook bad behavior thinking they’ll change for the better when we marry them and ignore all the warning signs.  One should wait to commit to a relationship with marriage AFTER that hazy, warm glow begins to dwindle in order to find out of the two of you can be friends or if you have something else in common.  It must have appealed to him that you waited until marriage to have sex.  Wonder if he bothers to satisfy you - I very much doubt it.  Join the club - there are a lot of selfish men out there who think only of their own needs and satisfaction. Leave him - he’s not going to change and I can almost guarantee he is going to cheat. 

The United States hasn’t won a war since World War II and then we had help from other nations.  The pattern since then is disturbing - from the Korean War to the Vietnam war to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan - no matter how hard we try we can’t get to first base.  One of the reasons is that we are trying to do it alone while the rest of the world including our former allies, prefer to sit back and watch. 

The viciousness of the Taliban is beyond belief.  Obama didn’t get us involved in the wars in the Middle East but getting out isn’t going to be easy.  The future of this country and the world is fraught with peril. 

As far as "hatefulness" in this country is concerned - it is here in abundance. It is not merely a matter of disagreeing with President Obama’s decisions and direction for our country, it is a personal smear campaign that has been going on since he was running for the office of President of the United States; from gross exaggerations, to downright vicious, flagrant lies to personal attacks - through it all, he has beeb unflappable and gracious.

This man took on an impossible task - to try to resolve the horrific problems of this nation without any money in the coffers to do it with was the first huge problem he faced and it’s going from bad to worse. The worst thing we have done in this country is refuse to recognize that we are going "down the tubes" unless we work harmoniously together to resolve the problems.  I’m glad I’m over 70 - but I am sick with worry about younger generations, about my own children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.  Life as we have known it will never be the same - millions of people in the U.S. are struggling just to survive.  While people play politics in DC and set up road blocks, lmany, many American citizens are cold, hungry, jobless and homeless.  Crime is escalating as people desperately try to feed their families - one man stole a loaf of bread and is going to prison - what has happened to compassion?

Hatred, racism and intolerance have never resolved problems, but rather escalated them.  I pray every day for our President…there is no doubt in my mind that some misguided, hate-filled, misinformed sorry excuse for a human being will take it upon himself to rid the country of a very fine man who took on this thankless job because he genuinely wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of every citizen of this country.  When and if that tragedy takes place, there will be thousands of people in the US who will rejoice and that is the greatest tragedy of all. I was raised to believe we were all created in God’s image - I no longer believe that. 

People conveniently forget who caused the huge problems we’re facing - it wasn’t President Obama - he’s just trying as hard as he can to clean up the mess, to find light in the tunnel.  This is OUR country that is on its knees, floundering and dying - it is up to us as a nation to help instead of hinder the man and the people around him who are trying to get us on our feet again.  If you don’t like his ideas, come up with better ones.  Get involved but stop the mud slinging - help, don’t hinder.  The well being of future generations is at stake here.  I repeat: "HELP, DON’T HINDER!"  We have everything to lose if we can’t come together and work for the greater good!

I’m most definitely NOT a David Letterman fan - even before his vulgar remark about Sara Palin’s daughter (no matter which of the two he was referring to - it was gross and uncalled for).  By the way, I’m not a Sara Palin fan either but any mother would have erupted at his crudity directed toward her child.  

Letterman literally makes my skin crawl and has an ego so huge it’s hard for him to see over it.  His attempts at humor are feeble and I wish they would replace him with someone else.  He so obviously has no respect for women in general - they are playthings put here on earth for his gratification and/or amusement.  Enough already!  Let the man go!