Advice Columns

I am addicted to them, as I've mentioned before. They are they kinds of things loads of people must read (otherwise, how would they stay in publication) but no one really admits to reading. Dear Abby is on its second generation and Ann Landers's daughter is now Dear Margo on wowowow.com. Then there is Slate's Prudie, the Stranger's Dan Savage and countless others. I read all of the above on a daily/weekly basis depending on when they come out - this is one of the reasons I look forward to Thursday evenings.

I can't totally explain my addiction to them, because they are sometimes trite, but here is my attempt. People write because they are reaching out. They need someone to talk to because they feel that they are surrounded by people either too biased or too crazy to offer an honest opinion. Plus there is the perk of anonymity. Sometimes, people end up in the wildest of situations too. Here is a sample:

1) To David Eddie of The Globe and Mail (Canada): "My wife and I live apart, but she wants to have a baby..." The title mostly says it all. It is a 6 year long distance marrage (international work) where a conjugal visit appears to occur for one week every year. Yes, I typed ONE WEEK. My advice, fuck that noise(!) - and someone else while you're at it if you are not willing to make this really work. DO NOT IMPREGNATE THIS WOMAN UNLESS YOU ARE IN THE SAME AREA CODE.
2) Dan Savage - what I will call variations on a theme. Three men aged 26, 4o-something, and 62 all write in. They talk about how their personalities and personal ambitions have kept them from having realtionships with women and led them to seek prostitutes in the case of the 26 year old and the 40 something, or retain virginity in the case of the 62 year old. I was raised Catholic, so I had my share of hang-ups for a long long while. These are letters that actually make me feel a little more normal. Sad, but true. I do like to see the suggestions to "fix" this too, because it would have to be an overhaul.
3) Dear Abby: A mix of the mundane to WTF? Example, today's offering concered both a family member wondering how to not use food as a social event and a woman grieving after her father's murder.
4) Prudie - similar to the above, but also one video per week that has fun animations.
5) Margo - this week's offering includes a polyamorous triad failing to find a 4th. Damn.

So this is one of the ways I waste my time. If nothing else, it leads me to believe that people are more interesting than they let on.
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