Dear Ann Landers, Twenty years ago, when I was in my early 20s, you printed a column about marijuana. You expressed concern that marijuana may have "taken a generation of doers and turned them into a generation of dreamers." That single sentence was my wake-up call.
I used to smoke pot daily. I somehow managed to get through college (barely) and hold down a job, but I didn't feel connected to anything, and I wasn't getting anywhere. Every night, I would get high and write down in a journal all the things I planned to do. After reading your column, I realized I had been doing the same thing year after year, getting nowhere. I decided I had to quit smoking pot.
I can't begin to tell you how my life changed. I became bored with my party-animal boyfriend and later married a wonderful man I wouldn't have looked at twice while I was hanging out with the doper crowd. I went back to school, earned a master's degree and got an excellent position with a Fortune 500 company. I also developed some badly needed self-esteem. It was your column on marijuana that helped me turn my life around, and I want to write a belated "thank you." -- Margie in Tennessee
Dear Tennessee, I very much appreciate your generous letter. Please keep reading for one that should be of special interest to you:
Hi! It's Margo here. I'd love to know what you think of the letters -- and the answers!
Also, any additional thoughts you might have. Thanks!
Camille's Comment
I once worked for an organization dedicated to the improvement of travel safety that grew out of a tragic train crash caused by impaired operators. While there, I located an Ann Landers article I'd remembered having read about substance abuse being a more serious concern with respect to people in key safety positions, such as train operators, than with respect to public figures, such as baseball players. I'd really like to find that article again.
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Dear Readers, , whatever they needed I provided. What really hurt my son and I the most was the obituary - we were not mentioned at all. Our friends (mine and hers) were appalled. I was embarrassed and upset for not just me, but for my son-who loved her also. I never been so upset. Her x-husband put his wife and kids and their grandchildren in the obituary, who my girlfriend barely knew. They live an hour away from us. I know its silly to be mad over a little section of the newspaper, but it still hurts. Will time let this devastating loss of her and this article ever go away? I am so angry at this whole situation, its not like we can go and rewrite an obituary notice.
