Dear Ann Landers, Your response to "Tom in Atkinson," whose friend still had his deceased wife's voice on the answering machine, was heavy-handed.
I married my wife after her father died. Her mother still keeps his voice on their answering machine, even though it's been five years since he passed away. The message he left is very funny, saying he's a robot. Whenever my wife calls and gets the machine, she says, "Hello, Daddy-bot" and leaves her message.
Nobody expects him to call back, nor do we think he's really alive somewhere. My wife is not living in denial. It's just a sweet way to remember her father's voice. -- Greg in Lanham-Seabrook, Md.
Dear Greg, I see your point and stand corrected. Thanks for hauling me up short. I had it coming. As I said before -- to each his own. If keeping a loved one's voice on the answering machine is comforting, so be it.
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!
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Our Reader to Reader Question of the Week:
Dear Readers, , it may be purely self-satis-faction, an ego trip or mere conde-scension on the part of the other? Do they tell the kids that a “mean-ingful relationship” may be so mean-ingful that one partner may have an overwhelming desire to cement that relationship with a child? Do they tell the kids they should never count on the other person to take precautions-and that to be per-fectly safe, both parties should count on themselves? Do they tell the kids that a girl’s most intense desires are very likely to accompany her most fertile time? (“Just this once”) Do they tell the kids that a person’s “love” might be severely dampened by resentment and turn to full-fledged hate should that person feel trapped? Do they tell the kids that alternative solutions to an unwanted pregnancy are vastly more difficult to handle than coping with the challenges of virginity? Do they tell the kids that the legality of abortion is insignificant compared to the emotional trauma? Do they tell the kids that giving up a child for adoption is no simple matter for anyone who has had a “meaningful relationship”? Do they tell the girls that keeping an out-of-wedlock baby goes far beyond the enjoyment of having a cute little bundle of joy to cuddle and take for a stroll in the perambulator? Where are those advocates of pro- marital sex when it’s time to mend lives suffering from their advice? A SHOULDER TO CRY ON
