Dear Ann Landers,
few nights ago we were sitting around with a group of extremely intelligent people and someone quoted you. As a rebuttal (and I'm sure in jest) one of the chaps said, They ought to get her for practicing without a license. I am not trying to be impertinent, but would you please explain how and why you can give advice on legal, medical and emotional prob-lems? Is it sufficient to quote from the authorities? Let me repeat, I do not mean to be arbitrary. I am merely inquisitive. -Nosey Parker P.S. It was significant to me, at least, that every person in the room was a reader of your column.

Dear Parker,
I do not pretend to be what I am not. I despise the phony and dishonest. Legally, I could use the title "Dr." but I wouldn't dream of doing so since my doctorates are all honorary. No one needs a license to listen. No one needs a license to provide a shoulder to cry on or to direct the troubled and the uninformed to service agencies, or to give a word of encouragement to the heavy- hearted, or a swift kick in the posterior to the arrogant. There's more to getting the job done than having a license-as any fisherman will tell you. Dear Ann: Love your column. Heard you speak in Huntington, Long Island, and can attest to the fact that you are a dynamite lady. Let there be no mistake about it. I'm on your side. But I wonder if you have a clear picture of what your column is all about? You have said, "Superior people talk about ideas. Mediocre people talk about things. Little people talk about other people." Surely you must realize that each and every one of us enjoys a little gossip. In fact, your column is the most widely read gossip column in the world. Peo-ple can't wait to see what their neighbors, friends, relatives, colleagues and fellow workers are up to. The saving grace is that all who write in are protected by the merciful cloak of anonymity. At least nobody is hurt. Just sign me -A Little Person Who Loves to Talk About Other People Dear Person: If one considers other people's problems "gossip" then I am guilty as charged. But I view this column in quite a different light. To me, it represents an opportunity for anyone and everyone to un-load anger, fear, hostility, guilt, frustration-the full gamut of human emotions. I try to print letters that deal with every aspect of life. Al-though some of them may seem bizarre, let me assure you nothing is so outrageous or crazy that somebody won't do it. Of course there are those who read Ann Landers for laughs and I have no objection to this. (It may be their only laugh for the day.) Humor can take the sting out of misery. Laughter can be good medicine. Anyone who reads this column regularly cannot help but recognize himself-or his son, or his wife, or his daughter or his boss-eventually. Trouble is the common denominator of living. It is also a great equal-izer. When we share the same kind of trouble we become brothers and sisters under the skin. That, to me, is what this column is all about. I have been asked repeatedly if it is true that my twin (who writes as Dear Abby) and I do not speak. The answer is "No. It is not true. " We do speak- a lot. And often to each other. For many years my sister and I celebrated our wedding anniversaries and birthdays together. We were bom on July 4, 1918. We were married in a double wedding ceremony at Sha 'are Zion Syna-gogue in Sioux City on July 2, 1939. Now we fax each other constantly-at home and at the office. The Good Lord willing, I hope we will do so for many years to come. I once mentioned in the column that I knitted socks for the American Red Cross to help the war effort during World War II. My supervisor at the time suggested I could better serve my country by knitting for the Germans. That inspired someone to send me this: