They Should Have Asked Carolyn

 

October 13, 2026

 

A woman wrote in to an advice columnist saying that her family makes her and her husband feel guilty if they don’t spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with them. They live several hours closer to the wife’s family, but the husband resents having his family get less priority. In addition, his parents are older and he feels that their time with his parents is limited.

 

How, the writer asked, could they make a decision that is fair without spending every holiday without disappointing someone?

 

I expected the columnist to give a Carolyn Hax-type answer: You can’t. Your parents are master manipulators and you’re buying into it. It’s time for everyone to grow up—your parents should stop whining and you should act like the adults that you are and do what is best for you, whether it’s visiting his parents, your parents, or staying home. (My words; Carolyn might have been more tactful.)

 

Instead, the columnist suggested that they invite the husband’s parents to the wife’s parents’ gathering.

 

So, technically, she answered the question that was asked; but not the question that needed to be answered.

 

They should have asked Carolyn.

 

 

 

More on Alien Space Debris

 

October 19, 2026

 

In the post “Signs of Life” (March 31, 2017), I wrote that if people really wanted to know if there was alien life in the universe, they should look for alien space trash.

 

Well, scientists are now proposing that we look for microscopic particles on the moon that could have been left by alien technology. Not as dramatic as seeing part of an alien ship float by, but it’s along the same lines.

 

You heard it here first.

 

 

He Said, She Said

 

October 19, 2026

 

He said: The former US Ambassador to Greece asked hm to pay off her $100,000 AmEx bill before her Senate confirmation hearing. For this trifling favor, she would grant him access to senior administration officials.

 

She said: He owes me that much and more for work I did for him. He is a liar and a known blackmailer.

 

He said: I am suing you for defamation; but if the Trump administration does me a favor (two, actually: Get one of Warren Buffet’s companies to pay $40 million in damages to patients, and extradite from Pakistan the doctor who [allegedly] committed the malpractice) I will drop the lawsuit.

 

He said: It’s not extortion, it’s a hardball negotiating technique.

 

 

Potato, rotten potahto.