Column Just As Appropriate Today

Sat., March 7, 1998

Ann Landers Creators Syndicate

Dear Ann Landers: In vain, I have waited to see this terrific column appear again. It is just as good today as it was when you ran it in 1982. Please find room for it, Ann. It made me do a lot of soul-searching. - May in Paradise, Calif.

Dear May: Thank you for asking. It pleases me that you have hung onto that column for 16 years. Here it is:

Dear Ann Landers: Like everyone else, I am flat broke from overspending at Christmastime. But I need to go shopping again soon because I am completely out of self-respect. I’ve said something I wish I could take back, and I am not feeling too good about myself.

I also want to exchange a load of self-righteousness I picked up during the year for an equal amount of humility. I hear it is less expensive and wears well. And while I am at it, I am going to check on tolerance and see if there is any available in my size.

I must remember to try to match some patience with the little I have left. My neighbor is loaded with it, and it looks awfully good on her. I was told the same department has a repair shop for mending integrity. Mine has become frayed around the edges from too much compromising and not enough self-discipline. If I don’t get refurbished soon, there won’t be any left.

I almost forgot the most important thing of all - compassion. If I see some, no matter what the color, size or shape, I’m going to stock up heavily, regardless of the price. I have run out of it so many times and always feel ashamed of myself when it happens.

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get around to shopping for these items. They don’t cost nearly as much as some of the frivolous things I bought at Christmastime, and I’ll get a lot more satisfaction from them. I’m going shopping today, and I can leave my checkbook and credit cards at home. - Pueblo, Colo.

Dear Pueblo: Thanks for the wonderful idea. I hope you find the store crowded.

Dear Ann Landers: I am 94 years old, and my eyesight is poor, so please overlook the mistakes in this letter. I was very moved by your column asking readers to send valentines to our veterans in VA hospitals across the country, and it brought back many wonderful memories.

My father was a veteran of the Spanish-American War of 1898, and he suffered from malaria, cholera, jungle rot and a bladder fungus until the end of his life. Medical treatment was quinine, which was all they knew in those days. He returned from Cuba needing medical attention. There was no hospital in our town, so President McKinley himself arranged for my father to get top-notch medical treatment.

My father was never a healthy person. I often heard him suffering all night long. My mother took very good care of him and tried her best to ease his pain. When she passed away, I took care of my father and did my best to ease his suffering.

It’s amazing when I think of how little medical help was available for our soldiers back then. Now, these men are almost forgotten. After World War I, whenever our city had a parade, our boys who helped the Cubans gain their independence from Spain were always at the tail end of the procession.

We should never forget any of our veterans. Bless those heroes. - A Woman in Canton, Ohio, Named Florence

Dear Florence: And bless you for sending on such a thoughtful letter. You touched a great many hearts today.

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