Annie’s Mailbox : Racial insults scare schoolgirl

Dear Annie: I am a 12-year-old girl with a big problem. I am African-American and proud of it, but at school I get called foul names. I’ve asked teachers to talk to the students, but they just say they will get to it soon.

I’m getting scared to go to school because some of the kids have threatened to attack me. I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. I have even considered dropping out, but I want my education. I want to be the first in my family to go to college. Is there any way to make the pain stop hurting me? I hate the feeling of being hated. – Racism Kills the Soul

Dear Racism: Are you the only person of color in your school? No one should be threatening you – for any reason whatsoever. Talk to your parents and have them meet with the school principal about the bullying. If steps aren’t taken to stop it immediately, your parents should seek legal advice.

Dear Annie: I’m a 59-year-old female baby boomer who is now approaching her elder years. I’m increasingly frustrated these days when I can’t tell the shampoo bottle from the conditioner in the steamy shower, or I have to grapple with impossible push-down-and-twist bottle tops. More than once, I’ve nearly brushed my teeth with a look-alike tube of hair gel. I’ve ruined numerous blouses ripping out scratchy labels that I couldn’t tolerate for another minute.

Annie, please get a message to product designers: If a multitudinous mega-generation is reaching advanced age and needs clothing in softer fabrics, and products color-coded, marked in LARGE letters with easy-to-open tops, there’s got to be a money-making opportunity here that’s win-win.

Who would like to be the first to package toothpaste embossed with a large “T” so we can find it in a steam-filled bathroom without glasses? How about baby boom mouthwash in flip-top bottles? I’d love to see a summer sandal marketed as “Svelte, with ample toenail coverage and a low, sexy heel.” Millions are about to greet the 60s in a whole new way. We could get by with a little help from friends who develop a few creative, intelligent product designs. – California Dreamer

Dear Dreamer: Wouldn’t it be nice not to “twist and s)hout” when opening bottle caps? There must be thousands of older seniors thinking, “We’ve been asking for these same things for years.” Now that boomers are hitting their 60s, designers who can come up with sharp-looking, trendy products tailored to the newly squinty-eyed, aging hippie generation will make a bundle.