DEAR CRABBY,

My sister has asthma. This last week, she had to go to the emergency room, and not for the first time. It worries her family sick every time this happens. She had followed a woman through the check out line and out the door of the drugstore, and the woman's perfume was on much too heavy. May I take this opportunity to caution your readers about applying such strong scent? Many people with allergies end up gravely ill each year because of it.

MELISSA'S SIS

DEAR MELISSA'S SIS,

May I take this opportunity to caution everyone about following strangers anywhere? Your sister is not very bright to continue following, all the way out the door. Had the woman been wearing 'Ciara', it is my belief your sister would have also thrown up. I really don't like that perfume. I have no allergies, and it still makes me nauseous. You can smell it all the way across a crowded room. It just makes the air feel thick and sickly sweet, almost like vertigo or car sickness. You can actually get dizzy. Once I smelled it in a grocery store line and almost left all the stuff on the counter. ....Now, what were we talking about?

DEAR CRABBY,

After a long and fairly successful career, "Tom" retired nearly 8 years ago. All the years my husband worked, he adhered to a dress code. His job required the usual suit, tie, polished shoes, etc. Tom was never the 'GQ' type, but he was clean. Daily bathing, after-shave lotion, clean shirts, socks and shorts were part of his daily routine.

Now it's a different story. For the past seven years, I have watched Tom's lack of personal hygiene progress to the point of - well, he is repugnant. He looks bad, smells bad, doesn't shower, shave or change his clothes more often than every 4 days. Even our furniture smells now. I wash sheets and pillowcases almost daily, and spray everything with disinfectants and fabric freshener.

I have set an example consistently as an always-showered wife, hoping to get a similar response from my husband. He says I'm being neurotic about the cleanliness. Please tell me, what else can I do? From,

ROSE'S NOSE

DEAR ROSE'S,

Have you thought about taking a shower with him? If you jump on him every time he gets out of the tub, he may get the hint. Sometimes a little attention can go a long way.

You can spray deodorant on the insides of his tee shirts before he gets to them. Also consider he may not be doing a lot of personal grooming because he has no where to go. Or he may just be a pig.

crabcakes@sitnews.org

 

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