Old and discarded
I am a 72-year-old married (for now) man. I was just told by my wife that she wants a divorce because I am no fun. We’ve been married for almost 50 years. Apparently, she has been planning this for quite some time. She got a face-lift, wants liposuction, etc. She goes out dancing and has been working out.
This activity has been precipitated because I have been reacting to some of my meds and have a tumor in my right kidney. I have been slowed down by bad hips and knees and a bad back from sports as a youth. She has also said that seeing as she is turning 70, she doesn’t have much time. Who does?
Apparently, she forgot who waited on her hand and foot after her facelift (when she spent three days in bed), broken leg (when I spent six weeks carrying her around) and auto accident (when she was bedridden at home for three weeks). I never considered it a burden.
She doesn’t want to RV in our 40-foot bus anymore because I have to go to the bathroom every two hours. I interrupt the driving. I enjoyed the trips around the country. So did she.
I don’t do drugs, drink a lot or cheat. She has cheated in the past, which wasn’t so bad as the lying about it. We have done well in life and are well-off. I am disappointed in her selfishness.
Evidently, assisting her mother during her dad’s messy and prolonged death several years ago established a “not me” attitude for her future. Well, excuse me for getting old. I have tried hard to mend perceived issues and overcome fabricated slights. My list of her offenses is pretty substantial, too. I think the river has run its course. Should I flee or fight to stay? — Discarded in Sarasota
It takes two to fight, and right now it sounds as if your wife is pretty clear that she wants to flee with her divorce request. The death of her father and turning 70 really had an impact on her. I understand your being short with her because you are so angry and hurt by her actions. But the reality is that you sound like a great husband, and there are millions of women who would give anything to have a husband like you. If you found one, your free bird of a wife might realize this and turn around. If not, remember that you deserve love and happiness, and if your wife insists on divorce, then find it with someone else.
As a pharmacist, I would like to help clarify the need for the use of milliliters versus U.S. customary units.
A milliliter is an exact measurement. A teaspoon or a tablespoon in a utensil set can have a large disparity in volume compared with that of a measuring spoon. Therefore, it is expected that someone using a teaspoon or tablespoon measurement would give more or less than the prescribed amount, leading to over- or under-dosing — dangerous in either case.
I have worked in retail pharmacy in three different states. The pharmacies have had complimentary dosing spoons to make the measurements accurate. Customers should always ask for a spoon rather than convert. — Caring for the
Customer
Thank you for sharing and for caring.
ACROSS
1 Space station
wear 7 “Walk Like __”: Four Seasons hit 11 Sharp-tack link 14 Stage of intensity 15 Pitch a fit 16 Happened upon 17 *Look for a specific passage in, as a book 19 It’s near the midpoint of the Miss. River 20 Rap sheet data 21 Place Sundance
liked to see 22 “Gotcha!” 26 *About 22% of an average 18-hole golf course 28 Every time 30 Key 31 Salt formula 32 Sprain
application 37 *Point where it
starts to hurt 42 Watch creepily 43 Corn syrup brand 45 Chimney plumes 49 Largest cat in the
genus Leopardus 51 *Like baklava
layers 56 Change as
needed 57 Musical meter
maid 58 Exposes, in a
way 60 Gender-neutral
possessive 61 Explorers ... and ones who can determine what the answers to starred clues have in common? 66 Numeric prefix 67 Tête output 68 Canadian dollar
coin 69 Buddhist school 70 Give up 71 Con target
DOWN
1 Macroeconomics
abbr. 2 Bering, for one 3 Footwear brand 4 Wrath 5 Easily peeved 6 Very, to
Schumann 7 Candle
emanation 8 Catcher Joe with a trio of consecutive Gold Glove Awards (2008-’10) 9 Fretful feeling 10 Indefinite ordinal 11 Heineken brand 12 Parlor piece 13 Finally 18 Material flaw 21 LPN workplaces 22 __ for gold 23 Open-handed hit 24 Fem. advocacy
group 25 City WSW of
Bogotá 27 Expensive 29 Where it’s at 33 2008 biopic starring Benicio del Toro 34 Blow it 35 Arthur with two Emmys and a Tony 36 Concerning 38 Met or Nat 39 Signed off on 40 Refrain syllables 41 Stop talking about 44 Legendary Giant 45 Quick squirt 46 __ d’hôtel 47 Decides to join 48 Mauna __ 50 “All the Light We __ See”: 2015 Pulitzer novel 52 Woodworking,
e.g. 53 Despised 54 “With this ring,
__ ... ” 55 Bad check letters 59 Lubricates 61 Photo 62 __-wop 63 Roxy Music
co-founder 64 Fix badly? 65 Observe
It takes two to fight, and right now it sounds as if your wife is pretty clear that she wants to flee with her divorce request.