Husband’s outdoor urinating upsets wife
DEAR ABBY: We moved to the country. My educated, urbane husband now bypasses our 2 1/2 bathrooms and relieves himself outdoors.
We no longer have children at home, and he refrains from doing it when we have company, but it drives me crazy! Could I be jealous, or should I join him? Is it truly unsanitary, and is my letter a “first”? — Tempted in California
DEAR TEMPTED: “Public” urination is against the law in most communities because of sanitation issues. That said, the practice is not as unusual as you may believe. I can’t stop you, but I do suggest you bring along some tissue.
As to whether your letter is a first, the topic arose about 20 years ago when “The Whiz-zard’s Wife” wrote me about her husband doing it. She wondered if it was a normal male ritual. I replied:
“Dogs and cats urinate to mark their territory. Your husband may be doing it for the same reason. For pets, the problem can be resolved by neutering; however, I wouldn’t recommend that for your husband.”
I then suggested she check with the police in her city.
When people ask for my favorite letters, I tell them the correspondence generated by “The Whiz-zard’s Wife’s” letter ranks among them. A sample:
DEAR ABBY: Though a frequent reader, I’ve only now found reason to write, in response to the lady who feared her husband’s urinating on their lawn was inappropriate. So it may be, but all men pee outdoors. — Charlton Heston, Beverly Hills, Calif.
DEAR CHARLTON: Thank you for the input. Your letter is but a drop in the bucket compared to the deluge that has flooded my office.
DEAR ABBY: My husband did the same thing over my vigorous objections. When we moved to our new home, we had a wooden fence built. I decided to teach him a lesson and do the same. He told me I had better not do it again. I told him as long he continued, I would do it too.
He hasn’t done it since. Sometimes, when they won’t listen, you have to SHOW ‘em. — Happy Wife, Forney, Texas
DEAR ABBY: I strongly disagree with your answer to “Whiz-zard’s Wife.” You said you suspect the practice is not unusual. My husband says the guy is an exhibitionist. I say he’s lazy and ignorant.
However, I once knew a psychiatrist who confessed to occasionally “watering” the rubber tree in his outer office. I can’t imagine why he disclosed this to me. — Arizona Annie
DEAR ANNIE: I can’t imagine why he did it, either. It would certainly discourage a patient from using the chair closest to the plant.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www. Dearabby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.