The Denver Post

Dear Amy: A few years ago, one of my former school teachers died suddenly and unexpected­ly.

- By Amy Dickinson

We were all surprised and saddened by this occurrence.

I recently posted a memory about him on the anniversar­y of his death.

Not too long after, a former classmate reached out to me asking me to call her. She informed me that the teacher had molested her and that it went on for quite some time.

I believe her because I recall feeling back then that something was off about their interactio­ns.

I am now in charge of planning a class reunion.

One person on the committee has expressed a desire to pay homage to deceased teachers and classmates. This teacher’s absence would be conspicuou­s. I know what happened to my classmate is not common knowledge. I do not want to include this man in a memorial.

How should I address this with my committee? — Worried

Dear Worried: My understand­ing from your question is that you don’t want to bring up this allegation to others in the group because (at least in part) it would violate the privacy of this teacher’s victim.

You should ask the fellow classmate who reached out to you for guidance regarding this memorial: Would she be comfortabl­e if others included him in the memorial to other teachers?

I shared your question with a spokespers­on at The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN.org), who responds: “It’s important to respect every survivor’s privacy. Instead of telling your committee about your classmate’s allegation­s, offer an alternativ­e suggestion, like explicitly honoring the deceased students, not the faculty, and then offering a moment of silence for beloved teachers, without naming names.”

Dear Amy: Recently, “Steve,” whom I dated (for two years) decades ago, contacted me. We had not seen each other for 30 years. We have been getting along very well and communicat­ing daily. We live on opposite coasts of the country, but plan to get together soon.

Steve tells me that he loves me and wants us to be together. I love him, too.

However, Steve continuall­y talks about his past lovers, and still keeps in touch with some of them. He referred to one of his past lovers as: “The one I was most serious about — after you moved away.” It really hurt my feelings and made me feel like I meant nothing to him.

I calmly tried to explain to him that his comment about him being the “most serious about her” made me feel bad. He said, “Do I have to be walking on eggshells from now on?”

I really doubt that he would be thrilled if I said something like, “Remember Hank? He was the one that I was the most serious about after you.” — Too Much Informatio­n

Dear TMI: Your long-ago lover, “Steve,” contacted you, just as he has contacted other former flames. You should assume that this is how he rolls. You should also assume that he might have a long-distance emotional engagement with other exes similar to the one with you.

It seems reasonable for you to ask him not to wax on about previous relationsh­ips. Your current dynamic is triggered by a combinatio­n of his insensitiv­ity and your over-sensitivit­y and insecurity.

Proceed warily. Any long-distance relationsh­ip contains more than the usual number of romantic and emotional risks. Until you two meet in person and develop an intimate level of trust and agree to exclusivit­y, you should listen carefully and take very seriously all of his statements concerning previous relationsh­ips, as well as his propensity to accuse, rather than reassure, you. Contact Amy Dickinson via email, askamy@tribpub.com

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