Celebrate Valentine's Day to acknowledge all kinds of love
Valentine's Day is here and, to be honest, I don't know much about St. Valentine. So I wonder if he meant the day to only be about lovers.
Is there any reason I shouldn't send valentines to my friends? Why should anyone feel bad because they're not “with” someone? If you love and/or care about a person, can't you send them a box of chocolates, a card or some flowers? It seems to me this should be a time of year you can let a buddy know you appreciate him, or let your brother, cousin, sister, neighbor or coworker know you care. It doesn't have to be mushy. Happy Valentine's Day to you, Abby!
DEAR TIM: Valentine's Day may have started as a celebration of romance and romantic love, but it has broadened to acknowledge other kinds of love and affection. There's absolutely no reason you cannot celebrate the way you described.
Happy Valentine's Day to YOU, Tim, and to all my readers, for whom I have great appreciation and affection.
DEAR ABBY: My brother is a 59-year-old widower. He has dated a few women over the years, and he's very afraid of being alone.
The woman he is with now has made it clear that she is with him because he can provide financial security for her. She's pushing him to move in together and get married, but only after he sells his house and buys a new one. She said she could never live there because his deceased wife lived there. However, she is unable to contribute anything financially, so this would all be out of his pocket. He looks past all of this.
I have told him I'm worried about her using him for his money, but he doesn't want to hear it. How can I get through to him?
DEAR SISTER: You obviously can't. However, his lawyer might be able to deliver that message more effectively than you. This is why you should STRONGLY encourage him to have a talk with his lawyer before he sells his house or formalizes his arrangement with this lady, who has made her objectives crystal clear.
On Valentine’s Day, it seems only right to have a deal featuring the queen of hearts, who ought to be a darling. But she certainly isn’t in “Alice in Wonderland,” where she keeps crying, “Off with her head!”
Still, what part should she play in this deal? South is in five clubs, and West leads the seven of hearts.
This deal is in “Right Through the Pack” by Robert Darvas and Norman de Villiers Hart, which was first published in 1948.
The bidding is weird, as was its wont in those days. East’s double with only one club is the most debatable call, and some other bids would not escape criticism.
Declarer, after winning the first trick with the ace of hearts, would have led a low club if he could have peeked into East’s hand. But not unnaturally, he crossed to the king of spades and ran the knave of clubs (as jacks were known back then) to East’s ace. What did he do now?
Had West led a singleton, and had South cleverly played the eight from 10-8-4? Should East switch to the two of diamonds, playing his partner for the knave?
The queen of hearts was also analyzing the position, and she spotted the decapitating defense -- she leapt out of East’s hand and landed face upward on the table!
Declarer, after winning on the board, needed to get to his hand to take a second trump finesse. However, he could not. He tried a low diamond, but East won with his ace and led another heart, so that West could overruff with the queen of clubs.