Employment troubles keep a reader from proposing

Dear Annie: Ten years ago, I had a long-distance relationship with a lady. On Thanksgiving night, I was on the couch with her struggling with whether I should propose. I sensed that my employer would soon cut my job and I would not be able to support either her or myself. Two minutes before my ride home showed up, she asked me whether I had thought about marriage. Stammering, I replied, “I wanted to make sure I had tenure first.” I didn’t get a chance to explain my answer.

The next time I saw her, I was about to explain how employment uncertainty had caused my answer regarding marriage. She got up and ran out the door. Two days later, I was laid off. Finding longterm employment has been a 10-year struggle. Seeing as both of us wanted marriage and employment issues were what got in the way, should I try contacting her or let things be?

Dear Former Lover: Before you contact her, get in touch with yourself. Are you sure you’re not just using this woman as a lifeline? Because that wouldn’t be fair to her.

If you are truly in love with this woman and ready to finally commit, call her today. See whether she’ll meet with you so you two can sit down and finish this conversation. No more running out the door. Good luck.

Dear Annie: Today I was walking through the grocery parking lot and saw two instances in which a dog was trapped in a car, panting. I took down the license plate numbers and went into the store and had someone make an announcement. The owners came right out.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, on a 72-degree day, the inside of a car can heat up to 116 degrees within an hour. On an 80-degree day, the inside of a car can heat up to 99 degrees within 10 minutes! And rolling a window down does little to decrease the temperature. I hope you will share this information. Dear Concerned for Canines: You did the right thing by alerting someone. You should also contact the authorities when you see an animal overheating in a car, as they can come rescue the animal and give you instructions on what to do until they arrive. The Humane Society offers information on this subject on its website (http:// www.humanesociety.org).