Parents become paranoid thanks to crime shows

Dear Abby: I’m currently unemployed and I live with my parents. I have job-searched for months now for something within walking distance. I pay for food with food stamps. But I can’t yet pay for transportation, insurance, necessities, etc.

I love to walk four to six times a week for 30 minutes to an hour. It helps me with depression and boosts my self-esteem, health and wellness. Well, I’ve been warned several times that I could get hit by a vehicle, kidnapped and even murdered.

Abby, I have spoken with the police in my area. They assure me it’s safe to be out for a walk. Yet, if I’m gone more than 15 or 20 minutes, I receive incessant, ominous, foreboding warning calls on my cellphone. What can I do about their overactive spookiness? I can’t afford a treadmill. Dear Stepping: When you leave for your walk, tell your parents approximately what time they can expect you back, leaving yourself a few minutes’ leeway. Then silence your cellphone and enjoy.

Dear Abby: I’m not in the habit of picking fights or bringing up controversial topics in social situations. But if someone else brings it up first or makes a verifiable claim, I think I’m within my rights to ask for a source or to argue the point if I disagree.

Is it rude to ask, “Oh, what’s your source for that?” or say, “The studies I’ve read say that ...”? Dear Friendly: I think it depends upon the subject being discussed and the tone in which the question is asked. Sometimes it ain’t what you say as much as the way it comes across.