The Oklahoman

Friend’s new look makes her look aged

- 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. Send your queries to “My Answer,” c/o Billy Graham,

I have a friend in her mid-40s who has naturally dark hair she keeps cut short. It looked fine.

A few months ago, she bleached her hair platinum blond. She said she was going for a look that will include dark roots, but she has kept the roots platinum, so now her hair just looks white —especially in pictures. She posted photos of herself with her boyfriend on Facebook, and while I was scrolling down, my initial reaction was, “Who is that elderly woman he’s sitting with?’’ A mutual friend commented to me how bad my friend’s hair looks and how aging it is. Should I mention to her that her hair color makes her look 20 years older? Telling someone her hair doesn’t look good can be hurtful, but if it were me, I’d want to know.

Be diplomatic, but tell her. A tactful way to lead in would be to say you saw the pictures she posted on Facebook and the platinum hair makes her look “older.’’ However, unless she asks how much older, don’t volunteer, because if you say it’s two decades, she may take offense.

What is the rule for tipping in drive-thrus? I never thought a tip was necessary in places like that. If the service is good, a tip is warranted. Now many drivethrus have a tip jar out on the ledge of the window.

It’s like everyone seems to think they deserve one. A tip is expected when you get your vehicle inspected, your tires changed, your oil changed, manicures and hairstylin­g, among other things. How much is appropriat­e to tip for services? I certainly don’t want to devalue someone’s service if times have changed and this is commonplac­e.

For restaurant servers, hairstylis­ts and manicurist­s, a 15 to 20 percent tip is expected. The same is true for taxi drivers, hotel personnel and skycaps. In other situations, a tip may be offered when the service performed has been exceptiona­l.

If the service you received at the drive-thru was prompt, your order was correct and the person at the window was pleasant and helpful, either give the workers a couple of dollars or the loose change that’s returned to you. However, a tip is not required.

A woman friend of mine is angry at me because I have started dating a mutual friend of ours. She says when someone wants to date someone’s friend, the polite thing to do is ask how the friend feels about it. Mind you, the man I’m going out with isn’t her ex and was as good a friend to me as he was to her. If I had discussed the matter with her, what difference would it have made? She doesn’t own him. Does her logic make sense to you?

No. Your “friend’’ has no prior claim on the man you’re dating. That she would try to insert herself into your romantic life makes no sense, and you would be foolish to allow it.

UNIVERSAL UCLICK

Let me ask you a question: What do you suppose would happen to you if God didn’t “bother” with you? In other words, what would happen to you if God forgot all about you or ignored you or refused to have anything to do with you?

I’ll tell you what would happen: Your life would end immediatel­y, before you finished reading this sentence. We are dependent on God for everything, and because He loves us, He supplies us with absolutely everything we need for our lives. He not only created the world and gave us the physical laws by which it operates, but He also actively sustains everything in it — including us. The Bible says, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

Yes, you can leave God out of your life — but why would you? Don’t be deceived; life isn’t always going to be the way it is right now for you. Someday sickness or loneliness or death will catch up with you. Why wait until then to turn to God? The Bible warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12, NKJV).

I urge you instead to discover just how much God loves you. He not only takes care of you, but He sent His Son into the world to give His life for your salvation. Don’t ignore Him any longer, but open your life to Christ today. The Bible says, “How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).

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