Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-06-21
DOROTHY DIX DISCUSSESLIFE
TALKS ON HEART AND HOME

the easiest thing in the world, De-
spondent Wife. 1T takes two to
make an argument, and if you just
keep out Of it your husband can't
get into it. Break yourself of the
habit Of contradicting him. Keep
silent, no matter what he says.
If he asserts that the moon is
made of green cheese, let it go at
that 1t doesn't make a. bit of diff
ference to you whether it is or not
but it does make a big difference
whether you get into a quarrel with
your husband over it, and in the
heat of debate you both say things
that you don't mean, but that stab
like dagger thrusts and hurt like an
unhealed wound afterward, so that
your husband goes out and slams
the door behind him and you sit and
brood over his injustice.
Of all foolish and futile things in
the world, an argument is the sill
Hest and most useless. Nobody is
ever convinced by one. Nobody ever
changes his or her opinion on &C
count of one. All that it does is just
to stir up strife and trouble, and
ALLEVIATE people who care for each
other.
Nine.tenths OF the discord in
homes can be traced right back TO
the arguing habit that husbands and
wives fall into. Why, | have been
in homes where people had fought
for forty years over points of doc
trine in religion, or political issues
that were dead as a door nail, or
hot Il ,oJ-1 I,0
living room or not. Each one knew
that nothing on earth would change
the others opinion, and that just
to mention churches or tobacco was
as good for a fight as a nickel is
for a ginger cake. Yet instead of
stepping wide of these topics, they
dra gSed them in by the hair of their
| heads and went at them hammer
and tongs.
All the peace and serenity was
scattered to the winds. Half the
time there was grouchy man and
a fearful woman around the house
and they actually came to dislike
each other, all because they had not
sense enough to cure themselves OF
the arguing vice.
| Use more intelligence than this
Despondent Wife, and cheer up. The
remedy is in your own hands. Just
let your husband say what he pleas
eS, uncontradicted. Receive any as
sertion that he makes in silence
You can go on believing as you like
but he can't argue with your un.
spoken thoughts. And you can't
monologue long about a. thing that
nobody takes enough interest in tC
discuss with you.
Dear Miss Dix-Should a widower
in poor health, who is fifty-one
years old, marry a woman of TWEEN.
ty-nine? If he has grown children
should they interfere in his plans OF
matrimony? Sunbeam.
Answer: To answer your last
/ question first. l do not think that
grown children have any right tc
| interfere with their fathers matri
monial plans unless he is making q
much more foolish marriage than he
would be if he married YOU But
unless your widower is able to pro
vide very well for you and to hire
trained nurses when he is sick, il
seems to me that you would be
making very poor bargain in get
ting him.
The disparity of age would be toe
/ great, even if he was strong and
healthy man. 1t is prohibitive in a
! sick man. You would be nothins
but the slave of a man concerned
! with his own health gloomy anC
| hypochondriacal, and you would
spend the best years of YOUR life in
| the sickroom instead of in enjoying
yourself. If the man is not rich the
situation would be worse, because
you probably would have to support
him in addition to nursing him.
DOROTHY DIX.
! Copyright, 1924