Evening star., 1936-01-14
EAR MISS DIX-I am engaged
\ to be married to Q very fine
boy, but he Is still in college
and has fWn mora vears tn

- and has two more years to
60. He studies at least three hours
a night during the week. goes to
school in the morning and works
in the afternoon for $l2 a week. He
Is saving every cent for his final two
years at school, so he has little time
or money to spend on taking me out.
This would be all right with me If
it weren't for my friends, who are
always twitting me about my fiance
not taking me around. This makes me
unhappy, as am easily moved by
talk and made to feel sorry for my
self. have told my friends it was
none of their business. but it hasn't
worked. Can you help me with this
problem? GEORGIA.
Answer: You have to grow your
own backbone, my dear. That is
something that nobody else in the
world can do for you, but unless you
do develop enough strength for char
acter to stand on your own mental
and moral feet, and abide by your own
conception Of right and wrong, you
are in for life that will be filled
with unhappiness and end In disaster.
A reed swayed by the wind, that is
what you are, and there are lots of
people like you. They have no stamina,
no fixeY principles, no brains of their
own. They are blown about this way
and that by every breath of idle talk,
by every wind of criticism that comes
their way.
CONSIDER your own case. You are
engaged to q fine young man who
is showing the stuff he is made of
by his conduct. He has the grit to
work. to deny himself, to save every
cent for q definite purpose. He is
young. Don't you suppose that he
would like to play around in the
evenings instead Of digging in at his
books? He is in love. Don't you suppose
he would like to be taking you out
to places Of amusement and spending
his money on good times instead Of
pinching pennies for that college
course?
You know he would. And you really
admire him and love him the more
because he has the manhood to do
the thing that he should do instead
Of the thing he would like to do. But
you are so weak that you haven the
strength to do what you really want
to do, and that Is stand by him and
honor him and understand him. You
let a lot Of silly people make you
unhappy by their teasing you about
his not taking you about.
Unfortunately. there are plenty of
women like you who care more for
what other people say than they do
for their own husbands. You see them
all about you. The wives who ruin
their husbands with their extrava-
gance in trying to keep up with the
Joneses; going in debt for fine clothes
they can't afford because they are
afraid somebody will remark on their
having on last years frock; staving
of the grocer and the butcher to give
parties because everybody Is enter
tanning for Mrs. So-end-So.
\ \ 4 \
HALF Of the wives who keep their
husbands noses to the grindstone
don't really want to do 1t. They would
be glad to live simply and within their
means II they could do SO without
commenting ON their driv-
ing their old car, or not giving their
daughter debut party. What drives
them on to ruin k'thetr cowardly fear
Of other women's tongues.
Believe me. my dear, you will never
have any peace and comfort in life
until what people say about you runs
on Of you like water OF Of q ducks
back. Because you will never escape
being gossiped about No matter what
you do, your friends and acquaintances
will comment on it, even q you do
about what they do.
And II you are ever to have any
peace Of mind you must get to the
place where you win just let them
chatter and pay no attention to them.
TO paraphrase David Crockett,s i'm
mortal epigran: BE sure you ore
right and let EN- talk"
But this strength and philosophy