Man gets angry over kid’s behavior

DEAR HARRIETTE: My friend “Fred’s” daughter’s birthday was approaching, and her friends wanted to surprise her. All of her friends met and shared their ideas for what to do. When her birthday arrived, they surprised her with balloons and food. To everyone’s surprise, one of the guests blew out the candle for the birthday girl, which made her upset. She cried a lot, and Fred got angry at the kid because it was his daughter’s birthday, not theirs. How should Fred have approached the situation since it was just a kid, and she may not have fully understood what she had done? – Inappropriate Behavior DEAR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR: You haven’t said how old Fred’s daughter is, but you have described the friend group as “kids.” My advice to Fred is to let it go. Of course it was not appropriate for the friend to blow out the birthday girl’s candle, but who knows why this happened? Perhaps that child has never had a birthday cake. Maybe that’s the kid who is needy for attention. It could be anything. In the moment, the correct response would have been to relight the candle, let the right kid blow it out and keep the party moving.

Saliva tests developed to identify cancer

Dear Doctors: I heard there will be a saliva test to see who has a high risk of getting prostate cancer. I don’t see how saliva would have anything to do with your prostate gland. How does the test work, and how can I get access to it?

Republican irrational exuberance?

You can feel it – Republican confidence in victory is growing. Many in the GOP, from elected officials to pundits on the social platform X, believe former President Donald Trump is headed to victory, perhaps even a big victory, on Nov. 5. For weeks, Vice President Kamala Harris’ lead in national polls has been shrinking, a little bit each day, until now the two are basically tied, which some experts believe will mean that Trump will win.

PTA president pushes back on suggestion

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am the president of the parent-teacher association at my daughter’s school, and at a recent meeting, the principal suggested that it is mandatory for us to buy food from the school canteen so that all the kids will have the same food and not feel jealous or envious of others who have more expensive options. What do you think I should suggest so that we can all be on the same page while explaining that we prefer to bring healthier snacks from home rather than buying ready-made ones? – Mandatory Canteen DEAR MANDATORY CANTEEN: Take a quick poll from a few parents to get a sense of how other families feel about this idea. Do so discreetly, as you do not want to start a buzz about this sensitive topic. With your polling data and your own feelings, schedule a meeting with the principal to voice your concerns. Though the principal’s intentions are good, there are many reasons why this thinking is flawed. In your case, you prefer to make fresh, healthy snacks. For other students, I’m sure there will be dietary or health restrictions. The very students the principal is trying to protect may be further embarrassed if they buy no snacks because their parents cannot afford to pay for them.

DO JUST ONE THING

• Single-use plastics are a growing concern when it comes to pre-sliced cheese sold in supermarkets. To cut down on your plastic usage, try buying your cheese from the deli counter instead of from the refrigerated dairy section. You can get cheese cut from blocks and wrapped in wax paper to take home. At home, separate the cheese into smaller servings and store it in airtight containers.

Talk of mass deportation is Texas bull

Putting aside the question of whether he will be inaugurated as president come January, is there any chance that Donald Trump will deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States? To anybody who knows very much about what’s actually going on in the American economy, the answer is no.

The ascendancy of the vulgar candidate

It’s one thing to have the fancypants people say that Donald Trump has vulgar taste: goldplated chairs that one commentator said “look like they belong at one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces”; a fondness for marble-and-gold home furnishings; a glitzy chandelier in the bathroom; garish excesses in Trump Tower and the Trump Princess yacht. That’s snobbery masked as sophistication.

Is Trump too old to be president?

E arlier this year, Democrats were outraged that Republicans – and the media – were focusing on Joe Biden’s advancing age and declining acuity. He’s fine, they insisted. It’s all partisan propaganda. The accusations are unfair.

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