Dear Goldy,

I went out with Eli twice. I started not feeling well the night before our third date. Nothing major, but my head and throat were bothering me, and I was very tired. I called Eli in the morning and told him I may have to cancel the date because I wasn’t feeling well. He told me he’d call me later to see if I was feeling better, and I could decide then; he didn’t want me to cancel in the morning when I might feel better later in the day. Fine.

Dear Goldy:

I’m trying to figure out how to describe myself; but every time I do, it sounds conceited. Let’s put it this way: If I were a goy and went to public school, I’d be captain of the cheerleading squad.

Many non-pet owners can’t understand the love a person has for their pet. They dress and groom them, cook special food for them, buy expensive toys... They refer to their pet as their “fur-child.”

My apologies to readers. I had this article ready to go at the beginning of June. I send one article at a time to the editors, even though I may have the next five ready to go. The end of June came and passed, and I completely forgot about this article until I found it five minutes ago, waiting to be found in my files. It’s a little late, but full of life lessons that can apply in July or any other month, as well.

Dear Goldy:

I’m a horrible friend. I feel so bad for what I did to one of my closest friends, someone I’ve known for over a decade. I feel lower than low. But if I tell her what I did, I risk losing the friendship. I know she’ll be angry. I can handle anger. But I don’t want to lose her.