I Can See Your House From Here - Archives
vol 2 number 22
Editor's Note: Kenn McCracken is on vacation this week. In his place, we present Ronny Littlefield, local comic shop owner, answering reader letters. Kenn will return next week with his usual column.
DEAR RONNY : I am 100-plus pounds overweight. My husband has repeatedly asked me to lose weight but I have not. We no longer make love.
My husband is cordial and continues to provide beautifully for me and the kids -- he's a great dad. Do you think it's fair that he is withholding sex from me? I think he expects too much, as I love to eat. Now he has moved to another bedroom and claims he is turned off sexually. -- FRUSTRATED WIFE
DEAR WIFE : I can feel your pain. My ex-wife SkyeBlue left me after six beautiful months of wedded bliss because of my "slovenly and grotesque appearance" (her words, not mine). She took both kids, along with my VF++ copy of Amazing Spider-Man #1 ; I was not thrilled, to say the very least.
The best I can recommend is to pick up a copy of any of Chris Claremont's run on Uncanny X-Men (particularly his fine work alongside the amazing John Byrne), which deals with the issues of accepting yourself, no matter how different or strange society might see you. But be very careful to wash your hands before you remove the book from it's protective Mylar bag; potato chip grease is especially damaging to the covers.
DEAR RONNY : I am so steamed, I can hardly sit still to write you!
Couples have to give up a lot (albeit willingly) when their children are born. Sneaking a few private moments in the shower while their little ones are asleep or behind a security gate is neither neglectful nor unsafe.
Why? Baby monitors! They are so sensitive you can hear your child breathing, much less waking up and crying for attention.
Loving, affectionate parents who enjoy intimacy are among the greatest gifts you can give a child, assuring them of a stable home life. -- MAD REDHEAD IN TEXAS
DEAR MAD REDHEAD : If you think that you have it bad, lend a moment to poor Clark Kent and Lois Lane. It certainly seems that every time they finally have a moment to work on the future Superfamily, Lex Luthor has come back to Metropolis. That poor Lois Lane...
DEAR RONNY : "Smokeless but Outnumbered in Pennsylvania," who dreaded the thought of her heavy-smoking in-laws holding her newborn baby, has a legitimate concern. Many smokers have the mistaken idea that their secondhand smoke is a gas that is "gone with the wind" when the cigarette goes out. Quite the contrary. Cigarette smoke produces microscopic particles of carcinogenic substances that land on clothing, skin and hair. These particles are stirred up with every movement and drift into the air and can be inhaled by those around them long after the cigarette is out.
People who are subject to secondhand smoke have a four times greater chance of getting lung cancer than those not exposed. As a respiratory therapist who works in pediatric intensive care, I am always outraged when I have a pediatric patient who is struggling to breathe, and Mom and/or Dad and/or relatives come into the room reeking of cigarettes. I try to explain that even though they go outside to smoke, they are bringing particles into the room that have clung to their hair and clothing.
Smokers should take a paper towel and wipe down the windows of their cars. That yellow stain on the paper towel is not a gas but an accumulation of microscopic particles that also lodge in people's lungs.
I would urge "Smokeless" to allow her in-laws to hold her baby only after they shampoo, shower and put on clean clothes since their last cigarette. A baby can't defend itself. If her husband won't, then she has to. -- PINK LUNGS IN COLORADO
DEAR PINK : As any long time collector can tell you, Mylar bags are wonderful protection against all sorts of things, not the least of which is cigarette smoke. Perhaps you might consider encasing your child in a custom designed bag (complete with acid-free backing board); if experience is evidence, the baby's value will most certainly hold steady, if not rise over time.
DEAR RONNY : I am 18 years old and a freshman in college. I have been dating my girlfriend "Holly" for about eight months.
My roommate is also friends with Holly, and that is the problem. He treats Holly like she is a princess and gives her extravagant gifts, sometimes for no reason at all. This irritates me because it makes me look like a terrible boyfriend.
I cannot approach him about it since he is my roommate, and I have to live with him for the rest of the year. Holly realizes that it irritates me, but I can't have her say anything because then it would be extremely weird whenever she comes to visit -- even more than it is now.
How should I handle this? -- CONFUSED IN CLEMSON, S.C.
DEAR CONFUSED : An excellent question, and for the answer I will refer you to Fantastic Four #5 , featuring the beginning of the classic love triangle between Reed Richards, his wife Sue, and Prince Namor of Atlantis. Although Reed is a true genius and a loving husband, Namor is never far from Sue's mind, perhaps because Namor can offer her the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.
It is a tragic scenario, to be sure, but one that holds many lessons for the young and lovelorn.
Ronny Littlefield is the owner, manager, and staff of every comic shop in America, except for ones that we like.