THE CITIZEN JUNE 8 - 14, 1986 Eri'k W�shington Dear Erik, T enty year ago I graduated from high school. Last eek I received an invitation to my high school reunion. I have had . children since I left school and two husbands and God only knows ho many boyfriend. I or in grade school cafe- teri and I work hard to take care of my family and me. Some of the people that I went to school ith went on to be­ come doctor I wyer , teachers and well to-do people. I want to o b ck and my old friend but I feel ashamed of my If bee u I don't have fine home or car like mo t of them. y family y I should go but I don't kno hat I ould do. .A., Los An ele California Dear Erik, I recently met a man. We em to really like e ch other very much hen we fir t met, The flr date was ju heaven! When I ggested that we get together again, he was all for it. He said that he ould call me in two days. He didn't. So I called him and he was very happy to hear from me. We m de plan to have dinner that night and he never showed up. I aited for almost two hours and then I just went to bed. When I called him the next day to find out wh t h d happened to him (I as very concerned), he wa too busy to talk with me. He id to call him bac later in the evening. When I did reach him he as too tired to talk and . d that he would call me the next day. He never did. I don't know what to do no but I no that he likes me. P.F., ew Yor ew York thin to do . to hi . If b . at all ill E Dear Erik, y hu shand is changing careers again. D ring u year marria8e he has had five different careers or job. He has failed in everything that he ever tte pted to do. Last year he only made $750 before taxes. I have always paid all of the bill becau I loved him. Four month go he was on a game show on television. He won over 13 thousand dollars. When his eck arrived, he told me that he was leaving and that he anted divorce. That wa two OMEN • CHILDREN "For the look of Excellence" TUES. - FRI. - 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. SAT. 8 a.1II. - 4 p.m. CLOSED MON. lOR CITIZE ·S DAY TUES. 26-6388 271 E. E PIRE BE TO HARBOR • days 0 and now he's gone. I feel very b d because he took another woman with him. Well he's gone and I don't kno how to get him bac . And I do want him back in my life. • "V" in, Chicagi, Ill. De. "V", Try to give yo If and your hu d me time to tho E - - - Got a problem? eed an answer? Or do you just want to talk? Then write to Erik Washington in care of this new - p per or to: 'Dear Erik', Times Square Station, P. O. Box 755, New York, New York 10108- 0755- -- COPING by Dr. Charla W. Faulkner , A Letter From an Angry Reader "Dear Mrs. D.: An unfortunat thing about our society is that the real world is imperfect. Many of us would like to clo our eyes and have the unpleasantness dis­ appear. It just doesn't happen that way and the newspaper is one of the means of letting us know what to expect when we step out of our front door. Fortunately, we live in a near-democracy in which we can be exposed to the truth. Some other societie control' manage and restrict the news o that you are expo d only to those ideas that the govern­ ment wants you aware of. Thi is propaganda that leads to thorough brainwashing. Our society allows exposure to a wide range of ideas and information, This i the stuff of which learning is composed. This allows the mind to expand and allows you to participate in the selection of govern­ mental repre ntatives who have your interest at heart. Do I accept and adhere to every point of view that i expre d by someone else, and appears in my column? May I answer the question by a . g one? Would you po the same question to any net ork new - caster that you presented to me? Examine your. television new­ casts. Do you think the anchor per nally accepts everything that is read on the news? It is doubtful. The news is too varied for one person to believe everything. Can you guess ho many men actually believe that a woman's only real value is in bed? I can only suggest that you examine the statistics to find how many unmarried Home of the Blues women with children exi in our ciety. This is a major problem. The best way to con­ front this issue is to 'try to improve our society rather than -to brush the untidy elements under the rug of our mind . C e is currently deb ting a bi that if passed, would establish a coding system for record albums. The c ding system would provide some idea of the degree of x, violence and vulgarity that is implicit on record albums. Would you demand the same thing for newspapers? If J do not write the realities of our society, they will be found out about at school, wor , church or at play. This column belongs to you it is not a vehicle for the expression solely of my point of vie . That's why your letter appears here today. Plea continue to read and re pond to this column. In i­ dentally, I think women are as valuable as men to the dev - lopment and perpetuation of our society. Write to Dr. Faulkner at P.O. Box 50016, Washington, DC 20004. Broo Iyn Bar & Grill 379 T rrltorial, B. H.