{"id":6595,"date":"2026-08-10T08:07:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T08:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6595"},"modified":"2026-08-10T08:07:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T08:07:26","slug":"dear-abby-were-distressed-at-the-idea-this-couple-will-be-on-our-cruise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6595","title":{"rendered":"Dear Abby: We’re distressed at the idea this couple will be on our cruise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DEAR ABBY<\/strong>: My husband and I have a friend who is kind, intelligent and warm. However, as we have spent more time together, her compulsive talking has become a real problem for us.<\/p>\n

Read more Bay FC picks up point but misses out on more in Chicago<\/a><\/p>\n

She hijacks whichever one of us is sitting next to her and starts a monologue that goes on and on. She doesn\u2019t even look at the person she\u2019s talking to and doesn\u2019t hear when you try to interject anything.<\/p>\n

She has said she\u2019s hard of hearing, and she does wear a hearing aid, but I believe the problem is more than a hearing deficit.<\/p>\n

The dilemma is she and her husband have booked a cruise with us. We didn\u2019t ask them to, but when I mentioned we were going, they thought it would be fun.<\/p>\n

The thought of having dinner together every night and being subjected to this is going to put a distinct damper on what is a rare vacation for my husband and me.<\/p>\n

Is there any way to not offend them and have more give-and-take in the conversation?<\/p>\n

\u2014 DREADING IT IN OREGON<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR DREADING IT<\/strong>: You or your husband need to make clear to this couple well before the ship sets sail that you signed up for this cruise because you want to spend time alone together, meet new people and make new friends, which is why you will not be able to dine with them every night or participate in every activity with them. Period.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

DEAR ABBY<\/strong>: My wife of 48 years recently died, and my stepson put some artificial flowers on her grave.<\/p>\n

I was surprised to see this when I visited on the eight-month anniversary of her death. Both my wife and I always considered artificial flowers tacky and not appropriate for cemeteries, even though lots of people decorate gravesites with them.<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose power outage impacts nearly 8,500 PG&E customers<\/a><\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t said anything to him about my feelings about plastic flowers, but I would like to prevent more of them from being placed when these fade away.<\/p>\n

How can I ask him to not put any more plastic flowers on the grave, or should I just ignore it? I\u2019m less likely to visit her grave when these flowers are there.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u2014 MOURNING IN ALABAMA<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR MOURNING:<\/strong> Your stepson may not realize how his mother felt about plastic flowers, so mention it to him the next time you talk. If he doesn\u2019t visit his mother\u2019s grave often, he may not realize that they have been removed, which I suggest you do if seeing them would discourage your visits.<\/p>\n

DEAR ABBY<\/strong>: I\u2019ve been married for 40 years, but it\u2019s a platonic relationship with no communication on his part.<\/p>\n

I must run the household, make sure bills get paid and be responsible for everything \u2014 whatever life throws at us. My health is waning, and I\u2019m concerned for my future.<\/p>\n

I have tried talking, counseling, etc., to no avail. What do I do?<\/p>\n

\u2014 FED UP IN UTAH<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR FED UP:<\/strong> Because, after 40 years, you are finally fed up enough that you might actually do something about it, I\u2019m suggesting some sessions with a different counselor than the one you have been seeing.<\/p>\n

You stated that you are the one who takes care of the house, pays the bills, etc. Has your husband been earning the money? If so, then you might also benefit from interviewing several attorneys about what your options might be if you no longer wish to carry the whole load alone.<\/p>\n

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Valkyries see big lead dwindle, but hold off Sparks in LA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s no way we want to share our vacation with them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nDear Abby: We’re distressed at the idea this couple will be on our cruise - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6595\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dear Abby: We’re distressed at the idea this couple will be on our cruise - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There's no way we want to share our vacation with them.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6595\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-10T08:07:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6595#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6595\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Dear Abby: We’re distressed at the idea this couple will be on our cruise\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-10T08:07:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6595\"},\"wordCount\":671,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6595#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/400ddbc32064c99c18a90d5350216c76.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Advice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6595#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6595\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6595\",\"name\":\"Dear Abby: We’re distressed at the idea this couple will be on our cruise - 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