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Feeling forgotten by a flaky friend

Dear Annie: My best friend has become impossible to make plans with. She says yes to everything, then cancels at the last minute with a vague excuse. Sometimes she says she is "too tired," other times she says work got crazy, and once she forgot completely until I texted from the restaurant ...

Use #0000 steel wool for glass

Dear Heloise: #0000 steel wool won’t scratch glass. It’s also the best thing for cleaning up chrome that is rusty and pitted. It can make things look almost like new. (I collect British sports cars from the ’50s and ’60s. You learn all kinds of tricks.) I’m a 70-year-old man who read ...

Husband’s dream hobby has become a nightmare

Dear Annie: My husband recently bought an old classic car, the kind he has dreamed about since he was 17. He made the purchase after seeing one roaring down Main Street with the top down. It is shiny, loud, impractical and, according to him, "an investment." According to me, it is a very ...

Just enlarge the print!

Dear Heloise: I, too, have trouble with the very tiny print on labels. I found a trick that is a lifesaver for this problem. I simply use my phone to take a picture of the label, and I can then enlarge it as big as I want. This is very helpful in stores to read and compare labels while ...

Red Cross: Urgent need for donors to help keep blood supply stable

MARQUETTE — The American Red Cross has an urgent need for donors and is counting on people to act now and book a time to give blood or platelets. Donors of all blood types and those giving platelets are needed to keep a strong supply of lifesaving blood products on hospital shelves into the summer. As summer heat ramps up, so do people’s plans, which could lead to postponed appointments or less opportunities to give ─ an especially troubling scenario at a time where the Red Cross has experienced an alarming drop in scheduled donations in recent weeks. In addition to ...

Daily productive cough causes patient to wonder about COPD

DEAR DR ROACH: I decided to practice using an inhalation spirometer, partly because I have a daily productive cough (small amounts three to four times a day). I smoked a pack of filtered cigarettes a day from ages 17-29. I smoke marijuana now. My scoliosis is quite complex and has taken over ...