Judith Martin

3 days ago | spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Between my husband and me, who have each been married previously to other people, we have four children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. We have been married to each other for almost 25 years. Six of the grandchildren and all of the great-grandchildren have been born during our marriage. I am especially close to some of the grandchildren from his side of the family.

1 week ago | adn.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have been taking time off work to help care for my father, who has incurable cancer. To clients I don’t know well, I’ve said, “I’ll be out of town to help my dad, who is sick.”They almost invariably reply, “I hope he feels better soon.” I know they mean well, and I usually manage to take it that way. But that doesn’t stop it from feeling like a gut punch, because I know he is only going to feel worse over the few months he has left.

1 week ago | adn.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What exactly are the rules for saving seats at an informal event where seats are not assigned? When I was invited to my nephew’s martial arts presentation, I arrived half an hour early to save seats for my family of five (three of us were present) because the others were coming from work and couldn’t arrive early. A woman came and sat in one of the saved seats, even though my jacket was on the seat, and I politely told her that it was reserved.

2 weeks ago | adn.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: If my neighbor has a yard sale, should I feel obligated to purchase something, even if I have no use for it? Conversely, if I have a yard sale and a neighbor wants to purchase something, should I tell them to just take it, no charge? GENTLE READER: Unless your residential area has an unusual outside draw, most of your customers are going to be neighbors. If you give things away to them, it will be a Yard Donation, not a Sale.

3 weeks ago | adn.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: There are many examples of technology and bad behavior merging, and I ask for your opinion regarding one that bothers me: people locking their vehicles by pressing the key fob twice, which causes the vehicle to omit a loud chirp. All one has to do to lock a car is push the button inside the door, or at most, push the fob once, which doesn’t cause a loud noise.