Opinion

Nov. 1 would have been my dad’s 101st birthday — not Nov.

Dear Amy: I am 35. About three months ago, I matched with someone on a dating app. This person listed their age as 24. We really hit it off. We would chat for hours every day. I brought up the fact of our age difference. My match said it didn’t bother them. Although they were far away, we decided to meet. I decided to make a trip of it and stayed for a few days. We spent the whole time together and had a wonderful time. Our connection grew deeper, and we continued to chat every day for hours.

A few days ago my wife was one of more than 100 honorees for their years of service to an area hospital. They ranged from five years to 25, and my wife, Kelly, was about in the middle at 20.

Dear Amy: I think I was scammed! As a divorced 62-yearold woman on a fixed income, I recently hired someone to fix plumbing damage to my house that insurance wouldn’t cover. His bid was substantially lower, and he could start the next day. He asked for half down so I sent him 50 percent ($300) through an online payment system. Well, the next day he never showed up. After I called and texted him several times, five days later, he texted me that his mother had suffered seven strokes and was in the hospital, so he wasn’t working all week. Another week has gone by, and I texted him to see how his mother was doing and if he was going to be able to get the job done. I haven’t heard back from him and I’m suspicious that I never will. I feel like an idiot for not getting a contract to see if he was licensed, bonded and insured. Should I continue to contact him? I have his name and number and want to warn people in my neighborhood on the social media app NextDoor.com. Maybe that would be a bad idea in case he sees and comes after me? Groan. Any suggestions on how to get my money back, or should I write this off as a loss? - Feeling Duped!

To Citizens of Finney County, I would like to address a question on the upcoming Nov. 8, ballot.

This grandparenting gig is pretty sweet, and a great way to bring back memories. Our granddaughter Lyla had her first overnight stay at our house, and it brought back a few memories from when my kids were little.

Dear Amy: I am the stepmom to two young adults. My husband recently learned that his son and the son’s girlfriend of three years are only using condoms for birth control.

Dear Amy: Overall, things are great between my partner “Beth” and me. Beth is a teacher and I’m a security engineer.

When we’re kids, being a firefighter is one of those jobs we say we want to do when we grow up, just like being a cowboy or a baseball player. Then were grow up and not very many of us became firefighters, cowboys or baseball players.