Drawing upon her rich
experience of life, Prudence (Prudie to her friends) responds to questions
about manners, personal relations, politics, and other subjects. Please send
your questions for publication to [email protected]. Queries should not exceed 200 words in
length. Please indicate how you wish your letter to be signed, preferably
including your location.
Dear
Prudie,
Do you
know anything about the Zone diet? I seem to recall there was some controversy
surrounding it, but I can't remember what. My friend is seeing a nutritionist
who has him following the basic premise of the Zone. I am curious as well as
confused. Any info, Prudie, would be gratefully appreciated.
--Andrea,New
York
Dear
And,
Prudie is not a fan of
diets. She prefers low-fat foods and smaller portions. The trouble with diets
is that they are demanding, boring, and most often do not offer lasting
results. The trick is to retrain oneself in terms of how one eats and to reach
a new set point in one's weight.
For a fast start, Prudie
does approve of diets, however trendy, and spas where the right foods are
chosen for you. This is just to permit shedding a few initial pounds to provide
motivation and hope, along with the feeling that one is able to achieve
success.
Prudie
knows people who swear by the Zone, and others who swear at it. The real
problem with any prescribed diet is lack of balance, and the fact that feeling
deprived leads to chocolate cake. Perhaps a reliable approach is the one the
late Jacqueline Onassis is said to have used. She ate whatever she felt
like--and left half of it on the plate.
--Prudie, trimly
Dear
Prudie,
I have an irritation, not
a problem, but I thought perhaps you could offer me a palliative.
What is
behind people telling you they are going to "the best doctor," sometimes
"the best doctor in the world," in such and such a field? I know there are many
fine physicians around, but this seems to me to be a form of bragging. How do
these people decide that their doctor is the best? These pronouncements on
subjective issues annoy me no end. I have yet to hear someone say they are
going to a doctor who is kind of mediocre.
--Thank you,Barbara in
Phoenix
Dear
Bar,
Prudie is in your camp,
though she has made her peace with this manifestation of human nature. People
just need to feel that their care is top of the line.
Whenever
Prudie hears such a declaration, she basically zones out, and the remark has
the same weight as "I just had the best cheese Danish."
--Prudie, medicinally
Dear
Prudie,
I read your response to
the writer who wondered how he should introduce his grandmother's beau. I have
found a good term for women to use: "gentleman caller." It's very handy in the
early stages of dating, because it's wonderfully vague--not to mention that it
provides an opportunity to poke fun at oneself and modern dating
rituals.
If
things move in a more serious direction, the gentleman can be upgraded to "my
fella" in casual conversation, or for introductions, "my James" (or whatever
the appropriate name is). This allows others to join in the fun by referring to
the gentleman as "So-and-so's James." Of course, while this form of address
does away with the confusion created by the term "my friend," I think you'd
agree that one should put off using the possessive endearment until it is truly
called for, or it will come across as treacly baby talk.
--Wryly,Kate
Wrath
Dear
Wry,
"Gentleman caller" is not
only wonderfully vague, but very Tennessee Williams. Of course, you knew
that.
Prudie
heartily approves of your suggestions for the relationship upgrade
nomenclature. She is sure you have been helpful to countless people over 30
struggling with proper designation for the beloved and is grateful for the
assist.
--Prudie, nominally
Dear
Prudence,
Why does the National
Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League get to drop an initial from its
acronym? Why do writers and editors call it "NARAL" instead of
"NARRAL"?
Would
it be OK to follow this trend and refer to NOW as NO or OW? Could the ABA be
just AA? Are government agencies allowed to drop letters? The DOJ would sound
so much more hip as the "Deejay." And even Microsoft would project more power
and mystery if it went by "M" rather than the prissy, feminine "MS."
--X
Dear X,
It sounds
as though you have time on your hands. You might want to consider volunteering
at a homeless shelter.
--Prudie, busily
