Dear LFTP: friend cheated off me in science class
- My friend cheated off me in science class. Should I confront her and risk losing her as a friend?
A 10-year-old listener's friend cheated off her science test and has been rude before; she fears confronting her will cost the friendship. John Eisenlauer's advice: talk to her directly, not the teacher. The hosts add: she is complicit since she permitted it — she needs to rat herself out and make sure it can't happen again. A joke debate follows about whether cheating is just efficient information retrieval, with the verdict that it's against the rules. Secular's answer: real friends don't do rude things to each other (the hosts call this a lie); practical advice about assigned seats and keeping the paper out of sight. A host confesses he let a girl peek at his test in eighth grade and felt good about not confronting her.
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Dear LFTP: 'Maid of Honor Fails to Follow Shower Instructions'
- Who is in the wrong — the bride or the maid of honor who won't follow the shower instructions?
The second Dear LFTP letter, titled 'Maid of Honor Fails to Follow Shower Instructions' (not a bathing problem — a bridal shower problem): the bride was clear she didn't want a…
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Dear LFTP: the $4,200 loan that never came back
- How do I get past the sadness over the $4,200 loan my friend never repaid — do I just let it go?
The final Dear LFTP letter: a year ago a supposed friend asked to borrow money — her husband had left the country to renew his visa, her car was repossessed, she had no way to get to work.
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Dear LFTP: Ralph calls three or four times a week
- How can I get my retired friend Ralph to call less frequently without being rude?
The letter: 'Ralph,' a longtime best friend, retired and is bored, so he calls three or four times a week 'even when there's nothing new to talk about,' rehashing the same things; subtle hints haven't worked; letting it go to voicemail just earns a callback request.
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Dear LFTP: the birthday-gift pressure
- My friends insist on giving me birthday presents I can't reciprocate. Shouldn't my wishes have been respected since it's my birthday?
Mike reads the first Dear LFTP letter: a part-time worker paying her own health insurance asked friends to skip presents at a triple birthday dinner; they refused, saying she needn't reciprocate.
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