Dear Abby

DEAR ABBY: I despise wearing rings, which is a problem because I plan to become engaged. I'm OK with a plain wedding band, but baubles on appendages interfere with useful work and creativity, and they turn me off.

DEAR ABBY: I'm afraid my best friend's daughter, "Kami," may have Munchausen syndrome. People with this condition consciously fake the symptoms of a physical disorder.

DEAR ABBY: A boy in the grade below me killed himself. I didn't know him very well. He was a 10th-grader and we spoke in passing.

DEAR ABBY: I am 14 years old and the daughter of a successful businessman. Daddy recently announced that we have been invited to the bat mitzvah of the daughter of one of his co-workers. I don't want to go.

DEAR ABBY: I wrote you about a year ago regarding my difficulty in finding a single, educated, relationship-minded man. You advised me to lower my high standards and date outside my preconceived notions of who Mr. Right was - - someone younger or without a college degree.

DEAR ABBY: I am a single woman who dates and is not in a serious relationship right now. I'm enjoying my life, having fun, but have met someone along the way who is becoming important. I'm getting the same vibes from him.

DEAR ABBY: I have been involved in a long-distance relationship for the past year. I'm crazy about him and have been completely faithful to him.

DEAR ABBY: My friend stole my baby sitter! It began when "Mimi" asked for the name of our sitter. She didn't have one and said she would be confident using the girl we were using. She explained that it would be only to "occasionally" relieve her parents, who usually looked after the kids. Unlike Mimi, we have no family in town.

DEAR ABBY: I work for a major lending company and have cleaned out foreclosed homes. Too many times, I find animals who have died from exposure or literally starved to death.

DEAR ABBY: I am a high school teacher who has been encountering some problems with my students.

DEAR ABBY: My wife of 25 years has been talking on the phone with a married man who lives in a city 300 miles away. They chat for more than an hour a week. Our cell phone bills indicate that this has been going on for more than a year.

DEAR ABBY: I am an 18-year-old male, and every day I face judgment, cruel remarks, disapproving stares and other harassment.

DEAR READERS: Today's column is a continuation of the one I printed yesterday regarding cheating and ethics -- a topic that clearly touched a nerve with many readers.

DEAR READERS: When I printed the letter about cheating in school from "Valedictorian Contender" on May 27, my staff and I were deluged with mail. If you're interested in what folks had to say, here is a sample:

DEAR ABBY: For the past six months I have been dating a man I'll call "Tom." Our kids adore each other, our parents think we're a great couple, and our friends love seeing us together. There's just one problem: He's married.

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 30-year-old woman who has battled compulsive eating and binge eating since my teens. (Yes, I still have a weight problem.) I see a counselor and am trying to find solutions that work for me.

DEAR ABBY: I have been depressed for years, and at times I cut myself. My mother sent me to counseling, but it didn't help much.

DEAR ABBY: A close friend I'll call "Millie" recently confided that she is being sexually harassed at work. The person is a major client of hers, and she could lose her job if this is brought to light.

DEAR ABBY: The letter from "Paw-Paw and Maw-Maw in Alabama" (May 13), whose son has cut off contact with their 5-year-old grandson to "protect" the boy from Grandpa's eventual death, left me feeling intense sorrow for all concerned.