Dr. Laura:

I called you five years ago, when my boss had excluded me from a golf event.  At the time, you told me that guys just wanted to do things with guys and it didn't mean anything.  I was appalled and vowed never to listen to you again.  I was angry that another female hadn't taken my side.  

Well, I broke my vow eventually and I started listening to you again.  And I listened, and I listened and I listened.  I was doing everything wrong!  At 58 years old, I was "shacking up" with a man who wasn't exactly in a hurry to put a ring on my finger.  When I asked him one day if he wanted to marry me, his response was "not today," and it turned out that it was not ANY day in the four years we were together.  I finally got smart and left.  I was scared.  I moved 1,500 miles away and started over.  I knew from listening to you that, statistically, I was not likely to find another partner, and I was probably going to be alone, but I found the courage to do it anyway.

I'm happy now, living three miles from my daughter, her wonderful husband and my two grandchildren.  I own my own home and am saving plenty of money for a secure retirement, although I expect I'll just find another passion that doesn't require the "corporate grind" I'm in now.  I feel more self-respect, and I have friends and family to fill the voids in my life.  I am content!   I've finally figured out what I want "between now and dead."  And I am a loyal listener.  Keep reforming us feminists, as we need a voice of reason to undo the damage of the nineteen seventies.

Karen