Column on 'Mr.Right' still able to hit home after all these years
Dear Ann: Several years ago, you printed a column telling women how to find "Mr.Right." After I went through a messy divorce, I gave that column to my daughter so she wouldn't make the same mistake her parents did.
I'am happy to tell you she handed that column to me last Sunday just before I walked her down the aisle at her wedding. She had written on it, "Dad, thank you for this list. I will not be needing it anymore. I love you." Please print that column again for those who may have missed it.-Proud Dad in Dunedin, Fla.
Dear Dad: I'm glad to know my column helped your daughter find the man of her dreams, and I'am happy to print it again.
Dear Ann: With all the columns you've written about finding "Mr.Right," many women still don't understand the basics. I've compiled a list of guidelines that will be extremely helpful if followed correctly. I hope you will print it. It could change alot of lives.-Merrillville, Ind.
Dear merrillville: You have made some valid points. A reader from Quebec sent a similar list two years ago. Both lists provide excellent suggestions for husband hunting. Here is an edited version of A Perfect Guide for Husband Hunting:
1. You probably won't find Mr. Right in a bar, or on the internet. Try grocery stores, church, where you work or through a friend.
2. If he tells you he is married or engaged or has a girlfriend, he's separated or his wife or girlfriend or fiancee doesn't understand him- he has TROUBLE stamped on his forehead.
3. If he tries to move in with you or wants to borrow money, be careful. He may be a con artist.
4. If his family doesn't like him and avoids him, maybe you should too. They know him better than you do.
5. Check out his car or his bedroom. It should be clean, serviceable and insured.
6. If he has children, decide if you want to marry him or be his girlfriend or engaged to him, too, because that is the way it will be. And be aware that they are direct link to his ex-wife or ex-girlfriends.
7. You don't need a man to be a complete woman. Choose the man- don't let him choose you. Be selective. No one has the power to make you happier than the right man or more miserable than the wrong one.
8. Find someone who laughs at the same things you laugh at. A shared sense of humor will make the good times better and the bad times less difficult.
9. If you want several children and plan to stay home and raise them, choose a man whose skills and education will put him in a high salary category.
10. If you want a career, don't marry a man who hates his job. He will resent the time and attention you give to yours.
11. Two red flags: Does he have a short fuse and a hot temper ? Is he hung up on his mother ? These are two negatives that inevitably get worse after marriage. Both can be disastrous.
12. Don't get married because you are afraid to be alone. No wife is more alone than one whose husband pays no attention to her.
13. No matter how wonderful his other qualities may be, do not marry a man who has threatened, hit or humilated you. In fact, don't go out with him a second time. Such a man is hazardous to your emotional and physical health and should be avoided like the plague.
14. Pay attention to how he treats his mother. Chances are good that he will treat you the same way.