DEAR ABBY: I loved the letter from "Claire in Bethlehem, Pa." (Sept. 4), and her idea of creating dinner parties or luncheons to celebrate days with unique numbers. I agree wholeheartedly with your response to her. I bet if there were a 13-13-13, Murphy's Law would mandate that it fall on a Friday!

I am curious how many readers won't get the joke and will write in, feeling the need to explain to you that there isn't a 13th month. I am betting it'll be in the hundreds; my husband is betting maybe just a dozen. Could you settle that bet for us? We have a dinner riding on it. -- AMANDA IN ANMOORE, W.VA.

DEAR AMANDA: You win. I heard from readers by the hundreds, and about half of them volunteered that they thought I was "losing it." (Thanks, folks!) I hope the dinner your husband buys you will be sumptuous, intimate, candlelit and enjoyable. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: If you want your advice to be taken seriously, check what you write before you publish. In today's paper you said you hope 13-13-13 falls on a Friday. What planet are you from? I'm not sure I even want to read advice from a person who is this disconnected. So get out the calendar, check your facts and print a retraction! -- BILL IN KEY WEST

DEAR ABBY: I'm not a stupid person, but I thought you'd get a kick out of knowing I actually tried to research what day of the week 13-13-13 would fall on. Then I just cracked up out loud. -- SHARI IN PITTSBURG, CALIF.

DEAR ABBY: Were you serious? I am sure you were trying to be funny, and I'm not trying to insult you. It took me a couple of seconds to realize there is no 13th month, so it would be impossible to throw a dinner party on 13-13-13.

I hope you'll write your column forever because it had an influence on me deciding to become a counselor. -- DIANNA IN SPRINGFIELD, ORE.

DEAR ABBY: I looked it up, and 13-13-13 does NOT fall on Friday. It falls on a Noneday. -- FLORA IN MILAN, MICH.

DEAR ABBY: Allow me to offer a suggestion to "Claire in Bethlehem, Pa." For her Oct. 10, 2010, party she should pop some popcorn and rent a Bo Derek movie. -- JOEL IN DOVER, N.H.

DEAR ABBY: I suggest you celebrate 13-13-13 on April Fool's Day. -- JOAN IN CHARLESTON, ILL.

DEAR READERS: It is my intent that this column not only inform, educate and occasionally inspire, but also entertain. The daily news is often depressing, and I would like to give you some relief from it -- a place where you can learn from the predicaments of others and, once in a while, turn the page with a smile. -- Love, ABBY

DEAR ABBY: Our family has had a difficult year. We have gone from one drama or trauma to another, but have always managed. There's one issue, however, that I can't fix. My husband, "Arthur," can't keep our problems private. He seems compelled to tell EVERYONE he meets about what's going on in our family.

I have told Arthur repeatedly, "What happens at home should stay at home," and begged him not to take our problems to the neighbors, who have enough of their own. It's embarrassing when our friends, neighbors and extended family are informed about the dramas going on in our home. But Arthur becomes defensive when I tell him I don't like it and says he won't stop -- that I'm being "too sensitive."

Abby, I feel my husband's blabbing is disloyal. I'm worried that he is ruining our reputation because he can't keep his mouth shut. Please help. -- TOWN CRIER'S WIFE

DEAR WIFE: Your husband may be looking for attention or sympathy. He also appears to lack good judgment and impulse control, and does not understand what consequences his "blabbing" might bring.

However, I can't muzzle him and neither can you. It may bring small comfort to remember that these days people are so preoccupied with their own problems they are likely to be less judgmental about your drama and trauma.

DEAR ABBY: I am a single mother finishing my undergraduate degree in English. I have a 6-year-old son. His father, "Gil," and I are on great terms. We kept everything out of the courts, and he pays me monthly child support. Gil sees our son whenever he likes, which is often.

I have an opportunity to go to law school 200 miles away, and I'm considering leaving my son with his dad to do so. I have no problem taking him with me, but as parents we thought that uprooting our son for three years was not a good idea.

I am doing this for my son. I come from a poor family, and I am the first to graduate from college. A liberal arts degree won't afford me much in the future. Gil's income is "fair," but neither of us has any real security.

I trust Gil when he gives me his word on an agreement. Many of my friends are supportive, but some of the stay-at-home moms are making me feel like a terrible person and mother. Would I be selfish to do this or should I continue with my plans for a better income and career? -- GNAWING UNCERTAINTY IN WASHINGTON STATE

DEAR UNCERTAIN: Stop listening to the criticism and proceed with ensuring a bright future for you and your boy. As long as you can spend time with your son during school breaks and during the summer months, I see no reason why you should not get your law degree. But there should be a clear written agreement between you and Gil that the arrangement is only temporary, and it's important your son understand that your absence is not because he has done anything to cause it.

And now, Dear Readers, I am pleased to continue the tradition of offering the Thanksgiving Prayer that was penned by my dear mother, Pauline Phillips. No Thanksgiving would be complete for me without it.

Oh, Heavenly Father,

We thank thee for food and remember the hungry.

We thank thee for health and remember the sick.

We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.

May these remembrances stir us to service,

That thy gifts to us may be used for others. Amen.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, everyone! -- Love, ABBY

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $6 (U.S. funds only) to: Dear Abby -- Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included in the price.)

DEAR ABBY: I am writing in regard to the letter from "On the Fence in Nevada" (Sept. 11) (whose mother-in-law dumped her grandchildren's cat on the side of the road). I work as an animal safety officer for the sheriff's office, and I also volunteer for a local animal nonprofit.

There has been an increase in pet dumping as the economy has worsened. While the information you offered was accurate, there are many other reasons not to abandon an animal.

What "Loretta" did was illegal. It's called animal endangerment, animal abuse or animal abandonment. Because the cat did not belong to her, she could also have been brought up on charges of theft. Such charges can carry heavy fines and jail time.

"On the Fence" should know that there are local organizations that can help her brother-in-law by providing temporary foster care for his pet until he can get back on his feet. Their members are people who will want the cat in their home and who will love it and look after it. -- DAWN IN COLORADO

DEAR DAWN: Thank you for pointing out that what Loretta did was illegal and that there are options for providing care for family pets. Readers were outraged and some went so far as suggesting that Loretta herself be dumped by the side of the road with no food, water or cell phone and left to find her way home. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: That letter made my blood boil! I'm surprised that "Fence" needed to write for advice. She should never have stood silently by and let "Precious" be returned to her abuser. As you said, this was a virtual death sentence for Precious, and it was a miracle that she ended up in a shelter. The mother-in-law who watched the family hunt for the cat day after day has a sadistic streak a mile wide.

Abby, shelters across the nation are already overcrowded as a result of animals surrendered by their families because of the troubled economy. Precious stood little chance of being adopted and I am relieved her family located her. -- FELINE FANCIER, ROYAL OAK, MICH.

DEAR ABBY: I was shocked, appalled and horrified by the letter about Precious. How awful! I can't believe anyone with a conscience could do such a thing to an innocent creature. And to her own son and grandchildren!

How she could watch them search day in and day out, then watch them re-adopt their cat is beyond me. I hope she reads this and knows what a low-life I think she is. "On the Fence" should tell her brother-in-law what happened to keep such a thing from ever happening again. -- HORRIFIED IN ILLINOIS

DEAR ABBY: The family cat being dumped by the side of the road because the mother-in-law no longer wanted to take care of it is beyond inexcusable. It was flat-out mean-spirited. "Ray," his wife and their kids were already experiencing challenging times and Loretta not only created an unnecessary expense but added to the stress on the family.

Pets provide great calm and stability when our lives are in turmoil. If Loretta no longer wanted the responsibility of the pet, why didn't she make other arrangements, like boarding it in a kennel? If I was her husband, I would have left her on the side of the road and brought the cat home. The cat would have provided him with unconditional love, something it appears Loretta is incapable of feeling. What she did shows she doesn't value her relationship with her grandchildren. -- JOHN IN ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

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