But I got lost when you told Little to ask him how his mother was doing. How on earth is the man's mother involved in the problem?

Little didn't mention if this lady was living with that man. Is she a strong, aggressive woman who can control her son easily? Is that what you mean?

Please explain.

Harry

Dear Khun Harry,

I'm sorry if my reply seemed unclear. The unfortunate man seems to have spent most of his life believing he was too ugly to attract a girl, and now that he's lost weight, he's gained a lot of self-confidence but not much in the way of communication skills.

In my reply, I thought that the best way to force him to reconsider his approach to the opposite sex was to remind him of his mother, who, I would guess, would be upset by the crude remarks he was making to a woman who was almost a stranger to him.

He also needs to be gently guided into learning that one doesn't need to be aggressive when talking to women.

Dear Khun Melanee,

This is the first letter I have ever written to anyone in English. I hope you can understand me.

I'm writing about a new woman who has joined our department.

She's a foreigner. My boss has hired her for temporary office work. She doesn't know any Thai, but she's very friendly.

She doesn't need to wear "office clothes", so she wears a T-shirt and jeans to the office. Here's the problem. When she bends over to fetch files from the drawers that are low on the floor, her jeans go down and her T-shirt goes up. You can see her backside, her "crack" (is this word correct?). When she does this, no one says anything, but everyone stares at her until she stands up, the men especially.

I feel so sorry for this woman. I am sure she doesn't know what she looks like from behind. If she knew, she would feel very embarrassed. I'm not an old woman, but I am also embarrassed when I see her backside.

Someone should tell her about her clothes, but no one knows what to say to her. Can you make some suggestions?

Pla

Dear Khun Pla,

May I say that your written English is very good. I understood you without any problem. Now, I wonder if your spoken English is as good. I can't think of any way you could tell her about her revealing position. Whatever you said, she would either feel very embarrassed or become very angry that you were trying to force her to change her style of clothing.

You mentioned that she's very friendly. Does she join you and your friends for lunch? If so, during a meal one day, you and your group might start talking about some other woman in some other office whose clothes are completely unsuitable for bending over and fetching files. If the woman in your office isn't stupid, she'll take the hint. Then, you've done as much as you could.

The rest is up to her.

Since she's temporary, however, you know the problem will end soon - and for sure, people will remember her after she's long gone.

Dear Khun Melanee,

I'm on my honeymoon, and before I left, I asked my cousin to take care of my son. He's around seven and spends most of his time at school, so he isn't much trouble.

My cousin just phoned me. The kid told his teacher that my cousin didn't give him money for lunch. In fact, my cousin was giving him plain rice for breakfast, and that's all.

My cousin was angry with me for not giving her any money for my kid's food. She says the situation is my fault, not hers. I don't agree. She said she would take care of the boy. She didn't ask for any money. Why should I be blamed?

What do you think?

Bu

Dear Khun Bu,

Did it not occur to you that while you're arguing with your cousin, your son is suffering? Forget about your cousin. End your honeymoon now, return home and take care of your child.

By Melanee petra