Dr. Helpful or Nurse Loveless?

Dear Readers:

For this post, instead of answering one of your questions, I'm posing a question that I want you to answer.

Today at church the homily was about advice columns. At first, I was wondering where the priest was going with his fifteen minute introduction of Dear Abby's career, and the snippets of advice from her column were uninsightful, to say the least. But then he contrasted her advice style with that of a 1930s predecessor, "Miss Loveless."

Miss Loveless was actually a male editor who mockingly answered his writers. For example, a girl wrote that she was tired of being made fun of and, now that she was 16, wanted boyfriends. The one problem? She was born without a nose.

Now, had I received a letter from Noseless Nancy, my reply would involve several jokes like "I nose a few things you could do, pick one of them." (Nurse Chris, of course, would just suggest counseling.)

But this is exactly the kind of attitude the pastor decried this morning. Miss Loveless lacked empathy like Nancy lacked nostrils. I think the homily was specifically directed at me, and that the priest was trying to tell me that I need to change my ways. And that, like Miss Loveless, there's a problem with Nurse Chris's gender indentity issues.

What do you think? Should I refrain from any humor and give only Ann Landers-ish advice? Or do we outdo even Miss Loveless at her most lovelessness?

-- Dr. N