Being Snoopy Could Have Helped Her

DR. WALLACE: Julie and I were best friends. My only problem with her was that she lied a lot. She didn't tell vicious lies, just little white lies — but she sure told a lot of them. For example, if I told her a boy liked me, she would say that two guys liked her. Well, about two weeks ago, Julie spent the night with me because her parents were out of town. The next day Julie called me and said that we were no longer best friends and that she never wanted to talk to me again. When I asked her why, she said that she read my diary (She did apologize for being snoopy.), and in it I had written that she was the biggest liar in the state of Pennsylvania.

I admitted that I had written it but really didn't mean it the way she took it. I really do like Julie and she is fun to be with, and I don't want to lose her as a friend. Please tell me what to do to try to get Julie to change her mind and be best friends again. - Bethany, York, Penn.

BETHANY: Send Julie an appropriate greeting card and add a note telling her that you are still her friend, that you miss her and are sorry. Ask her to please call you. She shouldn't have been so snoopy, but she just might stop "exaggerating" the truth after she knows that you are aware of her lies.

MANY TEENS DON'T BUCKLE SEATBELTS

DR. WALLACE: I agree with you when you advise all drivers and passengers to wear their seat belts when riding in a motor vehicle. For those who don't like the "buckle-up" law, I'd like to share some information by the National Safety Council. After reading the following data, I hope they will buckle seatbelts when in a moving vehicle:

— More than half of people killed in cars in 2009 were not wearing seatbelts.

— Seatbelts reduce the risk of death in the front seat by almost half.

— Some 3,600 lives could have been saved in 2009 if everyone wore seatbelts.

— The chances of suffering severe brain or spinal cord injuries in a crash are much higher for the beltless. - Tyler, DeKalb, Ill.

TYLER: Thanks for presenting this useful material. The National Safety Council also found that on an average, 9 out of 10 passengers across the country do buckle up because of state laws that make using seatbelts mandatory and from gaining information such as the data of the National Safety Council.

Unfortunately, teenage drivers and passengers have the lowest percentage of buckling seatbelts when riding in a vehicle. Blame it on youthful exuberance and believing they are invincible. It takes under five seconds to buckle up, and it could save a life or prevent a serious injury.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@galesburg.net. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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