A historic date like Dec. 7, the “Day of Infamy” in 1941 that plunged the United States into World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, carries different meanings, depending on when you were born.

Dear Heloise: I’m having a debate with my mother-in-law concerning blackstrap molasses and regular molasses. She says they are not the same thing, but I think they are the same thing. Which of us is correct?

T

Dear Annie: How do I convey to my adult married children that I do not like being around my ex for the holidays? My son lives several states away, and he invited my daughter and her family, my ex, and my wife and me for Thanksgiving together. 

Dear Readers: When we take holiday trips, our vehicles are packed with gifts, food and plenty of luggage. If you are staying in a hotel, safety experts recommend that you remove everything from the car, including your belongings and luggage, and take it to your room. Your vehicle could be st…

Today’s Sound Off is about buying pets online:

Dear Annie: My husband of 19 years had an office gathering at our home in mid-August. He has been at his job for 18 years and switched departments four years ago. I had never met any of the current team members due to my work schedule.

These days, too many things are all wrong. But now and again, everything that’s right in the world comes together.

Dear Annie: My wife of 44 years passed away after a nine-day bout with cancer.

Another year is about to end with no action on two Mojave transportation projects.

How about those Quartz Hill High School Royals?

Dear Readers: Thank you for all your responses to “Letting Go Is Hard to Do.” We have undeniably wonderful parents among our readership. Here are two of my favorite letters.

When all the leaves have fallen off your fruit trees, your trees are telling you that it is winter.

Dear Readers: Instead of cramming everything into your suitcase, you can pack it more efficiently if you take the following five steps.

Dear Annie: Both my adult daughter and her husband are employed. Since they do not cook, when my husband and I visit them, which is approximately four times a year, they send out for food and ask us to pay our share of the bill, or, on occasion, she will use my credit card to pay for the who…

Dear Heloise: I have a suggestion for those who like to cut out newspaper clippings of events. First, don’t clip it out of the page, because you lose the date, publication and other information. I was looking at my own birth announcement in the paper from 1964 and was stunned to see the pric…

Dear Annie: I am a single mother to my one daughter, who is now 29. She moved from our hometown because that’s where she met her husband, and she now has a son, my grandson, who is one-and-a-half years old. She asked me when she first got pregnant if I would move down to where they live to b…

Dear Readers: Between festive activities and family gatherings, the holiday season can get hectic and rushed. So take note of these important fire safety hints that every family member should know.

Dear Annie: This letter is addressed to all those who think back on a first love and believe their feelings are undiminished.

Dear Heloise: I was making a family recipe, and it called for light brown sugar. I didn’t have any, so I used the dark brown I had on hand, and my recipe did not taste as good as it usually does. I thought light and dark brown sugars were interchangeable. What went wrong?

We head into Christmas and other holidays just in time for Omicron. What a lump of coal for poor Charlie Brown!