Dear Annie: I am a 12-year-old girl with a big problem. I am African-American and proud of it, but at school I get called foul names. I’ve asked teachers to talk to the students, but they just say they will get to it soon.I’m getting scared to go to school because some of the kids have threatened to attack me. I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. I have even considered dropping out, but I want my education. I want to be the first in my family to go to college. Is there any way to make the pain stop hurting me? I hate the feeling of being hated. — Racism Kills the SoulDear Racism: Are you the only person of colour in your school? No one should be threatening you — for any reason whatsoever. Talk to your parents and have them meet with the school principal about the bullying. If steps aren’t taken to stop it immediately, your parents should seek legal advice.

Dear Annie$>I’m a 59-year-old female baby boomer who is now approaching her elder years. I’m increasingly frustrated these days when I can’t tell the shampoo bottle from the conditioner in the steamy shower, or I have to grapple with impossible push-down-and-twist bottle tops. More than once, I’ve nearly brushed my teeth with a look-alike tube of hair gel. I’ve ruined numerous blouses ripping out scratchy labels that I couldn’t tolerate for another minute.Annie, please get a message to product designers: If a multitudinous mega-generation is reaching advanced age and needs clothing in softer fabrics, and products colour-coded, marked in LARGE letters with easy-to-open tops, there’s got to be a money-making opportunity here that’s win-win.

Who would like to be the first to package toothpaste embossed with a large “T” so we can find it in a steam-filled bathroom without glasses? How about baby boom mouthwash in flip-top bottles? — California Drea<$>Dear Dream <$>Wouldn’t it be nice not to “Twist and Shout” when opening bottle caps? There must be thousands of older seniors thinking, “We’ve been asking for these same things for years.” Now that boomers are hitting their 60s, designers who can come up with sharp-looking, trendy products tailored to the newly squinty-eyed, ageing hippie generation will make a bundle.

Dear An: <$>Here’s a man’s perspective to “Married to a Porn Addict”, whose husband watched online porn and had private nude chats with women.I’ve been happily married for over 35 years and can relate all too well. First, I don’t condone what the husband has chosen to do to relieve his sexual tension. Still, men are usually far more attuned to having sex than women. We think about it more often. We are visually excited by women. For years, I experienced sexual frustration. My wife was more concerned with the children and housecleaning than she was with our relationship. I finally decided I had two options: Find other women or deny my feelings. For the sake of our marriage, I chose the second option.

After 30 years, I pretty much killed my sexual desire, but my wife discovered she was clinically depressed and started taking an antidepressant. She now has the kind of sex drive I always wished she had. Unfortunately, I don’t have ANY.

For some men, online porn is a way to avoid cheating. This isn’t just the husband’s problem. — Beenere<$>Dear Been There: It seems a shame that you and your wife have spent 30 years like ships passing in the night. Sex drives can be rekindled. See your doctor.