Opinion

Dear Amy: My husband died young. He was one of three siblings.

Dear Dr. Roach: My sister recently had chest pain during exercise and now she is on metoprolol, but the cardiologist hasn’t explained to her the reason for the medication. What could she be on the medicine for?

Rest well, Sen. Robert J.

Early in the morning of Dec. 5, former Kansas senator and political icon Bob Dole passed away at age 98. Amidst the outpouring of articles and tributes to Dole that followed, a quote from a resident of Dole’s hometown of Russell, Kansas, stood out: “He was one of a kind — unfortunately.”

For Kansans wanting to visit friends and family this holiday season, filling up their gas tanks will be one of the most expensive price tags in decades. The national average price of gasoline recently rose to $3.42 a gallon, up from $2.11 a year ago, according to AAA.

Dear Amy: I was married to “Bart” for several years. We divorced some time ago.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 68-year-old female smoker in good health aside from having osteoporosis. I am addicted to smoking and have tried everything available to quit without any success. I tried taking Chantix 15 years ago and became suicidal. At that time, my late husband and I decided we would quit together using Chantix. He became very hostile and nasty, which resulted in me becoming depressed and suicidal. I did not act on my thoughts; we immediately stopped taking the medication and life went back to normal for the both of us.

Dear Amy: I am struggling with the fact my husband’s family refuses to get vaccinated. These unvaccinated family members are also traveling across multiple state lines right before the holidays.

Dear Dr. Roach: It has been almost a year now that I had my physical with my general doctor, and I’m mulling over whether to return to her for this year’s physical. I am a 73-year-old man with usually unremarkable physical exams except for low HDL. I have a history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, with having had two cardiac ablations, in 2005 and 2007. I still have intermittent ventricular contractions. I am still reeling from the fact that during my last physical exam my doctor never gave me an EKG. It was only upon getting ready to conclude the exam that I had to request one. She begrudgingly said, “It’s not really needed, but if you want one …” The result was normal. What is your take on this?

A couple of teenagers were at my front door, and I shouted to my husband: “Hey, there are some Black kids at the door, and I don’t have time to deal with them.” Kids at the door in my neighborhood are usually selling something or are looking for yard work. My biracial future daughter-in-law was present when I did this and took offense.