DR. WALLACE: I live with my mother and stepfather. He and I don't agree on anything, and I'm not happy being near him. I love my mom, but why she married this guy is a mystery to me. He is a despicable human being! I want to move out of her house and live with my best friend's family. They have invited me to stay with them. My friend and I both work at the same restaurant as food servers, and we both make excellent tips.
I graduated from high school last semester, but I won't be 18 until September. My stepfather said that if I leave the house without my mother's permission I will be arrested for being a runaway, and my friend's parents would be arrested for harboring a runaway. Is this true? — Nameless, Hartford, Conn.
NAMELESS: Since you are over 17 1/2 years old and a high school graduate, you are considered by law to be an emancipated minor and can leave home without permission. In your case, the sooner you move, the better.
GRANDPA TALKS ABOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS
DR. WALLACE: My grandfather is a great guy, and I love him dearly, but he has a difficult time adjusting to modern times. He lives with our family and is a great addition. I enjoy hearing him tell me about the good old days when he was a teenager back in the 1950s. He still plays music from that era, including songs by Elvis, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Patti Page, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and several others. I admit I kind of like this music, but I would never let him know.
Grandpa keeps telling me how wonderful it was to be at teen in the 1950s. He thinks today's teens are out-of-control drug- and sex-crazed adolescents. I know that today's teens are very different from the teens of yesteryear, but are we really as bad as the newspapers, television and movies make us out to be? - Nameless, Minneapolis, Mn.
NAMELESS: I'm fortunate enough to be able to travel throughout the United States and Canada speaking before groups of young adults. I'm happy to report that I'm totally impressed with today's young adults. They're more educated, proactive and much more conscious of world events than teens were back in the 1950s. And when tough, longstanding worldwide problems are eventually diminished, it will be because of the efforts and actions of all future world leaders who are presently today's teenagers.
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@thegreatestgift.com. 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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