DR. WALLACE: This big ugly guy keeps telling me that one day after school he is going to rearrange my face because I look like a "pretty boy." I'm not tall, but I'm not a weakling. I've had boxing lessons at a local CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) gym and I can take care of myself physically.

My dad wants me to meet him somewhere after school and to punish him, but my mother thinks that I should just ignore him. That's why I'm contacting you. What do you suggest that I do? — Nameless, Brooklyn, N.Y.

NAMELESS: Ignore him, but if he starts something, defend yourself and teach him a lesson he won't soon forget.

However, Confucius, a very wise man, once said, "Be careful fighting ugly guy, because ugly guy has little to lose!"

WILL OUR MARRIAGE LAST?

DR. WALLACE: I felt compelled to contact you on your column about the girl who wanted to know if she should marry a guy she likes, not loves. She also wanted to know if, in time, like could turn to love. You advised her not to marry unless there was mutual love. Please allow me to disagree with your answer. I met a young lady on a Monday, proposed to her the following day and we were married a few days after that.

My wife and I have been happily married for 52 years, have three children and five grandchildren. Love does grow throughout a marriage. Do you think this marriage will last? — Nameless, Hobart, Ind.

NAMELESS: Somehow I get the feeling that your marriage will last. Congratulations!

HE HANGS OUT WITH DORKS

DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend is a cool, cute guy and I like him a lot! Unfortunately, he hangs around with some weird, dorky guys when he is not with me. I've told him to get rid of these "odd" friends because some of my friends are saying that my boyfriend might be a dork too, using the "birds of a feather flock together" theory.

Trust me, Dr. Wallace, Kenny is no dork. What can I do to get him to dump the guys he hangs around with and to start hanging with the cool guys? He would fit in perfectly. — Nameless, Austin, Tex.

NAMELESS: You are only dating Kenny, you don't own him. He has had his friends long before he started dating you, so lay off of them.

If you can't do that, stop dating him.

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. E-mail 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.