Ethnically Speaking by Larry Meeks

Dear Larry: I am African-American and live in a major city in the Midwest. My girlfriend and I like to end our dates with dinner. One of our favorites is a large semi-fast-food restaurant. This restaurant is owned by a large national chain and is very popular. One always can count on it to be full or almost full around the clock.

We have eaten there at least five times and always have been seated in the same area. I've noticed that the customers in this area are always mostly black. In fact, I have noticed that it is very seldom blacks are seated in any other section.

I asked my friends, both white and black, whether they have noticed that restaurants tend to put minorities in certain sections. I have received mixed answers. Some of my friends say this happens all the time, and others say they have not noticed anything out of the ordinary.

What have been your observations? — Hungry Hunter

Dear Hungry Hunter: There have been many times I have eaten in restaurants and been put in areas where the people were predominately black. I never have thought anything was wrong with the seating. As an aside, I always have been given a different seat if I found the one assigned not acceptable.

Because I am not sensitive about restaurant seating, I am not a good person to give you accurate feedback. However, I am sure my readers gladly will give you their observations. Readers?

Dear Larry: My boyfriend and I have been living together for five years.

We have two children, and they need the stability of not only having a mother and a father but also knowing we are married.

I have suggested to my boyfriend that it is time we get married. He tells me he loves our children and me. He says we will get married soon. Soon never comes.

He has given me one excuse after another. He said that as soon as we got our own house, we could get married. We got a house three years ago, and then he said we could marry as soon as he got another job. Well, you guessed it; he got his dream job, and we still have not set a date.

Larry, I am tired of begging and telling him about how it is good for our children. I don't know what I can do to make him do the right thing. Do you have any suggestions for how I can get him to follow through with his obligation? — Laura

Dear Laura: I hate to respond to you like this, but statistics state that you have a major problem getting married.

A Columbia University study found that only 26 percent of the women and 19 percent of the men surveyed married the person with whom they were cohabiting. A survey from Yale University indicated that people who live together before marriage have higher separation and divorce rates.

The only suggestion I can make is to give your boyfriend a firm deadline. Tell him that if he doesn't meet the deadline, you will terminate the relationship.

If there are better suggestions, I am all ears. Readers?

To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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