'Tween 12 and 20 by Dr. Robert Wallace

DR. WALLACE: I'm writing in response to the letter from the young man whose mother thought it was beneath his dignity to work as a grocery bagger. I am now a sophomore in college and must pay my own way. My first job was as a bagger in a large grocery chain. The work was hard, but honest, and I learned a lot about the grocery business.

I am now attending college full-time and still working part-time at the same grocery store. I now work at the cash register (it pays more), but, at times, I still bag groceries. When I graduate from college, I'd like to continue working for this grocery chain and, hopefully, become a store manager for them. I like my company very much. They care about their employees. - Carolyn, Portland, Ore.

CAROLYN: Your letter is an excellent response. You are fortunate to be working for a company that cares about its employees, and your company is fortunate to have such a loyal and dedicated worker. I have no doubts that you will be an excellent store manager. Hard, honest work should never be mocked, and no one is ever the poorer for learning a humble job and doing it well!

When I coached varsity basketball at La Quinta High School in Garden Grove, Calif., one of our players bagged groceries at a supermarket during the off season. He earned a scholarship to play basketball at Pasadena Nazarene College and after graduating went to work in administration for a large Southern California grocery chain — all because he was an excellent grocery bagger!

GIRLS SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON HAIR

GIRLS: Have you ever found yourself in this situation? You are about to go out for a terrific evening with your handsome boyfriend when you look in the mirror one last time and realize you hate the way your hair looks? Gloom.

In their all-out war on bad hair days, some teens are no longer spending hours brushing, styling, curling and coloring their own hair. Those who can convince their parents that a good hair day will help self-esteem, thus increasing study time and resulting in improved grades, are having a professional hair stylist do the job. Despite the cost, many parents are surrendering to their demands. All told, American teenage girls spent an estimated $155 billion (repeat: billion ) cutting, curling, coloring, highlighting, spraying and blow-drying the crown atop their heads.

According to Teen Research Unlimited, a Chicago marketing company, it's not difficult to find 12-year-olds who book $50 to $75 blow-dries every time they're going to a party. Beauty salons are making a bundle from advertisements aimed at teens, which make the teens believe they're not in fashion unless their hair is professionally cared for.

This may be an option for privileged girls whose parents can cough up the cash, but for most teen girls, great hair remains strictly do-it-yourself. And, in most cases, the at-home hair treatment actually is more appealing and glamorous than the over $50 professional styling — and at a yearly savings of a great deal of cash!

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@galesburg.net. 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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