Editor's Note: Hundreds of Ann Landers' loyal readers have requested that newspapers continue to publish her columns. These letters originally appeared in 1999.

Dear Ann Landers: I have been going with a man for three years. "Jerome" has a 5-year-old daughter, and I don't know how much longer I can tolerate that child. She tells her father where to sit, where to stand, when to go out and what to eat. She walks around his apartment and insists on holding his hand, no matter what he's doing. She even goes to the bathroom with him. (He says she cries if he locks her out.) If she awakens in the middle of the night, he allows her to sleep with him.

Jerome is divorced, and his daughter spends two nights a week at his place. I realize she misses her father, but this seems to me a very unhealthy attachment. When she is with him, she won't play with her toys or watch TV. She only wants to sit on his lap. This child has so many hang-ups, it saddens me. Jerome says I am jealous of her, but I don't believe this is true. What do you say, Ann? — Ready to Give up in Richmond, Va.

Dear Richmond: Dump Jerome unless you are willing to play second fiddle to that pathetic spoiled brat for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, her brattiness is not her fault. Her father (probably guilty about the divorce) has catered to the child to the extent that he is totally under her thumb. Adios, Jerome, and the sooner the better.

Dear Ann Landers: My husband is a wonderful man, 56 years old and highly intelligent. He had an ingrown toenail that was red and swollen and looked infected. I suggested he soak it in hot water and try to cut as much of the nail as he could.

Well, Ann, I caught him soaking his toe in my good crock pot. I went ballistic. He insisted that a little hot water and soap would clean the pot up just fine and I had no reason to fly off the handle. I threw the contaminated pot in the garbage. The next morning, I discovered he had put the pot back in the cupboard. I took it with me to the office and threw it out there.

Was I wrong, Ann, or am I married to a man with the brain of a flea? — Grossed Out in Stockton, Calif.

Dear Stockton: Sorry, dear, but you threw out a perfectly good piece of crockery that would have been OK after a thorough scouring.

It could be that after seeing your husband's infected foot in the pot, you could not bring yourself to cook in it, but actually, the problem was more in your head than in the pot. Should your husband get another ingrown toenail, ask him to use an aluminum pail instead of a cooking utensil.

And while we're on the subject of toenails, they should be cut straight across. Sorry if I ruined some breakfasts out there, but this information is something you need to know, folks.

To find out more about Ann Landers and read her past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

ANN LANDERS

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