DR. WALLACE: I'm an only girl and I have three brothers. Every year when we plan our family vacations, my dad and my brothers always come up with ideas to visit new lakes and streams they want to go fishing at, while I always vote for Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

But every year we go fishing since my father says that Orlando is 1,000 miles away and the fishing spots are only around 200 to 300 miles from where we live. He also tells me that we can go camping and hiking and that we don't have to fish every single day!

This last part is kind of true because the last couple of years I complained that there were no hiking trails near where we used to go fishing, so they actually picked out a few places last year that did have good hiking areas.

But I still would like to go to Disney World even though my brothers have no interest in that at all. My mom said she'd like Orlando for a change, but nobody has taken any action to make that a reality.

We usually do these trips in July or August, so I figure if I write to you now, you might have a suggestion about how I can get to Orlando this summer if I have enough time to figure it out. Any ideas? — No Fishing This Year, Please, via email

NO FISHING THIS YEAR, PLEASE: Ask your mom if you and a girlfriend could travel to Orlando with your mom and your friend's mom. The four of you would be a good team, and there would be two adults to talk together and two teenage girls to talk together while enjoying your preferred destination. And since it's so far, perhaps you could book airline tickets early so that you can get good prices to fly there.

Now, it might be tricky to find one of your friends who can actually go on a trip like this, but it's worth a try to start networking right now to see what might be possible. And if you find a fit, you can suggest to your father that he lead the "boys trip" while your mom leads the "girls trip" this summer only. I feel this would be a fair and nice change of pace for everyone for a few days this summer.

MY FRIENDS SAY TO IGNORE THEM, BUT IT HASN'T STOPPED

DR. WALLACE: I'm only 14, but I'm taller and more mature looking than every girl my age at my school. There are two boys who make very inappropriate comments to me during our lunch break and even sometimes between classes in the halls. The funny thing is that they are always very careful to only make these terrible comments to me when there are no other students near enough to hear them.

This means I have no proof or witnesses to prove that this is actually happening. I have not told my parents about this yet, and my two best girlfriends tell me to ignore it and do nothing. They think that if I ignore them, the boys will eventually stop harassing me. I don't think this is true since it's been going on now for over four months. Is there anything I can do about this, or should I just ignore it like my girlfriends suggest? — Just Want This to End, via email

JUST WANT THIS TO END: The first step in getting this to end is to bring responsible adults into the picture. Explain this situation in detail to your parent. I also suggest your parents and you report this information to your school principal immediately.

Your principal is responsible for conducting and maintaining a safe and non-harassing environment for all students at your school. Explaining what you've heard may be enough for your principal to take immediate action, or the principal may give you permission to carry a tape recorder in the future in the hopes that you may actually be able to obtain proof of the words that are being spoken to you. Do not do any taping on your own; get advance permission from your principal if he or she deems that to be a necessary step.

Take action to inform these adults immediately. You already know that four months of simply hoping this harassment will go away has not produced any positive results.

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 [email protected]. 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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