DR. WALLACE: This might sound trivial to you, but it is very important to me. I'm 20, married and expecting our first child, a son, in four months. My husband's father's name is Hector, and my husband wants to name our son Hector to honor his father who, by the way, is not worthy of any kind of honor. My father's name is Harry, but I don't like that name either.

I've suggested that Hector could be our son's middle name, but my husband won't buy that. Names are important. I honestly think my husband's father suffered from low self-esteem because of his name. Be honest, would you have named your son Hector? Please tell my husband that Hector is out as a name. —Sue, Louisville, Ky.

SUE: I was named Robert after my father. My son was named Robert after his grandfather and me. My wife gave her blessing to this. Since none of the mentioned Roberts are troublemakers, all is well in the Wallace family.

If my father's name was Hector, chances are that I would have been named Hector, Jr., and my son would have been named Hector III. I won't convince your husband not to name his son Hector, but I would encourage him to take your suggestion and have Hector be his middle name. It's not wise to upset a wife who is "expecting."

MILK IS THE PERFECT FOOD ... BUT

DR. WALLACE: Please settle this "friendly" family dispute. My older brother drinks about a half-gallon of milk every day. He only drinks whole milk and will not drink 2 percent or skim milk. I keep telling him that he would be better off not drinking whole milk, but he says that his football coach told the team that whole milk is nature's best food, and since my brother is on the football team, he listens to his coach. I know that his coach is mistaken. Please "enlighten" him and his players. —Gina, Houston, Texas

GINA: It's true that milk is the "perfect" food, chock-full of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, including calcium, but whole milk has a high fat content. So to set the record straight, skim is actually nature's "perfect" food. It contains all the "good stuff" without any of the not-so-good stuff, namely fat. Shame on the coach for not knowing this. Or is it possible your brother is just telling you that the coach recommends whole milk? In any case, make sure the coach also reads my answer.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE COURSE WILL TRANSFER

DR. WALLACE: If I attend a community college for two years, will my credits transfer to a four-year school so that I could graduate from college in four years? Do all colleges honor community college courses? —Tim, Orange, Calif.

TIM: Community colleges offer courses that transfer to any college or university in the nation, and that includes Harvard, Stanford and Yale. When attending a community college, it is imperative that you explain your goal to your counselor to make sure that every course you take is transferable to a four-year school.

Personally, I feel a student at a community college receives a quality education comparable to that from a four-year institution.

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.