DR. WALLACE: I'm a second-year student at the University of Connecticut. This past summer I had the pleasure of spending summer school at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. I had a marvelous time learning and enjoying the Irish people and their traditions.

One experience I enjoyed the best was after class on a Friday afternoon going to Paddy's Pub on O'Connell Street and having a few glasses of Guiness (beer) with my fellow Irish students. We would sing Irish folk songs (Danny Boy, My Wild Irish Rose, Galway Bay, etc.) sip our beers, and down a plate of fish and chips (French fries). At the time, I was 19 years old. Teens 18 and older can consume alcohol in Ireland and I was told that even if you are younger, but look like an 18-year-old, alcohol will be served to you. None of us got drunk and none of us caused a problem. All we did was have a nice friendly time. I'll admit some of the more "mature" pub patrons (most of the male gender) did sing out of tune and leave the pub with the aid of a friend's arm; but they did leave with a smile on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes.

I think it's archaic that our college students can't legally enjoy the same type of friendship in the United States until they reach that magical and all-knowing age of 21). I know that you will strongly disagree with my alcohol philosophy of allowing 18-year-olds to enjoy a glass of stout, but please print my letter to let older teens know that they should keep fighting to get our elected officials to visit an Irish pub so they can see that civilized young folk can drink responsibly. — Amy, Hartford, Conn.

AMY: Don't be lulled by the idea that having a few drinks in an Irish pub is typical of a wonderful example of alcohol consumption. The Irish have an extremely high percentage of alcoholics, much to the suffering and despair of their families.

Even with our strict minimum drinking age law in the United States, alcohol is a major problem of many teens. According to Dr. S. Kenneth Schonberg, a professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the three leading causes of death among teens are accidents, homicide and suicide. He says that nearly half of the teens who die in accidents are intoxicated themselves or are in a motor vehicle driven by someone who has been drinking. This fact alone makes alcohol intoxication the leading cause of death among North American teens. In addition, nearly one-third of teen murder victims are under the influence of alcohol at the time they are killed, according to Dr. Schonberg. Add to this the fact that 20 percent of teens who commit suicide are intoxicated at the time of their death.

I allowed you to give your view of why 18-year-olds should be allowed to consume alcohol and I have presented mine. It's up to our readers to decide who has won our friendly, but important, debate.

IT MAKES HER FEEL SUPERIOR

DR. WALLACE: My friend and I have been close for three years. She is really a neat kid most of the time, but when she is not, she is very tacky. When she does something without me, it's always "wonderful." But when I do something without her, and I tell her about it, she considers it to be stupid or she isn't interested in hearing about it.

Why does this girl always find negative things to say about things that I do without her? - Nameless, Cedar Lake, Ind.

NAMELESS: Habitually belittling you is a sure sign your friend possesses an inferiority complex. It makes her feel superior if she can do things better than you can.

Just don't play her silly game of, "I can do things better than you." Forget about telling her things you have done when she wasn't present and ignore her comments the best that you can.

Look also to other friends for genuine support.

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. E-mail 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.