Good Deeds

• Film critic Roger Ebert took his last drink in August 1979. One of the things that helped make that his last drink was Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), where he heard many interesting stories about fellow alcoholics discovering AA. For example, he heard a Native American tell about crawling out from under an abandoned car (the closest thing to an address that he had), then seeing a police officer and asking where was an AA meeting. The police officer replied, “You see those people going in over there?” Another example: A hippie’s VW van broke down on a lonely road in Alaska. She started walking on a frozen stream. She heard bells ringing, and she sat down and waited to freeze to death. She really did hear bells –they were on a sleigh, and the people on the sleigh rescued her and took her to an AA meeting. A third example: A priest hid in the janitor’s closet in the priest’s own church so he could listen to an AA meeting – that was his very first AA meeting.

Dear Harlan: I recently moved into an apartment with two friends from my dorm. Upon moving, we all agreed that I would bring in a dog to foster. One of the two roommates said she was planning to buy a cat. I told her I was fine with it as long as the cat would be her responsibility. The dog moved in and ignored my roommates (I was the caregiver). One day, I received a phone call from the animal shelter saying they had received an e-mail from my roommate's mother saying that the dog was "aggressive and violent, would bite and attack people, and I was a bad foster parent." I was livid. Once at home, I calmly explained that my roommate should have talked to me instead of going behind my back, at which point she had a panic attack and ran out of the room. When she came back, I tried to apologize, but she screamed: "Don't apologize! It makes it worse!" She then retreated to her room. On top of the dog issue (the dog is now gone to make room for a cat that never showed up), they leave dirty dishes in the sink, dirty pots on the stove and hair all over the bathroom. After they ignored our cleaning system, I left Post-It notes whenever I saw a mess that needed cleaning. They told me I was juvenile. I stood my ground. They both promptly walked away, and the matter has yet to come to a solid conclusion. The lease ends in April and they'll both be moving out, but until then, how do I deal? — Trapped

One of the best things about winter — yes, there are some — is how clear the sky gets at night.

I discovered that fact the first night I lived here, a cold, clear night that made the stars seem very close. In many parts of the world, there are so many lights on, all the time, that a clear view of the sky is never possible. I live on a ridge, but the surrounding ridges are a little taller, shielding me from the lights of nearby communities. (Alas, they also shield me from really nice sunrises and sunsets, but it’s a fair trade.)

I'm planning to marry my boyfriend in December. I love how he makes me feel like a supermodel even though I'm slightly overweight, and how he's always saying he loves me. This is in sharp contrast to my mentally abusive ex-husband always saying he never loved me. Recently, my boyfriend asked me to clean out his car, and I found a black bra under the passenger seat. He said, "Baby, I bought that for you, it was supposed to be a surprise." When asked to produce the tags or receipt, he responds, "Excuse me for trying to do something romantic" or says he'll show me the rack at the store where he got the bra. Should I really believe he accidentally bought a bra way smaller than my size and lost the tags and receipt? He's proven to be romantic on several occasions – only several because we only met in March. He swears he's being honest, but he lies a lot; even his parents tell me they can't believe much of what he says. — Hopeless Romantic

Food

• Comedians Eddie Cantor and Bert Williams and some other Ziegfeld Follies stars were invited to eat at the home of fist-fighter Jack “Twin” Sullivan, who unfortunately played a cruel practical joke on Mr. Cantor, who was Jewish. Mr. Sullivan served pork chops, which everyone but Mr. Cantor ate. Seeing that Mr. Cantor wasn’t eating his pork chops, which of course as an observant Jew who kept kosher, Mr. Cantor would not do, Mr. Sullivan offered to bring him a sandwich. However, the sandwich was made out of ham, which of course Mr. Cantor did not eat. Mr. Sullivan then offered Mr. Cantor eggs, but when he brought the eggs out to Mr. Cantor, they were covered with bacon and bacon grease.