Opinion

Since Matthew Perry died last week, I’ve seen countless clips in my social media feed of his work as Chandler Bing on “Friends.” But snippets of a recent interview have also been circulating. In November 2022, Perry was a guest on “Q with Tom Power.” He was promoting his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.” Perry told the show host, “When I die, I know people will talk about ‘Friends,’ ‘Friends,’ ‘Friends.’ And I’m glad of that, happy I’ve done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the World Wide Web... but when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if ‘Friends’ were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice.”

Dear Annie: About eight months ago, I met “Len” through a dating app. I’m 71, and he’s 81. We clicked right away and started a beautiful relationship. He calls me twice a day and comes to visit me once a week. We go out for dinner and take some road trips once in a while. He never invites me to the house where he lives; he told me that it belongs to his brother and he only occupies a room in the back, which was added to the house. He told me he has a house he’s renting somewhere five hours away from where he presently lives.

Is it inevitable that Donald Trump will be the second person in history -- Richard Nixon was the first -- to win the Republican Party’s nomination for president three times? Many thoughtful observers, and others as well, think so.

How Much Debt Is OK? These days, as my virtual mailbag fills with messages and pleas for help, I’m noticing a decided increase in those that are related to debt. I pulled out a couple to share with you today.

After more than a week, we are still building an impression of the new House speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson. Moderates like me, and others to my left, will not find much common ground with the Republican from northwest Louisiana on issues.

Dear Annie: I love my job. I love the people with whom I work; yet recently, a member of my office decided on their own that they wanted to purchase an office support pet, despite not needing any additional support in an already sound and safe office environment.

After President Joe Biden met last week with Wang Yi, the foreign minister of the People’s Republic of China, the PRC’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a statement and a photo on its website. The photo showed Biden shaking hands with Wang.

“It’s all happening at the Zoo.” --Simon and Garfunkel Washington went to the National Zoo en masse last weekend to catch sight of its three most beloved residents: the family of giant pandas. They are Papa Tian Tian, Mama Mei Xiang and “little miracle” Xiao Qi Ji, a pandemic male baby born in 2020.

Dear Annie: I’m a 20-yearold girl, and my boyfriend is 24, soon to be 25. We’ve been dating for about three months, and he’s the best boyfriend I’ve ever had. This is only my second relationship and his fifth. Unfortunately, two of those exes weren’t very nice; one cheated on him, and the other left him for another boy.

Criticism of the State’s ‘Yellow Flag’ Statute Is Doubly Misguided Five months before an Army Reserve sergeant killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, his relatives told police he was increasingly paranoid, erroneously complaining that people were describing him as a pedophile. Two months later, he underwent a psychiatric evaluation after service members who were training with him at West Point reported that he was behaving erratically, and last month he told a friend he was “going to shoot up the drill center” at his base in Saco, Maine.