She also is, or has been: a lawyer, policy analyst, polyglot, manager, singer, activist, silversmith, and adjunct graduate-school instructor in social work. More important, she is a world-class listener. Since she was about five, people on park benches, airplanes, buses, quiet woodland paths, supermarket and restroom checkout lines, telemarketing and tech support calls, and even, once, a tollbooth on I-95, have sought her advice on just about everything, from comma placement to wedding-day jitters. As with all agony aunts, June makes no warranties whatever about having any expertise or special knowledge, or whether the advice will be any good. But she does promise to try really hard and to answer in decent prose. As her lawyer-self would say: res ipsa loquitur; or, as June would say, the proof is in the pudding.

Explore June Cleaver’s attic for more answers to all problems punctuational, interpersonal, and philosophical. Got a question or feedback for June? Drop her a line. She entertains visitors at [email protected].