Let’s say you’re declarer at three notrump and West leads a heart. Your first problem is whether to play the queen or the four from dummy — but this is not really a difficult choice. It’s better to play the queen, but let’s see why. If the queen wins, which means that West has the ...

DEAR ANNIE: I’ve read plenty about empty-nest depression and how to cope with it, and I managed that stage just fine. I enjoyed my grandchildren and watched them grow into teenagers. But now I’m struggling with something different: how to handle the emptiness of the holidays. I have two ...

DEAR HELOISE: What I do with my greeting cards, including and mostly Christmas cards, is to cut off the fronts of the cards and give them to a preschool at my church. They can use them to make all kinds of different projects. Check with preschools in your area to see if they would like yours as ...

DEAR DR. ROACH: My wife was having problems getting to sleep and has stocked our medicine cabinet with various p.m. versions of popular pain relievers that have been advertised as sleep aids. Recently, I’ve had problems getting to sleep as well and began taking a single pill before retiring, ...

Many years ago, B. Jay Becker, the former editor of this column, received a letter from a reader who expressed his admiration for the way Becker bid Hand No. 30 in the world championship match between Sweden and the United States in 1953! Bursting with curiosity, Becker looked up Hand No. 30. ...