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DEAR ABBY: My wife and I lost our son to suicide a few years ago. We have never gotten over it. I have recovered somewhat and would like to resume having intimate relations, but she’s not that far along.
I no longer feel there’s any reason to continue on this earth. There is no point to my being here. I think about suicide daily. I have been told that if I were going to do this and hurt my family as my son did, I would’ve already done it.
My wife and I have been cast into a hell that’s impossible to bear. There is no way to describe the pain, anger and sorrow we feel. I want to die because I feel the world would be a better place without my sorrowful self taking up resources. I have sought help ever since we lost my son, and have been taking all kinds of medication that I no longer want to take.
Is there a way out other than my option?
BEYOND DEPRESSED

DEAR BEYOND DEPRESSED: Please accept my deepest sympathy for the tragic loss of your son. I cannot imagine the hell you and your wife are going through.
Because you can’t get the thought of suicide out of your mind, it is very important that you receive more help than I can give you in a letter. Your doctor should be put on notice about your issue with your medications.
Also, a group that might be helpful for you and your wife is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. If you contact them, they can refer you to a local support group for people who are surviving a loved one’s suicide. The website is afsp.org.
If, however, you feel you have reached a point where harming yourself is imminent, I urge you to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
Please don’t give up.

DEAR ABBY: I have two children. One is 6, and the other is an infant. My 6-year-old is kind but mischievous at times. I am a firm believer that children need loving parents, but also parents who discipline when it’s needed.
My mother recently came to live with me and my husband. She helps out a lot, but she is causing some confusion in our home. She doesn’t discipline my 6-year-old when needed. In fact, she often acts like a child herself when she should be acting like an adult. This issue causes my 6-year-old to sometimes be disrespectful.
When my husband and I hear the smart-mouth talk, we address it, but there’s only so much we can do when my mother won’t take an adult role.
I have had several conversations with her about it, but nothing changes. I don’t want her to leave, but I’m afraid her attitude toward parenting and discipline will cause some real problems in my home.
Please help.
DISCIPLINED IN VIRGINIA

DEAR DISCIPLINED: Continue the conversation with your mother.
Explain that although she may think you are too strict with your older child, you are that child’s mother, and this is the way you want the child raised. Then tell her that if enforcing the rules is too much for her, she may have to find other living arrangements. Talk to your child, as well. Make sure he/she understands that the rules come from his/her parents and no one else.
I am troubled by your statement that your mother sometimes acts like a child. I wish you had mentioned why she’s living with you.
If you suspect there’s a possibility she might be experiencing the onset of dementia, INSIST that she be evaluated by a physician and a neurologist to ensure that she’s well.
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Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: “Abby’s Favorite Recipes” and “More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $16 to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

St. Mary Parish leaders have begun preparations for Tropical Storm Cristobal, which appears headed for the south Louisiana coast and potentially, St. Mary Parish.
Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness Director David Naquin said officials need to be proactive in their approach.
“A lot could still go on,” he said Wednesday. “It could intensify more. It could go the other way as well.”
However, Naquin said he doesn’t think there’s a doubt among many forecasters where it is headed.
“It’s going to pass pretty close to St. Mary Parish, there’s no question, if it doesn’t go straight through St. Mary Parish,” he said.
Naquin said meetings began Wednesday morning and have been making plans for sandbagging, although parish leaders aren’t ready to institute those plans yet.
“We’re making sure all of our generators, all of our supplies are up to snuff,” he said. “Although it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a hurricane, you remember Barry wasn’t a very big hurricane last year, and it knocked up pretty good.”
Naquin said parish leaders would keep the public informed through their website, https://stmaryohsep.org/.
“It’s hard to have a big meeting like we’ve done in year’s past because of the COVID crisis and social distancing,” Naquin said. “We just don’t have a room that will hold everybody so we’re trying to ask everybody to keep on top of it with our webpage, go to those websites, the National Weather Service.”
Naquin said Wednesday it is too soon to call any kind of evacuation.
“Obviously, we hope it doesn’t come to that,” he said. “If it stays as is, (I) don’t believe it’s going to be a problem, but again, it’s just a little bit too early to tell.”
Naquin said by Friday, parish leaders would know more about Cristobal’s path as the storm enters the Gulf of Mexico.
“The only problem with that is it’s only going to give us 48 hours before it hits, so it’s going to be on top of us pretty quick as soon as it jumps off the Yucatan Peninsula,” he said.
Berwick Mayor Duval Arthur, Naquin’s predecessor in the OEP office, said it looks like Cristobal will be a rain event.
“We’re bringing in an extra pump just to have on standby, but all of our pumps and everything are working right now, so we’re OK,” he said.
Out of caution, Arthur said, the town will be closing floodgates in low-lying areas along Berwick Bay at Pacific, Lima and California streets, likely Thursday.
He said they also will make sure they have plenty of fuel and enough food for their jail, while town workers will be kept on standby.
Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said that the city is conducting its routine hurricane preparations, such as making sure generators are working and they have adequate resources. He also said the city has secured services, if needed, for any cleanup following the storm.
Grizzaffi said that based on the current forecast, the city will be closing floodgates along the Atchafalaya River with an elevation of 8 feet or below.
“Right now, the forecast is an 8-foot river,” he said, noting that the river is currently at 6 feet.

Louisiana’s move Friday into the next phase of loosening COVID-19-related restrictions will include reopening the state library and highway welcome centers, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said Wednesday.
Nungesser, who is the state’s top tourism official, also struck an optimistic tone about the number of visitors Louisiana will be welcoming as concerns about the pandemic ease.
Surveys show in the near term most travelers plan to stay close to home, Nungesser said, so he is urging Louisiana residents to consider road trips within the state. He said more than 20,000 people visited state parks over the past two weekends, the most since 2008, which should take some of the sting out of a $3.2 million revenue loss during the pandemic.
“Incredible numbers, and everybody did it in a safe manner,” he said.
Looking toward later in the year and next year, he said tourism officials are “leaning forward” to land conventions and conferences. He said Lake Charles recently was able to attract a trucking conference that had been planned for Miami. A “Louisiana lagniappe” plan including Louisiana seafood and live music is being offered as an enticement.
The welcome centers have been closed, except for the restrooms, since March 16. Once re-opened, no more than 10 visitors at a time will be allowed in the lobby areas. Each center will distribute free “Feed Your Soul”-branded masks, which tie into the state’s tourism marketing campaign.
Nungesser joined Gov. John Bel Edwards’ COVID-19 news briefing Wednesday. As of noon Wednesday, at least 2,759 Louisiana residents had been killed by the disease, state health officials reported.
Officials said 619 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals, the lowest total since late March. More than 41,000 cases had been reported, and officials believed almost 32,000 patients had recovered.
Like many states around the country, Louisiana has seen protest marches inspired in part by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The protests have been “almost without exception” peaceful, Edwards said.
Asked earlier in the day if the gatherings might lead to more coronavirus infections, Dr. Alex Billioux with the state Office of Public Health said they might, adding that officials had similar concerns about the recent Memorial Day holiday.
Billioux once again reassured lawmakers that participation in the state’s contact tracing program is voluntary, though he stressed that participation is extremely important for efforts to contain possible outbreaks. Rep. Raymond Crews, a Bossier City Republican, asked him to put more emphasis on the voluntary nature of the program in the state’s messaging about it.
Edwards said state officials have discussed ways to pay for a program to help residents facing eviction because of financial hardships tied to the pandemic and response, though he didn’t offer any details.

August 18, 1922 — May 31, 2020
Grace Rita V. Dupre, born August 18, 1922 at Belle River, LA, passed peacefully away May 31, 2020 at Skyline Regional Hospital in Hendersonville, TN at the grand age of 97 years and 10 months.
She was preceded in death by her husband, LeRoyal J. Dupre Sr.; son, LeRoyal J. Dupre Jr.; and daughter, Fay C. Kohn. Also her father, Alden J. Vaughn; her mother, Anna Bourge; stepfather Leon Bourge; half-brother, Curtis Bourge Sr.; grandson, LeRoyal J. Dupre III; and daughter-in-law, Brenda J. Dupre.
Surviving family members are her daughter, Carol J. Dupre; her son, Ray D. Dupre and wife, Shelia; half-brother, A.J. Vaughn Jr.; special daughters, Joyce G. Cowan, Marie Credeur, Cindy Wiltz and daughter-in-law, Laura Dupre; eight grandchildren, Rhonda Addison and husband Warren, Edith Kohn, Jimmy Kohn Jr. and wife Angela, Randy D. Dupre and wife Tessie, Glenn Dupre, Wanda Marie Dupre, LaDonna Henderson and husband David, and Jacinda Funderburk and husband Kevin; numerous great- and great-great-grandchildren; and also a host of other relatives and friends.
A time of visitation and remembrance for Grace will take place Thursday, June 4, 2020, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Friday, June 5, 2020, from 9 a.m. until time of services at 10 a.m. at Hargrave Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held on Friday, June 5th at 10 a.m. at Hargrave Funeral Home and will be live-streamed on Hargrave Funeral Home’s Facebook page for any friends or family unable to attend. Following services, Grace will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Mausoleum.
Due to the current requirements regarding limited gatherings, Hargrave Funeral Home can only allow up to 75 guests in the facility during the visitation Thursday and 150 on Friday. The family requests that any friends and family paying their respects, please adhere to social distancing protocols and wear masks upon entry of the funeral home.