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DEAR ABBY: I live in a very small town. My husband died a year ago and, since then, I have felt like some of these people are angry with me.
Six months after he died, I had what my therapist called a “nervous breakdown.”
I know I wasn’t myself for some time, and I can’t remember much of what I did or said. I have been told I said things to close friends that were unkind and even swore at them. This happened over, maybe, a three-day period.
My friends won’t tell me what I said. I belong to a card club with these women, and I guess I swore at them and said or did some things that were awful. I haven’t been able to express my sorrow for it.
I have tried, but no one will tell me what happened.
They tell other people, and those people haven’t been friendly since then, either.
I was kicked out of the club and told I would not be allowed back in.
Can you give me some idea of what I can do to make my friends want to be with me again? I’m miserable and need help.
OUTCAST IN IOWA

DEAR OUTCAST: I am sure you are miserable. The women in that social group turned their backs on you.
Were any of them ever told that you had a psychological break after your husband died and you were under the care of a psychotherapist? If they knew and cannot understand and forgive your outburst, shame on them.
Because you can’t force anyone to cut you some slack and be kind enough to explain what it was you were saying when you weren’t yourself, you will have to look elsewhere for friendship.
A discussion with your religious adviser in that small town might be a place to start.
P.S. I wonder if what you said to those ladies when you were “not yourself” was true, which is why they aren’t speaking to you.

DEAR ABBY: A co-worker of mine is always bashing teachers, mostly about salaries and summers off.
If her daughter has to stay after school to get caught up on assignments, it is invariably the teacher’s fault.
My husband is a retired teacher. He knows that student success is a triangle of teachers, students and parents working together.
I know her complaints are not directed at my husband, but I bristle every time I hear them from her. When we moved here for his job 25 years ago, his starting salary was barely above poverty level.
Her father was a state legislator who not once voted for teachers.
When she speaks, I imagine I am hearing him.
Her husband is a former law enforcement officer, and I would never dream of bashing his profession day in and day out. How can I get a word in edgewise and what should it be?
WONDERING
UP NORTH

DEAR WONDERING: The next time your co-worker starts in, summon up the backbone to tell her how hard your husband worked for low pay, trying to cram an education into the heads of mostly disinterested students, and how her comments affect you. Say it with feeling, and perhaps she will think twice before opening her mouth on that subject with you.
***
For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

The Morgan City Council, seated for this term five months ago, already has a new member.
Thomas Hutchinson Jr. was appointed Tuesday to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Eriq Blanchard.
Hutchinson was one of four applicants for the interim position. He’ll serve at least until a special election April 18. If necessary, the runoff would be May 30. Qualifying will be Jan. 14-16.
“I felt like when the seat came open, it was my duty as a resident of Morgan City,” Hutchinson said.
Councilwoman Bonnie Leonard moved to appoint Hutchinson, who was approved by the council on a voice vote with no objections. Leonard’s husband, Judge Ed Leonard, administered the oath of office.
Blanchard, a businessman and former police officer, won the District 5 seat by defeating five-term incumbent Lou Tamporello by a 62%-38% margin in November 2024.
In his resignation letter, Blanchard said he is accepting a job in state government.
“Though my time on the council has been brief, I am proud of the work we have accomplished together,” Blanchard wrote in his letter. “We have laid the groundwork for several meaningful projects that I believe will benefit our community for years to come.”
Also Tuesday:
•Cassandra Romo came to the council with criticism of remarks made by an emcee at the June 10 Boujee Bingo event at Morgan City Municipal Auditorium, an event promoted by Morgan City Main Street.
Romo cited remarks she said are offensive to Hispanics, including jokes about Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency taking part in a Trump administration effort to deport undocumented immigrants.
“While I realize there was no malicious intent,” Romo said, “the remarks cannot be ignored.”
Romo asked for a public apology, a review of city events and more involvement by representatives of various cultures in city activities.
There was no immediate response from the council.
A Morgan City Facebook post for the event said “Boujee Bingo -- FIESTA STYLE is coming to the Morgan City Auditorium.”
•The council moved toward tidying up neighborhoods with action on three ordinances.
The council adopted an ordinance setting out the rules for removing abandoned junk vehicles from any property in the city. The ordinance allows the city to remove abandoned vehicles after giving at least 10 days’ notice to the property owner and charge up to $2,000 for the removal.
The council has struggled with cumbersome legal requirements as it seeks to deal with blighted property.
The council also introduced a pair of ordinances targeting overgrown property.
One ordinance would lower the height of weeds or grass that can trigger action by the city from 12 inches to 7 inches. The second allows the city to cut the grass or weeds in violation of the ordinance at the owner’s expense.
Under the normal course, the two weed ordinances would come up for a public hearing and passage vote at the council’s July 28 meeting.
•The council voted to authorize a 25% city match for a $6.6 million Army Corps of Engineers grant for which the city has applied.
The money would go for a sewer system upgrade. In a letter to the Corps, the city government says the upgrade would prevent sewage from leaking out of the system and prevent other water from infiltrating.
The city proposes to inspect sewer mains and manholes and repair deteriorating lift stations.
The goal is “the elimination of sewer discharges onto developed areas and into the environment, eliminating the general threat to the health and safety of the citizens of Morgan City.”

The Parish Council on Wednesday got an update on the Morgan City pump station upgrade, heard how it fits into efforts to control flood insurance premiums and began appointing members to the drainage district that operates the pumps.
Also Wednesday at the Parish Courthouse, President Sam Jones and Councilman the Rev. Craig Mathews renewed their heated argument over an appropriation for the Baldwin Police Department. And the council passed a resolution honoring a pioneering restaurateur who died recently.
Councilman Mark Duhon had asked St. Mary Levee District Executive Director Tim Matte to talk about certification of the local levee system.
Matte said the need to improve the Morgan City-area levees became evident after a post-Katrina evaluation in 2008. The levees other than the federal system needed to be higher to avoid increases in flood insurance premiums that could prevent land inside the levees from being feasible for development.
More recently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has added the controversial Risk Rating 2.0 to the mix. The new system would set premiums based on the flood risk for individual properties rather than spreading the average risk across an entire ZIP Code.
Experts say most property owners will see the same or lower premiums. But those who get hit with higher payments get hit hard.
“As a layman, I thought you just had to throw a little dirt on top of the levee and we’d be done,” Matte said.
But the process is more complicated. It also involves factors such as proximity to water, the distance to drainage canals, wetland considerations and the effectiveness of flood control measures such as the pump stations.
The last piece of the levee improvements to is a new section between Justa Street and the Walnut Street canal. Matte said the Levee District has plans for that section but hasn’t identified a funding source. Once that section is complete, Matte said, officials can apply for certification.
Meanwhile, the pump station upgrade continues in response to the flooding that occurred during Hurricane Francine, overwhelming the system and damaging more than 300 Morgan City homes.
At Pump Station 4, which serves the Marquis Manor-Cypress Gardens area, a $712,000 contract has been awarded for new pumps. Two pumps there have also been overhauled, offering some protection while the other pumps are installed.
At Pump Station No. 9 near Lake Palourde, plans are to add four pumps for a total of eight. Then attention will turn to No. 6 near the Central Fire Station and No. 8 in the Siracusa area.
The work is being financed by $12 million-$14 million provided by the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
Jones said his own inspection of the pump stations found that “it was a mess. It was a mess for years.”
He said some questions should be asked: “Why did it do so poorly? … Where did the money go?”
But “we’re in far better shape today, just two or three months after we started, than when the hurricane came.”
The council last month removed the five members of the Consolidated Gravity District 2A board. The district operates the pump station system with the help of the Morgan City government.
On Wednesday, the council voted to appoint four members to the board: Don Hicks, who resigned from the board shortly before his colleagues were removed; Paul Rappmundt; Nelda Duro; and Matt Patureau.
The council received eight applications, but the enabling ordinance requires two board members from unincorporated areas, and only one of the applicants approved Wednesday met that requirement. The search will be on for a fifth member who lives outside corporate limits.
Round 2
Jones and Mathews again traded harsh words over a $25,000 allocation for Baldwin police.
Mathews sought and obtained council approval for the appropriation at the June 11 council meeting. The money is to come from a 3/10th cent sales tax dedicated to projects in wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 10.
At the time, Jones cautioned that he wouldn’t spend the money if he determines the parish doesn’t have it. He cited Section V of the parish charter.
Section V says no payment or obligation may be made unless it’s in the approved budget and “unless the president or the president’s designee first certifies that there is a sufficient unencumbered balance … and that sufficient funds are there-from are or will be available. …”
Jones has been wrestling with a budget squeeze since he took office last year, and also criticized the council’s spending and borrowing.
Mathews, who chairs the council’s budget committee, has disagreed with Jones’ view of parish finances.
On Wednesday, Mathews asked legal counsel Eric Duplantis for clarification on whether the charter gives Jones the power Jones says it does. Duplantis said he will have to research the question.
Mathews accused Jones of blocking the council’s action and the will of the people who voted for the sales tax.
“If you hadn’t broken the bank before, we’d have it,” Jones said.
“We didn’t break the bank,” Mathews said.
Later, Jones told Mathews, “you helped bankrupt this place.”
“There you go making allegations again,” Mathews said.
Respect
The council passed a resolution of respect for Carmen Izaguirre, founder of the Tampico's family of restaurants.
She died June 12, just days short of her 107th birthday.
A native of Tampico in Mexico, Izaguirre settled first in Utah, then came to Morgan City. In addition to her accomplishments as a restaurant owner, she also was a professional-level dancer and sometime film actress.

Brenda C. Murray, 78, a native of Morgan City and resident of Patterson, died Thursday, June 19, 2025, at Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma.
Visitation will be Saturday from 9 a.m. until services at 11:30 a.m. at Jones Funeral Home Chapel in Morgan City. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery.
She is survived by son, Corwin Murray of Patterson; daughter, Wandisa Murray of Lafayette; brothers, Craig Hall of New York, Ronnie Campbell, Levi Campbell and Raymond Campbell, all of Morgan City, Glen Campbell of Boston and Henry Campbell III of Franklin; sisters, Nancy Campbell, Wanda Hall and Sharon DarDar, all of Morgan City, and Carol Neumeister of Lafayette; and four grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.