Misery loves company, or so the saying goes. That probably explains the passel of e-mails from readers who shared their embarrassing experiences after last week's column about getting a spanking from my own mother in fourth grade.

Another reader says, "I was 16 and working at Kmart. I was on the phone with my boyfriend, and I saw the manager coming my way. I didn't want him to know I was on a personal call, so I acted like I was helping a customer and had pushed the * key somehow (which was our intercom key). I said in a whispered voice, ‘Act like you are a customer; boss is here,' which came out over the loudspeaker.

"Some women walking ahead of us heard that comment and glanced back with a sheepish grin to see who had said it. If Steve had kept his mouth shut, we'd have been able to look sheepish and shrug our shoulders without having to either 'fess up or tell a lie.

Love, they say, makes us do foolish things, which might account for the following faux pas, contributed by a reader who requests anonymity while mentioning the threat of firearms.

This particular lady had decided to attend summer school, solely for the purpose of keeping her best friend company. "While on the bus near the end of summer school - where we took classes with kids from all over Scott County, even far-away Twin Springs - I was spinning my magic (chattering nonstop) to a group of girls about the current man of my dreams.

"I went on and on about his dreamy eyes, and his hair, and his dimples when he smiled, and how sweet and nice he always was, and the other girls got quieter and quieter.

"At which point, even though I tried very hard, I could not disappear, nor could I even get off the bus and walk the rest of the long journey home, nor find a rabbit hole to sneak down. Most of the girls I'd been talking to obviously knew Susie and my dream guy were dating, and of course, Susie was a very pretty, quiet and nice girl, and he certainly deserved her and she deserved him.

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