Dear Abby: Meanings of misspellings remain curiously obscure

DEAR ABBY:

I'm writing to respond to the letter from the mother of the 12-year-old boy whose grandmother can't spell his name right.

The same thing happened to my husband. Once she sent my husband a beautiful silver money clip for which she had spent several hundred dollars. She had it engraved with the wrong initials. She's such a sweet, lovely woman that I insisted he never refer to the correct spelling of his name again. He called and thanked her profusely, and we've never brought up the matter since.

- Anne in Texas

DEAR ANNE: Thank you for writing. Other readers also had hunches about why the grandmother would continue to misspell it. Their comments:

DEAR ABBY: I suspect that Grandma doesn't like that particular spelling of the child's name. So I imagine this is her way of expressing her disapproval.

- Only the Spelling

Has Been Changed

DEAR ABBY: My sweet grandmother spelled my name - Karen - the way it sounded to her, "Kron." I was never insulted. Of course, I knew she loved me unconditionally. Maybe that is why she seems to have a problem with her son's grandmother. Could it be she feels Grandma doesn't show enough love to the boy?

- Cave Woman Kron