Dear Ann Landers,
Knowing your strong views about sending thank-you notes, I'm sending a clipping from our local paper as proof that this actually appeared. At the end of an article about the marriage of two local people, along with a beautiful wedding picture, it said, "In lieu of sending personal thank-you notes for wedding gifts, the couple made a donation to the American Cancer Society." Is this the lazy way out, or what? Aren't people who send wedding gifts entitled to a written thank-you note, even if it only says, "Thank you for the wedding gift"? Is it a new trend to thank people en masse when the bridal photo appears in the paper? Please say it isn't so. -- An Ohio Grandmother

Dear Ohio Granny,
No, it's NOT a new trend. It's an attempt to escape the tedious job of writing thank-you notes and, in my book, inexcusable. Anyone who takes the time and spends the money to send a wedding gift is entitled to a written note of appreciation. Anything short of that is a cop-out and totally unacceptable.