Dear Diver,
When did it become OK for gas station and liquor store attendants, people who just sit behind counters and collect money, to start collecting tips? How does operating a cash register entitle you to a gratuity? It’s an insult to the service community and people who are actually hustling for dollars. Please enlighten me.
– B.L. Lime, via email

Dear B.L. Lime,
I’m so glad that you brought up this topic, as a fellow hustler for the almighty dollar, it is a great insult to ask for tips, especially when you’re not breaking/busting your ass or if you are being paid minimum wage. This is Durango; most of us are working multiple jobs or living off our soon-to-be dead parents’ money, and of course saving for our fourth mountain bike! FYI, it is an insult to give tips in many foreign countries, it implies that you are not being paid enough. As for me I am not insulted, keep the cash coming!!!
– Diver
 
Dear Diver,
What’s the protocol for dealing with unwanted hair in restaurant food? I’m asking because I found long blackie swimming in my soup just the other day and was a little stumped. Do I send it back and risk facing even more unmentionable additives or simply pick, clean and continue?
– Dan in Durango

Dear Dan in Durango,
Being a goddess of beautiful locks, I say that it all depends on where you are eating. Now if you are out at El Rancho ordering food from the diner, well we all know and love how up close and personal they get with the food, (which is awesome by the way), so in that instance by all means pick and continue. If you’re at one of the fancier establishments in Durango, send it back. Believe me you are paying enough to. Lastly I wouldn’t worry so much about a long blackie, considering all the other random bodily fluids and parts that could be in there…
– Diver
 
Dear Diver,
Why doesn’t the Durango Telegraph provide printed answers for the weekly crossword puzzle like all other newspapers do?
– Sign me, Puzzled and Frustrated.

Dear Puzzled and Frustrated,
Seriously?? Now granted, I am known exclusively for my looks and not so much my brains, but the crossword puzzle in the Telegraph is the easiest thing in the world, even for the most extremely challenged of thinkers. Also if you are really in need of some answers, just remember that Animas and Silverton are guaranteed to be in every issue. I for one am completely grateful they do not make me feel even more like a moron by printing the answers, and you should be too!!
– Diver