Dear Queenie,
My mother taught me to read fortunes in tea leaves. I don’t really believe in fortune-telling, but doing this helps me think about problems I am having.
Some of my friends know I have this skill and they come to me to have their fortunes told. I tell them it is not really telling the future, but only for the fun of it and they seem to understand that, but sometimes they start telling me about a real problem they are having and ask me what is going to happen or what they should do about it.
Queenie, now I am asking you for advice as an expert advice-giver. How do I deal with such a situation?—Not really a fortune teller
Dear Not really,
Do what I do when asked for advice on a matter that goes beyond simple common sense: Advise them to seek professional counselling in the area of their particular problem. It will help you to keep a list of contact information for various professionals, as I do. Some of it you can find in the Agenda on page 2 of this newspaper and some of those contacts can give you further information for referrals.
