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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Amy Dickinson
Aired July 20, 2003 - 09:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: One of Chicago's major newspapers has turned the page. Beginning today, readers of the "Chicago Tribune" will no longer rely on the wisdom of Ann Landers, the advice columnist who turned out common sense answers for nearly half a century.
Instead, they can ask Amy. The column, which will be nationally syndicated in the fall, debuts today in the "Trib," with age-old matters a bit modernized for you.
For instance, take a look at this one. It says, "Dear Amy: Well, I'm a teenager and I just wanted to know, how do you know when a guy is really interested in you? Can you help me?" Signed, Rosie.
All right. Now here are Amy's answers. "Dear Rosie: If a guy bumps into you accidentally-on-purpose, puts you on his buddy list or IMs you 'wazzup,' there's a good chance he's interested. But are you? That's the most important question."
Getting a little introspective there. Now we want to meet the woman behind these pearls of wisdom. Amy Dickinson is a veteran print and broadcast journalist, and, in fact, she's a distant relative of poet Emily Dickinson.
And it's so nice to have you here, Amy. Good morning to you.
AMY DICKINSON, ADVICE COLUMNIST, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: And congratulations. Today is your big debut. I hear you were up early with a cup of coffee to meet the newspaper truck.
DICKINSON: I'm so excited, I met the delivery truck today.
ROBERTS: And so, what do you think? What are your reactions to finally seeing your name in this column, and it's under "Ask Amy?" You're the woman now.
DICKINSON: You know what? I almost cannot believe it, truly. It's thrilling.
ROBERTS: And I guess it's no coincidence here, the fact that you have a three-letter first name that begins with A.
DICKINSON: You know what? That was actually an impediment. We felt like, it's too neat. It's too neat. But it works so well. What can you do?
ROBERTS: We see in this first letter you get in from Rosie, asking about what they should do. So it's an age-old question, what should I do if a boy likes me or how do I know that he likes me? But now, I guess, there's a new twist, because we have all these different ways to read interpersonal communication, especially between us and computers, right?
DICKINSON: Yes, exactly. You know, all of this has made life's simple, age-old questions even more complicated.
ROBERTS: Well, what kind of personal style are you going to try and bring to the column? A lot of these are, as you said, age-old questions, but, I guess, we all need some new advice to steer us down the road.
DICKINSON: Right. Well, you know, I'm a real fan of popular culture. I consume a lot of television, radio, and music, and books, and I will probably be referring people to other aspects of the culture pretty often. I'm -- I feel like my answers are pretty snappy, kind of funny sometimes, very practical.
ROBERTS: Let's go ahead and look at another letter that came in to you. This one was signed "Frustrated Mom." And it says, "Dear Amy: My 20-year-old son just doesn't seem to have any initiative to do anything. He has no job, sleeps in, just lies around all day. It makes me upset. He doesn't know the importance of earning money to pay for a cell phone or car insurance. I've asked him to leave the house and not come back until he can live by my rules, take care of his monetary responsibilities. I've never charged him any rent, but if he does return to my house, I am seriously considering it. Do I have a right to do that to him?"
All right. Now, here is what Amy said back. "Dear Frustrated: Maybe you're not giving your son enough credit. Somehow he has managed to have both a cell phone and a car and get you to pay his bills. Neat trick! That entrepreneurial spirit should come in handy out there in the real world. If you invite him back home (and I don't think you should), charge him reasonable rent.
So interesting here. You think this guy's an entrepreneur?
DICKINSON: Yes, right. I mean, you know, sometimes when people write in, I don't think they -- there's a lot of subtext. I wonder sometimes if they realize what they're really saying. And in this case, this woman was basically saying, my son's so lazy, I can't stand it. But then she's showing me that she's basically enabled that and giving him everything.
ROBERTS: Want to give everybody the third example here, from Ken. He wrote in to you to ask for your advice on his situation. This is his first time writing in to an advice columnist, so I guess that you're starting off together.
What he's writing about, "Here's my problem. I'm in my 50s, divorced, and recently have developed quite a crush on a lady who is a customer at my work. Although I'm reasonably well-educated and have enjoyed professional success in the past, present circumstances have me working as a clerk in a gas station convenience store. The lady recently separated from a successful businessman, and has been used to a rather glamorous and sophisticated social life. So here's the question. How do I let her know that I care for her, and more important, have a lot more to offer than meets the eye?"
So what do we say to Ken? How do we help him out?
DICKINSON: Well, my first suggestion was that he might offer her a free box of Slim Jims because, you know, that works for me.
ROBERTS: Ladies love the Slim Jims, right?
DICKINSON: Ladies love the Slim Jims. But basically, I wanted him to kind of watch her behavior and try and read her to see if she was interested in him, because I don't think he should move too fast, but at the end of the day, I actually think he's quite a catch.
ROBERTS: And real quickly, Amy, before we let you go, the best advice that you've ever received, what is it?
DICKINSON: The best advice I've ever received which, by the way, I did not follow, to my regret, was a friend of mine said to me, never buy a new outfit for a blind date. I bought a new outfit, bad date, stuck with the outfit.
ROBERTS: I thought you were going to go with something, dare to dream, follow your path, all that good stuff. Don't buy a new outfit for a blind date.
DICKINSON: Yes, don't.
ROBERTS: Amy Dickinson of "Ask Amy." We offer you a lot of success in this new endeavor. Congratulations and we'll all look forward to reading your columns for years to come.
DICKINSON: Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: You're very welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 20, 2003 - 09:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: One of Chicago's major newspapers has turned the page. Beginning today, readers of the "Chicago Tribune" will no longer rely on the wisdom of Ann Landers, the advice columnist who turned out common sense answers for nearly half a century.
Instead, they can ask Amy. The column, which will be nationally syndicated in the fall, debuts today in the "Trib," with age-old matters a bit modernized for you.
For instance, take a look at this one. It says, "Dear Amy: Well, I'm a teenager and I just wanted to know, how do you know when a guy is really interested in you? Can you help me?" Signed, Rosie.
All right. Now here are Amy's answers. "Dear Rosie: If a guy bumps into you accidentally-on-purpose, puts you on his buddy list or IMs you 'wazzup,' there's a good chance he's interested. But are you? That's the most important question."
Getting a little introspective there. Now we want to meet the woman behind these pearls of wisdom. Amy Dickinson is a veteran print and broadcast journalist, and, in fact, she's a distant relative of poet Emily Dickinson.
And it's so nice to have you here, Amy. Good morning to you.
AMY DICKINSON, ADVICE COLUMNIST, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: And congratulations. Today is your big debut. I hear you were up early with a cup of coffee to meet the newspaper truck.
DICKINSON: I'm so excited, I met the delivery truck today.
ROBERTS: And so, what do you think? What are your reactions to finally seeing your name in this column, and it's under "Ask Amy?" You're the woman now.
DICKINSON: You know what? I almost cannot believe it, truly. It's thrilling.
ROBERTS: And I guess it's no coincidence here, the fact that you have a three-letter first name that begins with A.
DICKINSON: You know what? That was actually an impediment. We felt like, it's too neat. It's too neat. But it works so well. What can you do?
ROBERTS: We see in this first letter you get in from Rosie, asking about what they should do. So it's an age-old question, what should I do if a boy likes me or how do I know that he likes me? But now, I guess, there's a new twist, because we have all these different ways to read interpersonal communication, especially between us and computers, right?
DICKINSON: Yes, exactly. You know, all of this has made life's simple, age-old questions even more complicated.
ROBERTS: Well, what kind of personal style are you going to try and bring to the column? A lot of these are, as you said, age-old questions, but, I guess, we all need some new advice to steer us down the road.
DICKINSON: Right. Well, you know, I'm a real fan of popular culture. I consume a lot of television, radio, and music, and books, and I will probably be referring people to other aspects of the culture pretty often. I'm -- I feel like my answers are pretty snappy, kind of funny sometimes, very practical.
ROBERTS: Let's go ahead and look at another letter that came in to you. This one was signed "Frustrated Mom." And it says, "Dear Amy: My 20-year-old son just doesn't seem to have any initiative to do anything. He has no job, sleeps in, just lies around all day. It makes me upset. He doesn't know the importance of earning money to pay for a cell phone or car insurance. I've asked him to leave the house and not come back until he can live by my rules, take care of his monetary responsibilities. I've never charged him any rent, but if he does return to my house, I am seriously considering it. Do I have a right to do that to him?"
All right. Now, here is what Amy said back. "Dear Frustrated: Maybe you're not giving your son enough credit. Somehow he has managed to have both a cell phone and a car and get you to pay his bills. Neat trick! That entrepreneurial spirit should come in handy out there in the real world. If you invite him back home (and I don't think you should), charge him reasonable rent.
So interesting here. You think this guy's an entrepreneur?
DICKINSON: Yes, right. I mean, you know, sometimes when people write in, I don't think they -- there's a lot of subtext. I wonder sometimes if they realize what they're really saying. And in this case, this woman was basically saying, my son's so lazy, I can't stand it. But then she's showing me that she's basically enabled that and giving him everything.
ROBERTS: Want to give everybody the third example here, from Ken. He wrote in to you to ask for your advice on his situation. This is his first time writing in to an advice columnist, so I guess that you're starting off together.
What he's writing about, "Here's my problem. I'm in my 50s, divorced, and recently have developed quite a crush on a lady who is a customer at my work. Although I'm reasonably well-educated and have enjoyed professional success in the past, present circumstances have me working as a clerk in a gas station convenience store. The lady recently separated from a successful businessman, and has been used to a rather glamorous and sophisticated social life. So here's the question. How do I let her know that I care for her, and more important, have a lot more to offer than meets the eye?"
So what do we say to Ken? How do we help him out?
DICKINSON: Well, my first suggestion was that he might offer her a free box of Slim Jims because, you know, that works for me.
ROBERTS: Ladies love the Slim Jims, right?
DICKINSON: Ladies love the Slim Jims. But basically, I wanted him to kind of watch her behavior and try and read her to see if she was interested in him, because I don't think he should move too fast, but at the end of the day, I actually think he's quite a catch.
ROBERTS: And real quickly, Amy, before we let you go, the best advice that you've ever received, what is it?
DICKINSON: The best advice I've ever received which, by the way, I did not follow, to my regret, was a friend of mine said to me, never buy a new outfit for a blind date. I bought a new outfit, bad date, stuck with the outfit.
ROBERTS: I thought you were going to go with something, dare to dream, follow your path, all that good stuff. Don't buy a new outfit for a blind date.
DICKINSON: Yes, don't.
ROBERTS: Amy Dickinson of "Ask Amy." We offer you a lot of success in this new endeavor. Congratulations and we'll all look forward to reading your columns for years to come.
DICKINSON: Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: You're very welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
