Dating is probably the most important aspect of a single person's life.

My sister taught me everything I really need to know, and she was only in sixth grade at the time.

More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you've been bad and good.

When shopping at Dunkin' Donuts, pretend you are the mother of nine. Say things like, 'Little David likes cream-filled and Susie wanted jelly.' That way, no one will be suspicious when you order a dozen donuts with one cup of coffee to go.

Changing schools and friends is hard on children and can often make them desperate and lonely enough to form closer ties with a sibling.

As for breaking up, once the relationship is over, you never really know what went wrong; you just feel nauseous whenever the subject comes to mind. After a plane crash there's the black box that tells the FAA what caused the crack-up. Too bad there's no black box of relationships.

It's surely one of the strange phenomena of this decade that the most thoughtful gift you can bring a date is not flowers, chocolates, or ankle-length pearls, but a note from your doctor.