Heloise, syndicated columnist

Dear Heloise: I have a suggestion for those who like to cut out newspaper clippings of events. First, don’t clip it out of the page, because you lose the date, publication and other information. I was looking at my own birth announcement in the paper from 1964 and was stunned to see the prices of things such as groceries and shoes. It was like a piece of history had been saved for me. But it also verified the time of my birth (2:43 a.m.), the name of the newspaper and city where I was born. Since I was adopted later, this was very important information for me that my birth mother had saved and passed on to my adoptive parents. — Eve B., Newport, R.I.

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE

Dear Heloise: My husband and I had planned a trip to France, but COVID put a stop to that trip. Now we’ve changed plans and hope to make the trip in September of 2022. Meanwhile, we have been taking classes in French and speaking it to one another at home.

We usually do this when we plan a trip to a foreign country so that we’ll be able to talk to the local people. It really makes the trip more fun, and people appreciate it when you at least try to speak their language while in their country. — Frances and Vernon H., Farrell, Pennsylvania

EDITOR’S NOTE: Send your great money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise at P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, Fax to 1-210-HELOISE, or email to Heloise@Heloise.com. She can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in her column.