Dear Heloise: I’m getting close to 82 years old, and when I see a crush of people, I stay out of the way because they could so easily knock me over. I’ve been knocked down in the past. — Polly, in California

Polly, thanks for your letter. Readers, older people can lose their balance easily and get pushed to the floor by people rushing past them, so please slow down around the elderly. They could break a bone if they fall. — Heloise

TRAVEL SUGGESTIONS

Dear Heloise: Just a few safety precautions when traveling: For men, put a rubber band around your wallet and carry it in your front pocket. Ladies, use a cross-body purse. Also, never take a valuable watch or expensive jewelry on a trip. It just makes you a target. — M.N., in Detroit

GOOD MANNERS

Dear Heloise: I was a single mother with no financial help from my ex-husband. We may have had to cut some corners at home (I cut my kids’ hair; we seldom went out for dinner; they got only one or two gifts on their birthday), but no matter: My kids still learned manners. Politeness and consideration for others will stand the test of time, where expensive toys will not. — G.W., in New Jersey

THREE HINTS IN ONE

Dear Heloise: I have read your wonderful column for years; thank you for all your great hints! Here are three of my own:

— Sometimes cookies, pastries, bread, etc., come out of the oven looking beautifully golden-brown on the top, but the bottoms are burnt. I run the burnt bottoms along my cheese grater so that the food looks and tastes perfect! (I usually “sand them down” over the sink so I can easily rinse away the evidence!)

— To clean the coffee or tea stains from a cup, I spray the inside of the cup with a bleach-based kitchen cleaner, rinse it, and stick it in the dishwasher. It works great!

— My very favorite way to make grilled cheese, especially when I am making multiple sandwiches, is in the oven! I butter one side of several even-numbered pieces of bread while my oven is warming to 375 F. Then I lay all the bread on a baking sheet with the buttered side down and put one piece of cheese on top of each piece of bread. I can then add items such as bacon, ham, onions and tomatoes on top of the cheese.

I pop the tray into the oven for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Then I take the tray out and flip one side of each sandwich on top of its partner with a spatula. Each sandwich turns out perfectly — lightly brown on the outside and melted on the inside. Also, the add-ins are slightly cooked and don’t fall out of the sandwich because they are already stuck in the melted cheese.

People can ask for the type of bread, cheese and add-ins they want, and all the sandwiches are made at one time! — A.R., in Pennsylvania

— — —

Hints from Heloise run occasionally in Lifestyles. Readers may send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE, or email: Heloise@Heloise.com. Letters won’t be answered personally.