Coloring business

[SwissPete]

From Dear Abby’s column:

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I own a coloring business.

Then the writer says that her mother-in-law wants to join the business, and adds:

Abby, I'm sure she would do fine and that she could color within the lines [...]

I know about coloring books for children and adults. The fact that “she could color within the lines” indicates that the husband and wife team actually do the coloring, rather than create coloring books.

What is a "coloring business"? How would you interpret it?

Please enlighten me.

 

[kentix]

I read the whole column and have no idea. It sounds like it could be fake. People sometimes write fake letters to Dear Abby.

Coloring business owner resistant to in-law’s help

 

[SwissPete]

People sometimes write fake letters to Dear Abby.

Really?

 

[GreenWhiteBlue]

The coloring business apparently involves coloring pictures in coloring books with crayons. It is very obvious that not one of the letters on the page is serious. This is the sort of column one might find on April Fools' Day -- but I don't know why it would be published now.

 

[Myridon]

It is very obvious that not one of the letters on the page is serious.

The other two letters seem perfectly normal to me.

 

[You little ripper!]

Adult Coloring Books: Big Business and Stress Relief

The coloring business

While coloring is usually left to kids, adults can also benefit from coloring between lines.
Many grown-ups find sitting down with crayons or colored pencils a way to unwind. That explains the growing popularity of adult coloring books. In December, five of the top 10 best-selling books in the United States were coloring books.

 

[GreenWhiteBlue]

The other two letters seem perfectly normal to me.

Really?

Perhaps casual chit-chat with family members about "pansexuality" may be more a norm in Texas than it is in New York City, but I don't think anyplace in the USA would find it "normal" to have to deliberate about when it would be appropriate to close the social media accounts of a corpse!!!!!!!!

 

[Myridon]

Really?

Perhaps casual chit-chat with family members about "pansexuality" may be more a norm in Texas than it is in New York City, but I don't think anyplace in the USA would find it "normal" to have to deliberate about when it would be appropriate to close the social media accounts of a corpse!!!!!!!!

Really. It's hardly casual chit-chat if you have to ask Dear Abby about how to talk to your family about your sexuality. What happens to social media accounts on the owner's death is an important topic.
What Happens to Your Facebook Account After You Die?

Facebook announced Thursday a policy that allows you to designate a "legacy contact," who'll be allowed to "pin a post on your Timeline" after your death, such as a funeral announcement. The contact won't be able to log in as you or read your private messages, but will be allowed to respond to new friend requests, update your cover and profile photos, archive your Facebook posts and photos.

 

[GreenWhiteBlue]

Nevertheless, the tone of the letters, the nature of the problems, and their juxtaposition in one column, strongly suggests to me that Dear Abby was pulling her readers' legs.

 

[Sparky Malarky]

Coloring books for adults are big business, but I don't think there is much opportunity for people to make money from them. Whatever this "coloring business" is, if it is a real enterprise at all, it is something rare and unusual. Perhaps its so close to unique that there's not a good name for it. Perhaps it is a fake letter.

But I think the question has been answered and whether or not Dear Abby's letters are real is outside the scope of this forum.