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Kenny's Letter Bag Our New Advice Columnist: Dear Kenny Dear Kenny, I was laid off from a 15-year career at an insurance firm. In one of those inexplicable decisions, I opted not to tell my wife about it, thinking I'd find another job fairly easily. But in the month since it happened, I haven't gotten so much as a nibble. To make matters worse, my wife just informed me, joyously, that she's pregnant. Now it's even harder to imagine telling her I'm jobless. What do I do? -Conflicted Dear Conflicted, Wow, I have no idea what I would do in that situation. Man. And your wife is pregnant? I'm sorry, I just have no idea. Dear Kenny, My neighbor left me in charge of her new kitten while she went on vacation.But during the week she was gone, I lost the kitten! It just vanished! It may have escaped through an open window or crawled off to a hidden corner in the basement, but I couldn't find it! So I decided to replace the kitten with an identical one before my neighbor got back. She didn't notice the difference! Just one problem... The collar! I told my neighbor I must have misplaced the collar (hoping she would just buy another one), but she's getting impatient and suspicious! -Irresponsible Dear Irresponsible, That one's a doozy. I've thought about it and thought about it. Readers? Any suggestions? Dear Kenny, A bunch of coworkers and I go out to lunch regularly. We take turns picking up the check. But there's one guy who never seems to contribute. The rest of us have noticed this and begun to talk about it, and we're considering confronting him. The trouble is, he's a great guy, and very fun to have as a lunch companion. We're worried he'll get embarrassed or offended and stop coming out with us. What price should we put on his company? -Sick of Freeloader Dear Sick of Freeloader, It seems like you should confront him, and tell him as tactfully as possible that he should pick up the bill every once in a while. The only trouble I foresee is that he might get offended and stop going out with you at all. If he's as fun to have around as you state in your letter, that might backfire. So I guess you have to weigh your priorities: what price would you put on his company? Dear Kenny's newest book, "This Chipotle Lifestyle," is now available from Bantam Publishing.