COFFEE BREAK
8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TuESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
Disabled son excluded from wedding guest list
DEAR ABBY: I have been
married to my second hus-
band for more than 15 years. My
30+-year-old son from my first
marriage, who was born dis-
abled, lives with
us. He walks and
talks, but cannot be
left unattended. He
also needs medica-
tion. He cannot read
or write, but looks like he has no
medical issues at all.
I have no extended family
members in the state. My husband
and I were invited to a family
wedding. However, my disabled
son was not. Bride’s rule: No chil-
dren allowed. I pointed out that
he is older than she is. He sees
this relative several times a year.
Child care is hard to find and
expensive. I do not know if others
tried to get the bride to change
her mind. My husband attended
alone while my son and I spent
the evening with
friends and had fun.
DEAR
He didn’t say any-
thing to cause a
ABBY
confrontation.
Please share
your thoughts. I get very sad
whenever family events come
around and she is there. Life is
different when you have a family
with special needs.
— HURT IN THE EAST
DEAR HURT: I agree, life is
different for families in which
someone has special needs. If you
haven’t already, I think you have
the right to express your feelings
to the bride. It would be better
than silently nursing a grudge and
fuming when you see her.
While it would have been nice
if she had included your son in
the invitation, she was within
her rights to invite — or exclude
— anyone if she had concerns.
Because your husband was able
to represent the family while you
and your son had fun elsewhere,
from my perspective, everything
turned out well.
DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend
never gets off his phone — like
ever! The first thing he does in the
morning is grab his phone. He
was off one day last week and —
I’m not exaggerating — he didn’t
put it down for 13 hours.
or relationships. That he blows
you off when you try to discuss it
tells me he is deep in denial.
There is treatment for gaming
addiction, but only if the addict is
willing to admit there’s a problem.
Treatment may involve private
counseling or, in some cases,
inpatient care. However, if this is
unaffordable, On-Line Gamers
Anonymous (olganon.org) may be
a helpful alternative. It is a 12-step
program based on the princi-
ples of AA. If you go online, you
will find there is a fellowship of
friends and family members of
gaming addicts. You might want
to check it out. If you intend to
continue this romance, get out of
the house when he binges and do
something YOU enjoy.
He plays this one particular
game, and it’s all he does. It’s
affecting our relationship, but if I
say anything about it, he laughs,
gets mad or ignores me. I don’t
know what else to do. Help!
— WOMAN VS. PHONE IN
OHIO
DEAR WOMAN: Was your
boyfriend always like this? If the
answer is no, he may have become
addicted to gaming, which, as
of 2020, had become a multibil-
lion-dollar industry. According
to The Addiction Center, the
“average” gamer spends six hours
a week glued to his or her cell-
phone. That your boyfriend went
on a 13-hour binge is cause for
alarm. One sign of addiction is
when it interferes with daily life
News of the Weird
COVID-like existence, iso-
lated underground sucking
on plant sap, right? In the
17th year these teenagers
are going to come out of
the earth by the billions if
not trillions. They’re going
to try to best everything
on the planet that wants to
eat them during this crit-
ical period of the nighttime
when they’re just trying to
grow up, they’re just trying
to be adults, shed that skin,
get their wings, go up into
the treetops, escape their
predators,” he says.
“Once in the treetops,
hey, it’s all going to be
about romance. It’s only
the males that sing. It’s
going to be a big boy band
up there as the males try
to woo those females, try
to convince that special
someone that she should be
the mother of his nymphs.
He’s going to perform, sing
songs. If she likes it, she’s
going to click her wings.
They’re going to have some
wild sex in the treetop.
“Then she’s going to
move out to the small
branches, lay their eggs.
Then it’s all going to be
Nature at its craziest:
Trillions of cicadas
about to emerge
COLUMBIA, Md. —
Sifting through a shovel
load of dirt in a suburban
backyard, Michael Raupp
and Paula Shrewsbury
find their quarry: a cicada
nymph.
And then another. And
another. And four more.
In maybe a third of a
square foot of dirt, the Uni-
versity of Maryland ento-
mologists find at least seven
cicadas — a rate just shy of
a million per acre. A nearby
yard yielded a rate closer to
1.5 million.
And there’s much more
afoot. Trillions of the
red-eyed black bugs are
coming, scientists say.
Within days, a couple
weeks at most, the cicadas
of Brood X (the X is the
Roman numeral for 10)
will emerge after 17 years
underground. There are
many broods of periodic
cicadas that appear on rigid
schedules in different years,
but this is one of the largest
and most noticeable. They’ll
including ants, birds, dogs,
cats and Raupp.
It’s one of nature’s
weirdest events, featuring
sex, a race against death,
evolution and what can
sound like a bad science fic-
tion movie soundtrack.
Some people may be
repulsed. Psychiatrists are
calling entomologists wor-
rying about their patients,
Shrewsbury said. But sci-
entists say the arrival of
Brood X is a sign that
despite pollution, climate
change and dramatic bio-
diversity loss, something is
still right with nature. And
it’s quite a show.
Raupp presents the nar-
rative of cicada’s lifespan
with all the verve of a Hol-
lywood blockbuster:
“You’ve got a creature
that spends 17 years in a
Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press
university of Maryland entomologists Michael Raupp and Paula Shrews-
bury sift through a shovel of dirt to pick out cicada nymphs in a suburban
backyard in Columbia, Maryland on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. At right, a ci-
cada nymph moves in the grass. Within days, a couple weeks at most, the
cicadas of Brood X (the X is the Roman numeral for 10) will emerge after
17 years underground. There are many broods of periodic cicadas that
appear on rigid schedules in different years, but this is one of the largest
and most noticeable.
be in 15 states from Indiana
to Georgia to New York;
they’re coming out now in
mass numbers in Tennessee
and North Carolina.
When the entire brood
emerges, backyards can
look like undulating waves,
and the bug chorus is lawn-
mower loud.
The cicadas will mostly
come out at dusk to try to
avoid everything that wants
to eat them, squiggling
out of holes in the ground.
They’ll try to climb up
trees or anything vertical.
Once off the ground, they
shed their skins and try
to survive that vulnerable
stage before they become
dinner to a host of critters
weather
| Go to AccuWeather.com
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
48/62
Kennewick
47/76
St. Helens
49/79
50/81
52/83
52/78
47/80
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
Partly cloudy
Mostly cloudy
and warm
Partly sunny and
warm
Increasing
cloudiness
Nice with lots
of sun
78 43
75 45
71 38
Eugene
9
10
10
47/78
75 45
75 46
73 42
10
10
10
La Grande
43 78 48
Comfort Index™ 10
Enterprise
8
39 74 48
Comfort Index™ 10
72 44
66 40
9
9
9
9
ALMANAC
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Sunday
Low Sunday
High: 107°
Low: 7°
Wettest: 3.43”
58°
29°
59°
37°
61°
33°
0.00
0.03
0.38
1.69
3.43
0.00
0.02
0.57
5.86
6.38
0.00
0.03
0.65
13.74
10.34
PRECIPITATION (inches)
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION WEDNESDAY
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
30%
SW at 4 to 8 mph
10.7
0.16
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Monday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
21% of capacity
99% of capacity
54% of capacity
98% of capacity
63% of capacity
100% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Sunday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
5490 cfs
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
72 cfs
Burnt River near Unity
117 cfs
Umatilla River near Gibbon
396 cfs
Minam River at Minam
1010 cfs
Powder River near Richland
44 cfs
The Dalles
Burns
Tillamook
A deadly tornado swept through Waco,
Texas, on May 11, 1953. The twister killed
114 people and caused $200 million in
damage. May 11, 1951, marks the latest
springtime snowfall in Baltimore.
SUN & MOON
TUE.
WED.
5:27 a.m.
8:11 p.m.
5:36 a.m.
8:21 p.m.
5:26 a.m.
8:12 p.m.
6:01 a.m.
9:25 p.m.
MOON PHASES
First
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May 11 May 19 May 26
Jun 2
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47/75
49/82
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39/75
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39/82
Frenchglen
Diamond
41/81
City
Astoria
Bend
Boise
Brookings
Burns
Coos Bay
Corvallis
Council
Elgin
Eugene
Hermiston
Hood River
Imnaha
John Day
Joseph
Kennewick
Klamath Falls
Lakeview
Hi/Lo/W
62/47/c
80/44/pc
82/51/pc
68/48/pc
81/43/pc
62/47/s
78/45/pc
76/42/c
78/43/c
78/48/pc
86/49/pc
81/51/pc
76/48/pc
77/43/pc
73/47/pc
85/49/c
80/41/pc
80/38/pc
Hi/Lo/W
60/47/pc
78/46/pc
82/55/pc
67/48/s
80/45/pc
61/44/s
76/43/s
80/47/pc
75/45/pc
77/44/s
85/54/s
81/53/s
77/46/pc
76/50/pc
71/43/pc
85/52/s
80/43/pc
81/40/pc
39/83
38/83
Fields
Klamath Falls
37/80
Lakeview
34/80
McDermitt
Shown is Wednesday’s weather. Temperatures are Tuesday night’s lows and Wednesday’s highs.
THU.
Grand View
Arock
40/79
41/81
50/87
WED.
Boise
Jordan Valley
37/79
38/79
Medford
Brookings
43/80
46/82
49/88
52/68
Juntura
37/81
37/74
37/76
Roseburg
Ontario
45/84
Burns
Brothers
45/76
37/79
RECREATION FORECAST WEDNESDAY
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
WED.
THU.
Hi/Lo/W
79/51/c
76/47/pc
77/45/c
87/50/pc
58/46/pc
73/43/c
84/52/pc
84/48/c
82/51/c
78/51/pc
75/47/s
81/41/pc
82/49/s
78/52/pc
74/47/pc
83/53/c
77/41/pc
78/54/c
Hi/Lo/W
81/53/s
75/45/s
74/43/pc
86/52/pc
57/44/s
71/42/s
87/55/pc
84/50/s
78/53/s
76/49/s
71/43/s
80/45/pc
80/47/s
78/46/s
75/48/s
83/55/s
73/40/pc
77/54/s
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice
ANTHONY LAKES
PHILLIPS LAKE
Partly sunny
Periods of sun
51
35
71
40
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Rather cloudy
Partly sunny
61
44
79
42
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
Turning cloudy
Mostly cloudy
56
33
72
40
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Turning cloudy
Mostly cloudy
73
47
81
52
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Partly sunny
Mostly cloudy
78
40
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39/75
43/80
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40/76
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New
43/77
Bend
Grants Pass
OREGON
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
39/81
Council
37/78
42/81
Elkton
Powers
40/78
37/72
John Day
Chiloquin
Zapata, Texas
Daniel, Wyo.
Lufkin, Texas
High: 72°
Low: 27°
Wettest: 0.03”
Sisters
Florence
48/62
Halfway
Granite
Baker City
Redmond
45/58
SUNDAY EXTREMES
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
Sunday
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Normal year to date
Newport
46/62
Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels
very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable.
Monument
42/79
47/78
47/78
72 43
43/78
44/73
50/78
Corvallis
Enterprise
La Grande
46/73
48/82
Idanha
Salem
TONIGHT
9
Elgin
40/78
39/74
Condon
Maupin
Comfort Index™ 10
52/78
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
Lewiston
48/79
Hood River
48/82
TIllamook
37 78 40
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Walla Walla
48/85
Vancouver
49/79
45/66
Baker City
over in a matter of weeks.
They’re going to tumble
down. They’re going to
basically fertilize the very
plants from which they
were spawned. Six weeks
later the tiny nymphs are
going to tumble 80 feet
from the treetops, bounce
twice, burrow down into the
soil, go back underground
for another 17 years.”
“This,” Raupp says,
“is one of the craziest life
cycles of any creature on
the planet.”
America is the only
place in the world that has
periodic cicadas that stay
underground for either 13 or
17 years, says entomologist
John Cooley of the Univer-
sity of Connecticut.
The bugs only emerge
in large numbers when
the ground temperature
reaches 64 degrees. That’s
happening earlier in the
calendar in recent years
because of climate change,
says entomologist Gene
Kritsky. Before 1950 they
used to emerge at the end of
May; now they’re coming
out weeks earlier.
— Associated Press
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