COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THuRSDAY, JAnuARY 6, 2022
Politics strain friendship that’s lasted for decades
DEAR ABBY: A friend of 40
years got mad at me after the last
presidential election. I told her I
didn’t want to talk politics, since
we voted for different candidates.
She then emailed me saying she
thought we should take a break
from our long-distance phone
calls. We had been calling each
other every two weeks to catch
up.
Because it has now been more
than a year, I emailed her, texted
her and finally left a message on
her answering machine asking if
she was still mad. (I did this over
a period of a week.) Then I got
worried, since she’s in her 80s.
I finally called her daughter and
was told she was in the hospital
recovering from heart surgery.
When her daughter told her I was
trying to get in touch, I received
a text that read, “Not mad. Just
don’t want to talk.”
I hate to give up on a long
friendship. Her birthday is
coming up. Should I send her
a birthday card, or respect her
wishes and give up? — OLD
FRIEND IN FLORIDA
DEAR OLD FRIEND: Please
don’t jump to conclusions. People
in the early stages of recovery
from major surgery may not feel
up to long discussions until they
are stronger. By all means, send
your friend a birthday card and
include in it that you treasure
your friendship and wish her a
speedy and complication-free
recovery. After that, the ball is in
her court.
DEAR ABBY: I have been
married to a lovely woman for 40
years. I recently found out that
five years into our marriage she
had an affair with a friend of ours.
It lasted several weeks, during
which they would meet at our
house over the lunch hour.
My wife does not know this
friend, having recently found
religion, has confessed to me. I
had suspected it for a few years.
Should I tell her I know or just
go on as though nothing hap-
pened? — IN THE KNOW IN
ILLINOIS
DEAR IN THE KNOW: I
cannot guess what justification
this “friend” has given for trying
to clear his conscience by telling
you something that could destroy
your marriage. The punishment
for his guilt should have been the
burden of carrying it to his grave
without sharing it with you. If his
confession will erode your rela-
tionship with your wife, tell her
what you were told so you can
talk it through.
DEAR ABBY: My neighbor’s
husband died of COVID-related
problems. I was never officially
informed. About a week later, his
clothing, favorite chair and other
items were put on the curb in a
free pile. While the pile is now
gone, my concern is for the people
who took the items. I will let you
inform the world what might
be the better solution. — PAN-
ICKED IN OREGON
DEAR PANICKED: I am
glad to do that. The informa-
tion is available to anyone who
is interested. Folks, it’s as near
as your computer. Fire it up
and go to cdc.gov/coronavi-
rus/2019-ncov/faq.html, where
you will find a “Frequently
Asked Questions” section with
information about how the virus
is spread and how to avoid con-
tracting it. From what I have
read, germs on surfaces are less
likely to spread the virus than
person-to-person contact.
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Records: Wrong Wright brothers plate flew through approval
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio
— The backward Wright
Flyer that was at the center
of an embarrassing license
plate mistake in Ohio
last year flew through the
approval process with little
to no discussion, records
show.
Designers at the Ohio
Department of Public
Safety fussed over such
issues as color satura-
tion, centering and image
placement. The Ohio State
Highway Patrol tested the
license plate’s lettering for
readability.
Meanwhile, Ohio Gov.
Mike DeWine and his
wife, Fran, controlled the
imagery’s overall mes-
saging — from its rural
and urban themes, to
its nods to Ohio’s water
resources and history, to
the breed of the plate’s
playful pup.
The flipped around
plane — dragging a
“Birthplace of Aviation”
banner from its front,
rather than its back end —
appeared to be there from
the outset, according to
emails and images from
the 15-month design pro-
cess provided to The Asso-
ciated Press through a
public records request.
Greg Wyatt, the depart-
ment’s visual communica-
tions manager, declined an
AP request for comment
on the plate or the design
process.
The Wright brothers’
historic aircraft was
intended as a proud
symbol of Ohio’s place
Jessie Balmert/The Cincinnati Enquirer, File
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, unveiled the new “Sunrise in Ohio” license plate in Columbus, Ohio. A backwards image
of the Wright Flyer that appeared on the initial version of Ohio’s new license plate was added to the design early and never changed or ques-
tioned throughout the approval process, according to public records obtained by The Associated Press. The error was fixed only after the
public unveiling in October drew attention to it.
in aviation history, but it
turned into a punchline
in October, after the new
plate design was unveiled
and people immediately
noticed it was oriented
incorrectly.
“Y’all leave Ohio
alone,” tweeted the
Department of Trans-
portation in North Caro-
lina, where the Ohio-bred
Wright brothers took their
famous first flight in 1903.
“They wouldn’t know.
They weren’t there.”
The flyer is unusually
shaped by modern aircraft
standards, with what could
be mistaken for a tail, or
rudder, at the front and its
big wings at the rear.
The mistake was fixed
immediately once it was
discovered. The new “Sun-
rise in Ohio” plate became
available to the public last
week. It is the state’s 76th
new plate and its first since
2013.
Some 35,000 plates
were produced before the
wrong Wright Flyer was
caught.
The plane’s orientation
wasn’t discussed in any
unredacted portions of the
emails provided.
Its only mention was in
the context of a problem on
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an earlier plate.
The 2009 “Beautiful
Ohio” plate on which the
faulty one was loosely
based used clipart of the
plane that wasn’t approved
for commercial use,
according to the emails.
Lawyers worked the issue
out, though their specific
advice was redacted. The
Republican governor con-
ceded when unveiling the
plate this fall that he and
the first lady “probably
drove them crazy” at the
Public Safety Department
with all their input.
In a Jan. 17, 2021,
email, Wyatt listed the
plane as the governor’s
first priority.
At the plate’s release,
DeWine said he and Fran
had a “particular interest”
in the Wright brothers.
That’s because the famous
brothers’ early flight tests
took place in their county,
at Huffman Prairie less
than 20 miles from the
DeWines’ Cedarville home.
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