FEATURES
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015
Discovery of abuse pains parents Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
Dear Annie: My wife and I are in
our late 70s and we raised four children.
We lost our second son to suicide when
he was 7. He suffered from major de-
pression.
A few years ago, our daughter wrote
us, saying that her eldest brother had sex-
ually molested her when she was very
young. She said we knew about it and
covered it up. We knew nothing about
it and were very upset. I confronted our
son, now 42, and he admitted to it and
was so sorry for what he did all those
years ago. He also said he is not the same
person he was then.
I told our daughter that her broth-
er admitted everything and felt terrible
about it and that I hope at some point,
he will tell her directly how sorry he is.
Since he became an adult, this son is the
kindest person and has the closest rela-
tionship with us of all our children.
Last week, our youngest son and his
family came to visit. It turns out that his
eldest brother also had molested him
when they were children. But he never
appeared as devastated as his sister, and
moved on.
What are we supposed to do at this
stage of our lives? Do you think our
eldest son could have been molested at
an early age and then acted out like this
on his siblings? We found out later that
there was a pedophile priest in our local
parish. Our son has never admitted to
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy Mitchell
and
Marcy Sugar
any molestation when he was a boy and
we are afraid to ask him. Any advice? —
Distraught
Dear Distraught: This is a terribly
disturbing situation, but please don’t hide
from it. Your son has already admitted the
abuse. He needs to apologize to both of
his siblings and ask for forgiveness. We
are glad that he has changed for the better,
but that doesn’t help his sister or brother
come to terms with what happened. We
strongly urge you to get into family coun-
seling and work through this. All of you
Dear Annie: You recently published
a letter from a woman who was com-
plaining that her husband recently devel-
oped anxiety about traveling in a car.
This onset of anxiety, particularly
in midlife or later, could be a symptom
of Parkinson’s disease. If the anxiety
is accompanied by terrible nightmares
(including yelling, punching and kick-
ing) and/or by constipation that seems
to develop where it didn’t exist before,
Parkinson’s could well be the reason.
I watched these symptoms develop
and didn’t understand why — until the
twitching started in one thumb. Then a
-
toms were, indeed, indications that
Parkinson’s was at work. Her husband
should get to a neurologist now. — Wish
We Knew
Dear Wish: Thank you for giving us
the opportunity to mention some of the
symptoms of Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s
is a progressive and chronic neurologi-
cal disease that interferes with the body
chemicals that control movement and
mood. It usually begins with mild symp-
toms that advance slowly, so they are
often ignored.
Symptoms include tremors or shak-
ing in any part of the body when it’s at
rest, changes in handwriting, loss of
smell, trouble sleeping, muscle tension
feeling dizzy on a regular basis and de-
pression. If you are experiencing any of
these things, even in a very mild form,
please talk to your doctor about Parkin-
son’s.
Dear Annie: This is in response to
“Getting It Off My Chest,” whose major
peeve is that family never comes to vis-
it: If you buy the plane tickets, you will
have plenty of company. — G.
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
STONE SOUP
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Just be-
cause we are all works in progress doesn’t
mean we shouldn’t stop and celebrate
the unfinished, imperfect people we are.
Someone wants to help you do so today.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Getting rid
of what you don’t want creates a vacuum
that will pull what you do want right in. It
won’t happen immediately, so you’ll have
to have patience.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’re in
the mood for the company of people
you don’t know well. The bridge between
acquaintanceship and friendship is a
fascinating one for you, especially when
Sagittarius is involved.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’ll per-
form a quick save without even thinking.
You’ll swoop in and help someone with
your strength, balance and just the right
words. Your everyday heroism is so ap-
preciated.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). What some
people call stubborn, you call tenacious.
Your persistence is working for you now.
Do not give up. Your best ideas about
what you can do — and what others can
do — can still be realized.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The con-
tradictions of life will be apparent at every
turn. By now, you know better than to ex-
pect people to be a certain way without
leaving room for other possibilities.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). There’s an
obstacle you need to clear before you
can progress along your spiritual path.
For today, it’s enough to poke around a
bit and get acquainted with what exactly
you’re dealing with.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Affirm
your status. You may feel as if it shouldn’t
matter, but the others need the comfort
of your title, expertise and/or authority.
You’ll rise to the occasion.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Ex-
perience is a mysterious teacher; it can
give you the lesson even when you don’t
consciously remember the experience it-
self. Your unconscious knowledge is alive
in your body. Trust its response.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You
could witness the situation alone, but
you wouldn’t see it all. Someone with an
insightful and decisive point of view will
extend your sensitivities and awareness.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The
love affair in your mind is not going the
same in real life. If only you could use
your television remote to back things up
and try again. Hold the loving space in
your heart, and love will eventually settle
into it.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Getting
lost can be enjoyable under the right cir-
cumstances. As you follow a whim, you
won’t be sure where you’re going until
you get there.
WEDNESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (Jan.
21). The next six weeks will bring a slow
awakening. You’ll forget yourself and take
a playful approach to life. The realm of
your control will grow in March, along
with your responsibility. A loved one’s life
will be better for what you do. Let things
fall from your plate in May so you can en-
joy an adventure. Capricorn and Taurus
adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 4, 19,
13, 50 and 42.