THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015
FEATURES
5A
Absence from funeral causes rift Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
Dear Annie: My children’s
grandmother passed away a few
weeks ago after a long battle
with Alzheimer’s. Her children
decided to have a service in the
northeast where her husband is
buried and where they all grew
up. None of them lives anywhere
near that area. I live 1,200 miles
away.
I was very close to that family
for 13 years before my husband
and I divorced. I stayed in con-
tact with his sister for a while
by phone and visited and kept in
touch with his mother even after
I remarried. I hadn’t talked to her
in the last two years because they
removed her phone.
My younger daughter is upset
with me because I didn’t attend
the services. We haven’t spoken
in two weeks. She feels I should
have been there. Believe me,
Annie, had I been in driving dis-
tance, I surely would have gone. I
actually checked into plane tick-
ets, hotel and car rental, and the
total for four days would have
cost me more than I can afford
right now. I didn’t want to tell my
daughter how tight my finances
are. I also couldn’t take two days
off of work.
My children all went to the
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy Mitchell
and
Marcy Sugar
services, along with their father,
and they stayed with an uncle.
I was heartbroken when my ex-
mother-in-law died. But I am no
longer a part of that family like
my girls are. They are a won-
derful group of people, but it all
seemed too much for me. Was I
wrong? — Heartbroken
Dear Heartbroken: No. Your
children had their father and oth-
er relatives to comfort them. We
think your daughter is grieving
and taking it out on you. Call her
and apologize for not being able
to attend the service, and tell her
why. If she still refuses to talk
to you, please enlist the help of
your other children and, if possi-
ble, your ex-husband to intercede
on your behalf. And if she seems
mired in grief, suggest she look
into grief counseling services, of-
ten available through her doctor
or the local hospital or hospice.
Dear Annie: This is in re-
sponse to “The Oldest Sibling,”
whose brother inherited Dad’s
military medals and won’t hand
them down.
My
father-in-law
served
during WWII, and all of his
military awards have been lost
over the years. We recently came
across his discharge papers,
which list all of his awards and
decorations. An Internet search
uncovered the National Ar-
chives Veterans Service Records
(http://1.usa.gov/1J07VBY)
where one can request the issue
of replacement medals. Because
records for many who served
were destroyed by fire, it is best
to provide them any records one
might possess so they can be ver-
ified.
“The Oldest Sibling” may even
find that the replacement medals
will be a more inclusive set than
what her brother has. — Iowa
Dear Iowa: Thank you so
much for providing this informa-
tion to our readers. We know that
replacements are not as emotion-
ally satisfying as medals that Dad
actually handled, but they still
are something tangible to have as
mementos.
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). No one is up
and on all the time. Mojo comes and goes.
Promise yourself that you’ll stick with and
believe in yourself through thick and thin.
You would do it for any one of your friends.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). If you could
take the pain away from another, you would,
but growing is something no one can do for
someone else. Perhaps that’s what makes
it so difficult to watch. It’s almost harder to
watch than it is to go through!
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Refuse to
succumb to worry. Sing instead of stress;
joke instead of getting impatient. Instead of
doing something rash, do nothing at all, and
problems will absolutely solve themselves.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Some of
your best creations, relationships and op-
portunities have happened by way of ac-
cidental magic, and it’s going to happen
again in the next three days.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). One of your
talents is dealing with other people’s hot
tempers, anxiousness and irritation. You
have a way of acknowledging the reality of
other people’s feelings and thereby dees-
calating the situation and bringing peace.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Writing
things down has magic powers that can
somehow go many ways. Writing things
down can make them more real or easi-
er to let go of or harder to forget. Use the
magic of writing today.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If people did
the right, considerate, fair and loving thing,
then no one would need a governing sys-
tem. The trouble is that even people in the
same family can’t agree on what the right,
considerate, fair and loving thing is.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). If you wind
up spending slightly more than you bud-
geted, don’t feel guilt, regret or shame or
in any way let the overage stress you out.
The ends will find their own magical way
of meeting.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).
Cheerfulness is an often underrated value,
though if anyone can turn that around, you
can. Your joyful, caring ways will energize
all you touch. You never know when you
can change someone’s life with a smile.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Fashion
sometimes seems silly to you. Why should
a perfectly lovely look go in one year and
out the other? Well, you don’t have to worry
about keeping up your classic tastes never
go out of style.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’re go-
ing to solve the problem going on between
two people you love or at least shrink it. Try
not to form an opinion before or while you
hear both sides.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). What was
in favor one day goes out the next. Does
that mean it was never true to begin with?
You can’t help what’s trendy. You can only
decide whether or not it’s for you.
FRIDAY’S BIRTHDAY (April 17). You
push yourself this year, and it’s by ex-
ploring your fears that you’ll learn your
courage. A rather arbitrary action in May
leads to remarkable luck. It won’t always
be easy to keep your commitments in re-
lationships, but the sheer joy and beauty
you experience this summer will make
you glad you did. Taurus and Leo people
adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 40, 2,
25, 21 and 16.