THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MAY 25, 2015
FEATURES
Remember those who died
Dear Readers: Memorial Day
has become a three-day holiday of
picnics and cookouts. But there is
a reason for this commemoration,
so please remember the service-
men and women who died serving
their country. Consider visiting a
veterans hospital or military cem-
etery and paying your respects.
At 3 p.m. local time, the Na-
tional Moment of Remembrance
asks for 60 seconds of silence to
remember U.S. service members
who gave their lives in the line of
duty. And if you have a flag, it is
appropriate to display it at half-
staff until noon.
“Last Monday in May” by
John T. Bird
of Birmingham, Ala.
We pause to remember those
who died
with so much courage
so much pride.
They’ll never come back
but memories endure
to remind us of freedom: frag-
ile, pure.
We’re worthy of their sacrifice
if we pause each day
not just on the last Monday in
May.
Dear Annie: Who decid-
ed when someone becomes an
adult? Legally, you can vote at
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy Mitchell
and
Marcy Sugar
18. You can obtain a gun or cig-
arettes and sign up for the mili-
tary without your parents’ per-
mission. But you can’t drink
until age 21. Who makes these
rules?
My 18-year-old son recently
needed surgery. When I called
with a question about the bill, the
doctors and hospital staff refused
to answer me. I was told no one
could speak to me because my
son is an adult. I politely said,
“Excuse me, but that ‘adult’ is
still in high school and lives in
my home, and I am paying the
bill.”
This very same “adult” can’t
keep his room clean, yet he is
responsible for making sure his
medical expenses are billed cor-
rectly? And he’s supposed to pay
them promptly from his mini-
mum-wage part-time job? My son
can stay on my medical insurance
until he is 26, but I can’t ask a
question? They say it’s for rea-
sons of privacy, yet this “adult”
boy walked through the living
room in his underwear last week,
and any idiot can find lots of per-
sonal information about him on
the Internet.
And if an 18-year-old is re-
sponsible for his medical bills,
why does the college look at my
income when he requests finan-
cial aid? When these children
learn to be responsible for their
own expenses, they will become
real adults in the real world.
While there is no age at which ev-
eryone will be mature, we should
at least make the laws equal. Any
suggestions? — A.
Dear A.: Well, you could write
to your congressperson about
changing the laws. We agree that
some seem arbitrary. Nonethe-
less, HIPAA grants medical pri-
vacy to all adults, and there are
valid reasons for this. The way
to get information for your son is
to ask him to give his physician
written consent for you to have
access to his medical records and
information. If he expects you to
pay the bills, he should be happy
to do this.
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
5A
Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Those close
to you will sense how you’re feeling. Then
again, so will complete strangers, and per-
haps with even more accuracy. If influenc-
ing others is on the agenda, be sure to put
yourself in a terrific mood before you leave
the house.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There’s a
chant inside you, a mantra repeated from
morning to night, waxing and waning in in-
tensity throughout the day. This inside talk is
not necessarily true. Challenge it.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). When you
reach out in joy and curiosity, life meets you
with enthusiasm and inclusiveness. You
don’t require the people you meet to delight
you, but they will anyway!
CANCER (June 22-July 22). The work
you do today to accept your thoughts and
manage your expectations will lead to your
next leap in emotional maturity. It is said that
the strong master others, but the powerful
master themselves.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Neutrality is not
negativity. Don’t confuse the two. Some-
one’s neutral feelings toward you could turn
positive with a smile and a kind word. Try
that before you assume a person doesn’t
like you.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Do birds
change their tune? Sure, they do it all the
time in their efforts to communicate clearly
to one another. You’ll change your tune, too.
It’s not duplicitous; it’s accommodating.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The things
that seem like tiny coincidences are not.
They are evidence of your role in a larg-
er web of consciousness. When what
you think of materializes in some funny
way, it’s a wink from the universe to you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Your social
icebreaker will be a joke that’s self-deprecat-
ing, but only slightly. Go too far with that, and
it seems disingenuous. Tonight, what’s fun
is also good for you.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Crush-
es are not only for schoolgirls. They’re
for anyone who’s ever been infected by
someone’s person and gotten carried away
with the impression in spite of themselves.
Someone’s crushing on you now.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You can
always reinvent yourself, but it’s more diffi-
cult in familiar settings. That’s why the new
environment today is an opportunity not to
be missed!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’ve
been an angel before. Remember when
you appeared at the right time to help some-
one? You’ll be an angel again as you stay
aware of your environment and respond
accordingly.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). There’s no
need to swim upstream right now. There’s a
time to find your inner salmon, but this isn’t
it. You’re not being called back to the shore
where you were born, so float along today.
TUESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (May 26).
James Carville said, “The best time to plant
an oak tree was 25 years ago. The second
best time is today.” You’ll seize your mo-
ments to lay down your legacy. Compassion
will guide your choices this summer. You’ll
create, make more money and grow your
family. September and January bring a call
to adventure. Scorpio and Leo people adore
you. Your lucky numbers are: 40, 17, 30, 28
and 19.