THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2015
FEATURES
5A
Man misled by lady ‘friend’
Tomorrow’s horoscope
Dear Annie: I am a divorced
male in my mid-50s. A couple of
years ago, I met a divorced wom-
an through a mutual friend. We
share a common hobby, which
led to us spending hours of time
together, often just the two of us.
I asked my lady friend early
on if she was interested in dat-
ing. She told me she had recent-
ly been through a bad breakup
with her live-in boyfriend. She
thought it would be nice to have
someone with whom to go out for
dinner, but she wasn’t interest-
ed in a sexual relationship with
anyone. I accepted that. As time
went on, however, we became
closer. Although there was never
anything physical between us, we
had what I considered “dates,”
where I would pick her up and
we’d have dinner. I thought it was
only a matter of time before our
relationship became romantic and
intimate.
I recently learned that, for the
entire time I have known her,
my lady friend had been having
a sexual affair with another guy
who already has a live-in girl-
friend. When I confronted her,
she neither admitted it nor denied
it. Instead, she said her sex life
was none of my business.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You ap-
preciate the differences between yourself
and others. Your sophistication of thought
allows you to consider opinions you don’t
share. You’ll land on a brilliant solution to
a pressing problem.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ve al-
ready tried to solve the issue by applying
your best efforts. Now try to solve it by
doing, literally, the very least you can do.
Relax. With a leisurely approach you may
stumble onto the path of least resistance.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). It is a talent
to know when to stop and when to per-
sist. When you heed the whisper in your
heart, you won’t stop short of a victory,
nor will you continue down paths that
lead nowhere.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). So, you’ll
hear “no” along the way — maybe more
times today than you’d like. Reinterpret
the response. Maybe it means there’s
something better for you around the cor-
ner. Or maybe it simply means “not yet.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Try to rest —
just try. Mercury coming for a visit in your
part of the sky will rouse you from the re-
cliner of life. Luckily, happiness and busy-
ness go hand in hand now.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There is
plenty of time to visit with the people
who are important to you, even if it feels
like you’re far too busy for that today. The
break you take will invigorate you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You have a
talent for dealing with reserved personali-
ties. You don’t expect these types to make
the same efforts that others would. It will
be up to you to draw these quiet souls out.
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy Mitchell
and
Marcy Sugar
I think I’ve been used for two
years. I enjoyed our time togeth-
er, but I never would have spent
so much of it with this woman if
I’d known she had a sexual part-
ner. We are no longer seeing each
other, and although that is prob-
ably for the best, it is awkward
since we have mutual friends.
What do you think? — Feeling
Used
Dear Feeling: We think this
woman definitely took advantage
of you, but we also believe you
went into this with different ex-
pectations. The woman needed
someone to squire her around for
dinner and such, and could not do
so with her already-attached boy-
friend. You were a convenience,
and she misled you. You, how-
ever, assumed there would be an
eventual sexual relationship with
a woman who told you upfront
that she wasn’t interested (the
reason is irrelevant). If you had
instead considered her to be sim-
ply a friend, with no other agen-
da, you could have enjoyed din-
ners out and hobby time without
feeling used.
It’s time to let it go. You
made a mistake getting involved
with her, but it shouldn’t shame
you into avoiding your mutual
friends. Hold your head up, be
civil around her, and look for ro-
mantic companionship elsewhere.
Dear Annie: I thought I was
being respectful by addressing
ladies using the title “Ma’am.”
Recently, I said that to a woman
and she responded, “My name is
Mrs. X. I am not a ‘Ma’am!’”
What do you think? — Lafay-
ette, La.
Dear Lafayette: We think
some people are too easily of-
fended. We all have a preferred
term of address, but we cannot
expect others, especially strang-
ers, to know what that is. One
doesn’t chastise a person for be-
ing polite. For those of you who
have been unintentionally insult-
ed and feel the need to respond,
simply correct the person in a
gentle manner so they will know
for next time.
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
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The bright
ideas come to you first today, but if you
don’t act on them right away, they will flit
like butterflies to the other colorful and
open flowers around you.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).
Freedom is a frame of mind. It is conceiv-
able that the person with hundreds of op-
portunities still doesn’t feel as free as the
one with three choices.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Con-
flict is disagreement; confrontation is the
expectation of disagreement. Avoid con-
flict, but embrace confrontation. When
you ask nicely and without judgment,
you’ll likely get what you want.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). There
are times to be open-minded about who
you are, but not now. Stand strong. Main-
tain your own vision of yourself, and use
it as a shield to keep the rest of the world
from imposing their view of you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Moun-
tains sing songs. Rivers give dissertations.
Buildings tell secrets. The landscape and
environment will seem to speak to you.
Trust your interpretation of this.
THURSDAY’S BIRTHDAY (July
23). Your attractiveness quotient is
on the rise, and life gets more inter-
esting over the next 10 weeks. Take
extra measures to keep your career
on track during this exciting period for
your personal life. September brings a
reunion. November is your chance at
a prize you’ve had your eye on since
childhood. Virgo and Sagittarius people
adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 1,
50, 33, 21 and 19.