THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015
FEATURES
55A
Freeloaders frustrate daughter Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
Dear Annie: I am running out
of advice for my daughter, “Ka-
tie.” She lives with her fiance. Last
year, his middle-aged, disabled fa-
ther moved in with them. A month
ago, his sister, her fiance and their
two toddlers also moved in. The
children wreak havoc on her clean,
organized home. Neither the sis-
ter nor the father will clean up af-
ter themselves when they use the
kitchen. The sister lets her kids get
into everything. The father sits in
his room all day.
To keep the peace, Katie choos-
es to keep quiet until she comes to
see me. Then she unloads all of her
aggravation. I don’t know what to
tell her. How does she get these
lazy, sloppy people to pick up after
themselves? — Katie’s Mom
Dear Mom: Katie isn’t asking
you for advice. She is frustrated by
her home situation and is venting
to you because you are her safe
refuge. If she truly wants the free-
loaders to help out (or leave), she
needs to discuss how to handle this
with her fiance and reach an agree-
ment before it overwhelms their re-
lationship. Simply allow her to air
her feelings, listen attentively, nod
your head and make sympathetic
sounds. If she asks what to do, tell
her to talk to her fiance. If she is
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy Mitchell
and
Marcy Sugar
reluctant to do that, she is setting
herself up for a lifetime of marital
misery.
Dear Annie: I am recently di-
vorced from an abusive man after
25 years, and I decided to try on-
line dating. The first site did no
background checks and when I
did a Google search on the photos
of the men who approached me, I
discovered they were not who they
said they were. The second dating
site verified my photo and account
info, so I felt more secure. Howev-
er, there are scam artists there, too.
One of them drew me in, but after
a month of texts and emails, I have
come to realize he, too, just wants
money. My heart is broken, but I
know time will heal it.
Here are my words of wisdom
for your readers who try online
dating: These sites are rife with
con artists. Make sure the site does
background checks or verification
of some kind. Do not give prospec-
tive suitors your email address.
Communicate only through the
site. Meet only in a public place
and have a friend accompany you.
If he keeps coming up with excus-
es to change the date, drop him. If
he tells you he’s in love after one
or two emails, drop him. He’s a
phony. If he asks you for money,
even a small amount, drop him. If
he tells you he has to leave for an
overseas trip and then needs money
to get home, drop him.
I was so drawn in by this guy’s
beautiful words and romancing that
I let my heart rule my head. Warn
others. — Know Better
Dear Know: Happy to. There
have always been “romance”
scams, but the Internet makes it
easier. Entire industries exist to
take advantage of lonely people,
even on legitimate sites. There are
ways to verify someone’s photo
online — as well as those flow-
ery, romantic statements — to see
whether they are stolen from an-
other source. No matter how won-
derful someone seems, NEVER
meet them in your home or theirs,
or allow them to drive you some-
where. And NEVER send them
money. Be careful.
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). As the
planets settle into a new lineup, a peck-
ing order will be established. You will dis-
agree with this. You’ll wonder why anyone
should get pecked at all. Your presence
will change matters.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Learning
only makes you want to know more. An in-
terest is turning into a passion. Follow your
passion, and you’ll soon be an expert. Fol-
low your expertise, and you’ll soon be rich.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Giving your
love unconditionally will help your loved
one grow and blossom. This exchange has
the added bonus of fulfilling a deep pur-
pose in you.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). One way
you can tell your true supporters from
your fair-weather friends is that your true
supporters will try to understand what’s
important to you. If it’s important to you,
it’s important.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The cosmic
forces favor you this time of year. Because
you are so focused, your professional life
and personal life will intersect in interesting
ways, increasing your luck on both fronts.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You are
brilliant on your own, but your true ge-
nius emerges when you work with others.
You’re happy to support family and friends
in any way that is needed. Modesty is
your trademark.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). In the current
cosmic milieu, dramatic choices get no-
ticed, and subtle ones sail over the heads
of 90 percent of the audience. So go big
or go home.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Imagine
the situation being better. Envision what
life would be like if this were entirely fixed.
Don’t worry about the “how” right now. The
intensity of your thoughts will set improve-
ment in motion.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You
may privately decide that your work is
pretty stellar, and this is a good thing. If
you’re not a fan of you, how are you going
to get other people to be fans?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). So,
you don’t believe the same thing you
believed yesterday. So what? The world
is flexible, always moving and forever
changing. And for as long as you’re here,
you’re a part of that.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Good
people review the bad things they did
with regret. Bad people aren’t capable of
self-reflection. If you feel bad about what
you did, at least you can feel good about
who you are.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You may
not be an authority on the subject you are
asked to talk about today. The best way is to
admit that right off the bat and then to know
that you are the No. 1 authority on your own
thoughts. So why not share those?
FRIDAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 24). Your
attention is in high demand at the start of
this solar year. Instead of rushing around
trying to please everyone individually,
find the collective heart of your group and
speak to what everyone needs. Profes-
sionally, you raise your game at the end
of 2016. You’ll be thrilled to see how your
family plays into your plans. Pisces and Li-
bra people adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 4, 12, 2, 6 and 13.