THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015
FEATURES
Tomorrow’s horoscope
Son blames mom for abuse
Dear Annie: My son, “Rob-
ert,” is 50 years old. He has no
contact with his older sister or me.
When Robert was 13, my hus-
band and I divorced. His father
was a troubled person. He was a
typical old-fashioned European
father who believed in physical
punishment, and used a belt when
disciplining his son. I tried to pro-
tect Robert, and this often caused
a great many arguments with my
husband.
After the divorce, the children
lived with me. When Robert was in
high school, he got into drugs and
EHFDPHWRRGLI¿FXOWIRUPHWRKDQ-
dle, so I sent him to live with his
father, who lived close by. Robert
continued to act out and was pun-
ished often, but he graduated with
honors and was well-liked. He
went on to college, married young
and had two children. The oldest is
autistic, which put a great deal of
pressure on the marriage and they
divorced.
I love my grandchildren. Rob-
ert used to bring them to visit
every summer. We helped them
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out of his life, but still kept in
touch with me. But in therapy, he
became convinced that all of his
problems are my fault and that his
not make excuses or give explana-
tions. Simply say you regret those
choices and that you love him.
You’d be surprised what a sincere
Creators
apology can do. Meanwhile, if you
Syndicate Inc.
are in contact with your ex-daugh-
ter-in-law, you might be able to
Kathy Mitchell
maintain contact with the grand-
and
children through her.
Marcy Sugar
Dear Annie: “Fed Up” said she
is both tall and a size 14, so clothes
sister didn’t experience what he are never long enough. She dis-
went through. Now he wants no likes shopping online because she
contact with either of us. I write has to pay for delivery and returns.
and text, but get no response.
Please tell her to check out
Annie, I thought I was doing sites like Amazon that often have
the best thing for him. I love my clothes available with free ship-
son. What can I do? — Hurting ping and returns. That way, if
Mother
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Dear Mother: It is not unusual have to pay to send it back. Some
for children to blame the parents people order three different sizes
when their lives go off the rails. ²ZKDWWKH\WKLQNZLOO¿WRQHVL]H
Robert sees only that you left him down and one size up. Then she
with a father who may have been can try all of them on and return
abusive. He doesn’t see the rea- the ones she doesn’t want without
sons behind it or that you thought paying shipping costs. And it will
it was best at the time. And right give her a better idea about what
QRZ KH¶G ¿QG DQ\ H[SODQDWLRQ ZLOO¿WIRUKHUQH[WRUGHU²John
from you to be self-serving.
Dear John: There are many
We cannot guarantee that this online retailers that offer free ship-
FDQ EH ¿[HG EXW ZH VXJJHVW \RX ping and returns. While it may not
leave Robert a voicemail or write a be as quick as going into a store, it
letter or email saying you are sorry is the best option for people who
for the decisions you made that had KDYHGLI¿FXOW\¿QGLQJFORWKLQJLQ
a negative impact on his life. Do their size.
Annie’s
Mailbox
5A
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). This is a
lucky day for selling, earning and invest-
ing. Your attention has a way of making
things bigger and better. Whatever you fo-
cus consistently on will grow right before
your eyes.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re not
the center of the solar system, but you
may as well be as far as a certain some-
one is concerned. This person’s thoughts
will orbit nonstop around you today.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). What you
want to do is possible. The only question
is, are you willing to do what it takes to get
there? Self-discipline is called for. So is
an excellent action plan. How serious are
you about this?
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Sure,
you’d prefer not to fight for what you want.
But if everything were just handed to you,
you wouldn’t be half the person you are
today. It’s not about the war; it’s about the
warrior.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Loyalty is a rare
trait. It can be hard to find a friend who will
behave and say the same things behind
your back as he or she would to your face.
You’ll test your friendships today, and one
will pass with flying colors.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll be
drawn to those with interesting and excit-
ing objectives and who have a tendency
to put an upbeat spin on things. You need
more friends like these!
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Once you
find the answer to a question, two more
questions will grow out of that answer.
So don’t expect resolution. Try to enjoy
the mystery. There’s something wonderful
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
about it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). If they’re
not listening, maybe it’s a good thing. It’s a
chance to work on your presentation and
communication skills. Improving these will
have a positive impact on every aspect of
your life.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your
friends are lucky because you support
and promote those you believe in at every
opportunity. Make sure that you also take
advantage of opportunities for your own
advancement.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’ll
find a truthful source of information. Work
all you can with this because it will give
you a skill you didn’t have before. Not only
that, it will also make you wise.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You tend
to want to fix things for the people you
love, but this could set a precedent that
will be exhausting to keep up in the future.
Stand back. Is it really your responsibility?
Could they really help themselves?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The novel
circumstances and people you’re around
today will bring out a different side of you.
Even those who know you well will find
that there’s much to learn.
FRIDAY’S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 20). Your
emotional intelligence is off the charts
and your people skills will earn you fan-
tastic experiences, friendships and ro-
mances. Next month feels like coming into
your own. You’ll take on a big, life-chang-
ing responsibility. January starts a physi-
cal makeover of either your home or your
image. Virgo and Taurus adore you. Your
lucky numbers are: 2, 19, 45, 28 and 11.