FEATURES
8A
Tomorrow’s horoscope
Childless couple tired of criticism
Dear Annie: My husband and
I have chosen not to have children.
His family asks repeatedly if we’ve
‘’changed our minds” about it, so
obviously they do not approve of
our choice.
My husband recently gave me a
30th birthday party, and invited his
extremely child-oriented family. The
entire duration of the party, I noticed
his siblings and parents fussing with
the very young children (about ages
4 and up), not paying attention to
anyone but the kids. I found this
rude, and thought they could at least
pretend to be interested in my birth-
day celebration. When I asked one
of my sisters-in-law if she saw me
open her gift, she retorted, “Sorry,
watching my daughter was a little
more important than a 30-year-old
opening presents.”
My husband and I are extremely
generous with all of their chil-
dren. Am I wrong to think that their
behavior was rude? They seemed
to believe simply showing up was
good enough. My family and friends
with children seem perfectly capa-
ble of tending to their kids while
still being able to interact with other
adults. How should I handle this?
— Not-So-Happy-Birthday
Dear Birthday Girl: This
depends on the kids. Children, espe-
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy
Mitchell and
Marcy Sugar
cially the very young ones, require
constant supervision. Surely you are
grateful that the parents watched to
be sure their kids didn’t crash into
your glass table, empty the tissue
box into the toilet or whine loudly
about the food.
We think you were kind to invite
these little children to your birthday
party. But if you have kids around,
you cannot expect to have the par-
ents’ undivided attention. You are
assuming it was somehow a subtle
criticism of your not having chil-
dren, but we don’t think it was inten-
tionally rude. Had those kids been
running wild, you would have writ-
ten us to complain about the parents’
inadequate supervision. (We get
plenty of those letters.) If you want
an adult party next time, it’s per-
fectly OK to exclude the children.
Otherwise, this is how it’s going to
be for the next several years. Please
don’t let it bother you so much.
Dear Annie: A friend recently
lost his home in a ¿re, and said the
reason was two 9-volt batteries that
were loose in a drawer. The ¿re
occurred while they weren’t home.
Something similar occurred at my
husband’s of¿ce, but it was only a
small spark and they were able to
get it under control quickly.
Please tell your readers to be sure
to store their batteries in their origi-
nal containers and to make sure that
the contact posts aren’t touching.
I always place a piece of tape over
the contacts before I throw them
away. If we can save even one life
(or home), it will have been worth
it. — M.
Dear M.: According to the
National Fire Prevention Asso-
ciation, the odds of 9-volt batter-
ies starting a house ¿re are slim.
Nonetheless, batteries should not be
stored loose where they can come
into contact with metal (keys, pocket
change, aluminum foil, paper clips),
glue or other materials that could
cause them to spark. Cover the posts
and store all batteries upright in their
original packaging. It is best not to
dispose of them in the trash. Check
with your local authorities to ¿nd
out where to take them for proper
disposal or recycling.
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Your posture,
tone and word choice will telegraph your sta-
tus. Note that it is not automatically better to try
and claim a higher status. There will be many
benefits to showing deference to the others
involved.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Being a know-
it-all has surprisingly few perks, but there are
quite a few bonuses that go along with being
someone who is willing and eager to learn
from the knowledgeable.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ll be privy
to problems that fascinate you and problems
that bore you to tears. Pick your company
carefully. Since you’re likely to get involved, it
may as well be with problems you find inter-
esting.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). When you
want to go where the action is, you have to
expect the traffic. You’ll get stuck in some met-
aphoric version of this and the best way to
handle it is to relax, listen to music and accept
that this comes with the territory.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). It is said that na-
ture abhors a vacuum, and so do cats. As the
lion of the zodiac, you should know! As soon
as one thing drops out of your schedule and
energy field, you’ll prepare to fill the void with
something better.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You may offer
to help people out of a need to be useful, but
please know that you do not need to be use-
ful to be loved. Also consider that the easiest
way to keep your word is not to give it in the
first place.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It is said that
there are no mistakes, only lessons. However,
when one misses the freeway exit, thus add-
ing 10 miles to the journey and arriving quite
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
late, one can’t help but think that some “les-
sons” are truly unnecessary.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Humans are
not born knowing how to be moderate, re-
strained and emotionally mature. Those who
display these qualities have blundered plenty.
If you happen to misstep, forgive and correct
yourself. Don’t dwell on it.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Yours
is the plan that’s going to work — once you
convince the others, that is. Persuasion will be
tricky, requiring that you lay back, play it cool
and let them think it’s all their idea.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). When you
expose your feelings, you reveal your true self.
You think it’s going to cause a commotion, but
really it will just cause others to know you bet-
ter and feel closer to you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It will flow
better if you give without anticipating a return.
You’ll relax into your usual easy charm and
mine something wonderful out of the situation
you wouldn’t have seen had you held on to
prior expectations.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You really click
with someone. This doesn’t happen every day.
Act on it, immediately. Maybe you won’t be-
come best friends, or even associates, but
there’s a drop of magic in this connection.
WEDNESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (March 30).
You don’t have anything to prove, and when
you give up trying, you gain access to that
club you’ve been trying to get into. Singles:
Next month sparks new love connections.
Couples: A shared interest will bond you. June
features family helping family. August brings
fresh financial resources. Virgo and Scorpio
adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 50, 33,
10, 28 and 14.