FEATURES
8A
Tomorrow’s horoscope
Send your best for contest
Dear Annie: I just heard about
your contest to write a poem for
July 4 that is more balanced, and
that mentions women, as well
as men. Why would you print
something like that in August,
when school is out and kids
can’t participate? It would have
been an excellent project for my
classroom.
Could you please rerun the
original request and extend the
deadline? Maybe a few of my
middle school kids could write
something special that merits
being printed in your column.
Thanks. — Teacher in Florida
Dear Teacher: It didn’t occur
to us at the time that the contest
request would run during summer
break. You are right that it is per-
fect for the classroom, as well as
would-be poets, so we will extend
our deadline until June 1. (That’s
absolutely the latest, folks.) Here
is the original letter:
Dear Annie: I appreciate the
patriotic intent of your July 4 col-
umn, but what would my daugh-
ter and seven nieces make of the
mention of 27 men but just two
women? The author overlooked
Sacagawea, Harriet Tubman,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the
myriad other female contributors
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy
Mitchell and
Marcy Sugar
to our nation’s progress.
Maybe next year you could
share someone’s writing that does
a better job of recognizing the
meaningful roles many coura-
geous and capable women have
played and continue to play in
shaping our nation. All credit to
Ginger Rogers’ high heels, but
Sacagawea did everything Lewis
and Clark did, but she did it post-
partum and carrying a newborn
on her back.
If no one has written anything
more balanced since Mr. Whitak-
er’s piece appeared in 1955, con-
sider the gauntlet tossed. — A
Loyal Reader
Dear Loyal Reader: We
agree that an updated version is
long overdue. Several readers
suggested a writing contest and
we love this idea. So readers, put
your creative caps on and send us
a poem or essay that expresses the
contributions men and women
have made to our country’s his-
tory. This also might be a good
project for teachers to give their
students.
Send your efforts to Annie’s
Mailbox at creators.com or Face-
book.com/AskAnnies. We will
print the best one on July 4, along
with your name.
Dear Annie: I’m puzzled by
the apostrophe in “Annie’s Mail-
box” combined with a photo of
two women. If both of you are
named Annie, then the apostrophe
should be after the “s” (“Annies’
Mailbox”). If only one is Annie,
why are two women pictured? —
Your Fan, the Grammar Cop in
Sarasota, Florida
Dear Grammar Cop: We
love these questions. They are so
unexpected. For the record, there
are two of us, and neither of us
is named “Annie.” One of us is
Kathy and the other is Marcy. The
Mailbox was named in honor of
Ann Landers, with whom we both
worked for many years. Hence it
is “Annie’s Mailbox” with an
apostrophe. Hope that clears it up.
After all, there can be only one
Ann Landers. We simply do the
best we can to honor her legacy.
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Certain peo-
ple who know the facts all too well are likely
to exaggerate and distort them for their own
entertainment. If you take it too seriously, it’s
confusing. If you don’t, it’s fun.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You strive to
leave the world better than you found it, pref-
erably with many smiles in your wake. Your
commitment to add good cheer wherever you
go will be the side project that becomes a
main part of your legacy.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Your leisure
time is too precious to spend on entertain-
ment you’re not that into. Your work time is
the same: Just because you’re getting paid
doesn’t mean you should settle for being less
than totally excited.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You are quite
vigilant about showing up where you’re ex-
pected. Don’t go soft when it comes to your
own schedule! You have one hour to spend on
your favorite activity. Plan it; then support and
protect the plan.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’re not expect-
ing anyone else to bring you to life, and yet
you cannot deny that being around certain
people just makes you feel better, more vi-
brant and more joyful. Bump up the frequency
of this with a few invitations.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll be work-
ing on something uncomfortably exciting to-
day. Are you really qualified? No! There is no
way for you to be qualified except by taking it
on now. That’s what makes it a bold adven-
ture.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It’s your curious
attitude that opens the world to you. You never
have to worry where this is going next. Being
genuinely interested in one thing will imme-
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
diately link you to the next thing. Trust your
intelligence.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The great
skill that trumps all the other skills right now
is listening. When you do that well, you give
yourself a distinct advantage, standing out in
a sea of self-involved individuals.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Discuss-
ing and accounting for your time will be a key
component of this day. It will be useful to keep
a log of your activities, especially if those ac-
tivities involve reading. A thorough approach
will produce a rich opportunity.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). It happens
every so often that you find yourself in a pre-
dicament you don’t quite understand. You’ve
achieved many years of wisdom and yet may-
be you’re still too young for this one. At least
it’s helping you to ask better questions.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Impatience
and laziness are the evils to combat now, as
they will lead to far worse sins. Any tendency
in this direction needs to be rooted out and
replaced with compassion and usefulness.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Maybe you
were going for a certain prize in the begin-
ning, and it’s still very important to you that
you get this, but the joy of achievement is the
true treasure you’ll take away from the experi-
ence. You’ll slow down and savor it.
THURSDAY’S BIRTHDAY (April 14). This
year’s theme is the cultivation of wisdom. Kind-
ness draws people to you and they stick around
to help you build something beautiful in May
and June. Love relationships intensify in August.
You’ll work closely with a mentor in October and
solve a financial dilemma. One goal will turn into
a journey through Libra and Sagittarius adore
you. Your lucky numbers are: 3, 50, 2, 11 and 18.