FEATURES
6A
Tomorrow’s horoscope
Drinks release demon within
Dear Annie: My wife and I
have been married for 12 years, and
I absolutely love her and the kids.
But at family events, she tends to
get really drunk and mean. Usually,
I end up taking the lumps, but some-
times it’s someone else. I feel guilty
when that happens, because I’m just
happy that it isn’t me.
Her family has a lot of issues, as
does mine, and when we get together
for events, she gets loud, obnoxious
and downright ugly to whichever
poor soul rubs her the wrong way
irst. She wakes up with a hangover,
apologizes when she has to.
One example: Last weekend,
her sister was in town, and my wife
went to visit her. I stayed home
because of work. She and her sister
got into a ight that turned physical.
She called me crying around mid-
night. I tried to talk her down, but
it turned into her screaming at me.
My wife is the type who does
not take kindly to suggestions, espe-
cially when she’s intoxicated. A sim-
ple “maybe it’s time to go to bed”
will inevitably unleash a vicious
monster that will scratch, tear and
scream its way through anything
that gets in its path.
How can I give her a “last call”
when I see that something is about
to happen? — Concerned Husband
Dear Annie
By
Annie
Lane
Creators
Syndicate
Inc.
Dear Concerned: That vicious
monster you’re dealing with is
alcoholism.
Your wife needs to stop drinking.
You should try talking to her about
that when she’s sober. But alcohol-
ism is a disease that sustains itself
through the mechanism of denial,
and you should know that her path
to recovery may be a long one.
Living with an alcoholic can
leave you feeling desperate and
frustrated to tears — and also pro-
foundly lonely because you feel as
if you have no one to talk to about it.
I encourage you to consider attend-
ing a local Al-Anon Family Groups
meeting. The meetings are free and
anonymous, and they’re open to
anyone who is bothered by a loved
one’s drinking — so even if you
don’t think your wife an alcoholic,
they’re still for you. My heart goes
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
out to you, and I wish you the best.
Dear Annie: I live in an apart-
ment complex, and my upstairs
neighbors recently had a baby. I
swear she is the loudest baby I’ve
ever heard. I’m losing my mind from
the lack of sleep. Why can’t they
keep her content? And why would
anyone with a newborn live in an
apartment anyway? Should I talk to
them? — Newborn Insomniac
Dear Newborn: Sounds as if
somebody needed to cry it out —
and I don’t mean the baby upstairs.
Your crankiness is understand-
able, but I’m not sure what exactly
you plan on saying to the parents:
“Excuse me. Could you please ask
your 3-month-old to try to keep it
down? I’ve got a big presentation
tomorrow..”
The fact is that these new parents
are very aware of how loud their
baby is. They have front-row seats
to that opera. No doubt they feel bad
about keeping up their neighbors,
but there’s not much they can do.
What you can do, however, is
invest in some tools to block out
as much sound as possible. Invest
in noise-canceling headphones, a
white-noise machine or both. .
Above all, try to be as empa-
thetic as possible. Remember, you
were once a baby, too.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). On the
journey to new horizons, don’t let negative
thoughts sink your ship. Waterproof your
mind against them using the leakproof qual-
ities of laughter, levity, beauty, fun, excite-
ment and starry dreams.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). These are
pretty straightforward times. When you do
good, you’ll feel good. If you do bad, you’ll
feel bad. There are no complications or intri-
cacies beyond that to stop you from sailing
happily forward.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Giving your
best to a rather unglamorous project now
will put you first in line later for a far more
appealing project. You’ll find that this current
deal is more interesting than you might have
suspected.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Everyone
knows not to burn bridges, and yet when
the territorial issues are war-like, and cross-
ing is tantamount to invasion, some bridges
really must be tactically burned.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your heart is big,
and it radiates a generosity of spirit that
makes everyone around you feel important,
loved and as beautiful as you behold them.
For these reasons and more, you are so lovely.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The future will
come soon enough. If you live there now,
you’ll ruin the surprise of it! Also, you’ll miss
the surprise of today, which is an opportuni-
ty nestled inside an emotional little vignette
just waiting to be observed.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If you want to
know who the smartest people are around
you today, they are the ones saying, “I don’t
know.” Those who claim to know everything
and are very sure about it will be the first to
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
eat crow later.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Those who
pay no mind to the risks involved in an ac-
tion are not as brave as the ones who con-
sider the possible dangers and move for-
ward anyway. Stay aware of what you might
be getting into.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’re
careful to make sure that others get credited
for their contributions, but when it’s your turn
to hang your name on something, you don’t
care as much. Get the credit anyway. It will
be important later.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The
power players have no more talent than
you have. The only difference right now is
access to resources. So how can you get
better access to more of what you need?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’d trade
places with your loved one if suffering of this
kind were something that could be reas-
signed. Alas, the best you can do in this re-
gard is show up and hold this person’s hand.
You’ll be great at that!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Don’t be
swayed by immature and petty demands.
Stay strong in your stance, or you’ll train the
world to pester you until you eventually cave
to its requests.
THURSDAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 29).
You won’t regret the money you spend on
travel, as what you learn in different places
will enrich you for years to come. It’s not like
you’re searching for something in particular,
but you’ll find various treasures and spend
November through February figuring out
how to fit them into your full life. Aries and
Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 3, 14, 33, 28 and 10.