FEATURES
6A
Tomorrow’s horoscope
You gonna need change?
Dear Annie: I have gotten to
the point that I no longer like to go
out to eat, . Here’s why.
You have a great meal in a nice
restaurant. The service was friendly
and excellent. When the check
comes and I put my money down
for the waitress, she says as she
picks it up, “Do you need change?”
This ticks me off to no end. I
have gone through the trouble to
try to educate the servers, in the
hope of breaking them of the habit.
So I explain to them that you never,
ever put the customer on the defen-
sive by insinuating that he is cheap
for wanting change from the bills
he put down. The servers I explain
this to sometimes understand, but
most of the time, they do not. They
just think I am some senior citizen
who complains a lot.
I usually retaliate by leaving
a small tip instead of the 20 to 25
percent that I would do otherwise.
(I try to tip big because I know how
little they make hourly.) Depending
on how you look at it, I think I will
leave a copy of my letter and your
response along with the tip in the
future. — Frustrated in Maine
Dear Frustrated: It’s not the
best etiquette on a server’s part to
ask if you want change. But I think
you’re looking at this wrong.
Dear Annie
By
Annie
Lane
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
You’re assuming that servers
are insinuating you’re cheap when
they pose this question. I highly
doubt that. Sure, there may be
some servers out there who would
use such tactics to try to shame a
big tip out of customers. But most
servers are more polite than that
— and more intelligent. I ind it
more likely they’re oblivious and
just trying to save themselves a
30-second trip back to your table.
In either scenario, a smile and a
“yes, please” are the appropriate
response.
But if I hear a convincing case
against this, I’ll print it here for you
to clip and keep at the ready in your
wallet.
Dear Annie: I have a friend
who is planning to have her wed-
ding at a lake next year in a state
where neither she nor her iance
lives or has relatives.
Her plan is to hold a very small
(with about 10 people) private cer-
emony, to be followed by a recep-
tion with about 150 people.
My question is: Is this proper?
All the guests are coming from out
of state. Shouldn’t all the guests be
invited to the ceremony? I don’t
feel it’s my place to tell the bride-
to-be what I think, but I’m disap-
pointed. I always look forward to
the actual wedding ceremony more
than the reception. Is that just me?
— Confused Guest-to-Be
Dear Confused: Yes, you’re
right that typically, everyone would
be invited to the ceremony. If any-
thing, I’ve seen more weddings
where the reverse is done — where
more people are free to come to
the ceremony than the reception
because of budget constraints. (
For whatever reason, the bride
and groom want to keep the cere-
mony private. It might not be the
traditional choice, but it’s their
choice.
Don’t take this as your being
excluded. It’s still important to
them that you all share in this day.
It sounds as if they’re looking at the
party not merely as a reception but
as a celebration of their love in its
own right. That’s special. Have fun.
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Control is
a hugely successful strategy for dealing
with the external world, though you’ll need
a different strategy for the internal world,
which can be about as easy to control as
the ocean.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). A gift, or
something you’re researching for another
person, will suddenly seem piercingly rele-
vant to your own life. Take it. Explore it. Use
it. You didn’t stumble upon this by accident.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The sad fact
is that sometimes people do good things
in order to feel OK about the bad things
they’ve done or are about to do. It’s called
“moral license,” and it’s something to watch
out for today.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). For a re-
lationship to work, work is required. This
weekend the effort will come in the form of
self-denial, which is occasionally necessary
in the development of healthy relationships
and good character.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Assumptions will
only cause problems. There is no reason to
question the intent of the other person or to
define the relationship in any different way.
Evaluate each moment as it comes, taking
things at face value.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You are keen-
ly aware of how the attention is distributed
in a room and will move to create balance
in this regard. It gives you no pleasure
whatsoever to distract from the proper flow
of focus.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It will not ben-
efit you to correct others, though they may
be extremely wrong. Instead of making cor-
rections, interrupt the pattern. If this can be
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
done in a fun way, you’ll find it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). People’s
behaviors are not always determined by
personal motivation. Often, surrounding
circumstances affect the decisions more.
Changing the environment may be the eas-
iest way to exert your influence.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Com-
parison can lead to disaster, but how else
are you going to understand what is possi-
ble? If you must compare something in your
life to get perspective, at least compare it
with what’s rooted in reality and truth.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Memo-
ry Lane isn’t always nicely paved. You’ve a
visceral reaction to pictures from your past.
History evokes a different emotion in you
than it might for others looking at the same
slice of time.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Make
them guess what your strategy is. Part of
being a worthy opponent is in being an in-
teresting one. You don’t have to be the stron-
gest in the game to be the best at playing it.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your rules
for a relationship may be different from the
other person’s. It’s not something to talk out
now; rather, it’s something to observe, as
calmly as would a scientist.
SATURDAY’S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 8). You’ll
express yourself beautifully, and you’ll have
plenty to express. What you share with oth-
ers over the next 10 weeks will become part
of your signature style. Later in 2017 you’ll
be paid for the way you execute your plans.
The needs of family will be a joy to fulfill in
March. You’ll win a contest in June. Cap-
ricorn and Cancer adore you. Your lucky
numbers are: 9, 30, 41, 21 and 16.