THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017
FEATURES
Dealing with rudeness
Dear Annie: We have a to any suggestions. I don’t want
friend, “Larry,” whom we to lose it and snap at this guy in
socialize with and who is part front of all our friends. — Sick
of a tennis group that my hus- of Fussy Larry
band is also part of. My hus-
Dear Sick: Larry sounds
band has always loved cook- unbelievably spoiled. If it
weren’t so irritating,
ing and is great at
DEAR
you’d almost have to
it. (More than once,
friends have told him
laugh at the gall. Per-
ANNIE
haps your husband
he ought to open a
restaurant.) He has
could serve him some
truth with a helping
cooked for this tennis
of humor: “Would
group — having been
asked — on several
you like a refund?” or
“I’ll pass your com-
occasions.
plaints along to the
But no matter what
Lane
chef.” This would
it is that my husband Annie
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
bring Larry’s atten-
cooks, Larry always
tion to his rudeness
has some complaint:
“It’s not the same as last time,” without leaving a bad taste in
“It’s not spicy enough,” “This anyone’s mouth.
Dear Annie: This is in
is overcooked,” etc. Yet he al-
ways comes back for seconds response to the woman who
wrote in about her daugh-
and more.
It aggravates me, and I told ter’s showing up late for hol-
my husband that perhaps he iday dinners. Our family tra-
should tell this guy to do it him- dition when I was growing
self, but he’s too nice. (Plus, the up (in the 1960s and ’70s)
one time Larry did bring a dish, was Thanksgiving with Dad’s
it was terrible — though we all family and Christmas with
ate without complaining for Mom’s family. We lived less
the sake of his feelings.) What than an hour from Mee-moo’s
could my husband say while house.
still being tactful? We are open
We found out years later
that they always told Dad that
dinner was an hour earlier than
it was really scheduled for be-
cause Dad had a tendency to
make us late.
However, I agree with you.
The person who is late is the
rude person. When everyone
is told that dinner will be at 4
p.m., the person who doesn’t
bother to arrive until 4:45 is
being totally rude.
As they say in one of the
“Star Trek” movies, “the needs
of the many outweigh the needs
of the few.” Thirty people who
are polite enough to show up on
time have the right to start on
time unless there is a very good
reason for delaying. One per-
son’s deciding to be late with-
out explanation is not a good
reason. — John
Dear John: When friends
and family start lying to you
about when you need to be at
a place, you know you’ve got
a bad case of chronic tardi-
ness. Though I’m not one to
condone lying as a solution in
general, what your family did
was a good way to adjust for
your dad’s own personal time
zone.
3C
TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Relationships
are more than what’s at the center of the Venn
diagram of two people coming together. The
relationship is its own entity, a newborn cell that
breaks off with a life of its own that neither party
has control over.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Here’s how this
very successful and productive day will play out.
Organize in the morning; adapt in the after-
noon; claim what’s yours in the evening; love all
through.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You know how
telling someone to “relax” usually creates the
opposite effect? Well, the same will be true of
telling yourself this. Instead, allow for, agree
to and even invite the stressful energy. Once
accepted, it will dissipate.
fun with this, as said dice are quite literally out of
your hands.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Look and think
ahead before you venture today. Clear the path
of small obstacles and you’ll roll right along
with your plans. As Confucius said, “Men do not
stumble over mountains but molehills.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). No one likes
to be corrected. However, the wise see the great
value in learning of the error and are more likely
to reach the error-free, zone while the foolish
waste time arguing for the rightness of their
mistakes.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’ll work on
matters to improve daily life, including little shifts
in organization, timing and the placement of ob-
jects in your home. Small changes brighten big.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You didn’t mean to
tread on the tail of the tiger, and yet these things
can happen; you’re looking the other direction,
the sleeping tiger’s tail is right in the path.
Mercifully, the tiger won’t see you as a threat. No
harm, no foul!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). “Alea iacta est,”
said Julius Caesar as he led his army across
the Rubicon river. Translation: “The die is cast.”
You’re in a similar position with your squad
today. You’ve embarked and now you just have
to see how it plays out.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Active passivity is the
mode to stay in. Be ready to act, but don’t act
until it’s time. You’re the outfielder. Pay attention
and stay open. If you busy yourself unnecessar-
ily, you won’t be ready to catch the ball when it
comes your way.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You hate to be the
alarm clock, but you need the participation of
the fully awake. Sound the bell. It will be easier
to rouse a snoring person than the walking,
talking person convinced that he’s already
awake.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There’s no time to
waste in wishing for things you don’t have, and
neither is there profit in striving. The gifts of the
day come from working with what you have.
Trade your deeds for compensation.
TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (April 15). Love in
abundance! May puts you in an advantaged po-
sition; it won’t always be the case. Show gener-
osity to the other side. After months of hard work
and quiet observation you’ll get the chance to
reveal a bit of your noble genius to the world in
September. July and November are your luckiest
financial months. Libra and Gemini adore you.
Your lucky numbers are: 9, 40, 3, 33 and 1.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your options will
be different from before. Any move is a gamble
— not a maneuver or a calculated risk, but a
straight-up dice roll. You may as well have some
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