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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2017)
6A FEATURES Guests ruin summertime fun Dear Annie: I live in a very stop talking to you because you small Montana town with a very set boundaries, they’re not friends; short summer season. My friends they’re freeloaders. You’re better and neighbors and I have been off without them. Dear Annie: I can heart- inundated with summer guests who have made our town and homes ily empathize with “Housebound their summer vacation destination. Through No Fault of Our Own in Iowa,” whose neigh- Every year, our own sum- bors prevent her family mers have been ruined DEAR from enjoying their own because of this guest ANNIE backyard. influx. This puts a great When my partner and strain on us financially, as I were first married, we well as physically. It gets moved into an apartment. worse every summer. We are both readers and How does one politely have never owned a TV or tell these people to stay at a stereo. Nonetheless, the a hotel and not expect us Lane woman who lived down- to feed them three meals a Annie Creators Syndicate Inc. stairs from us complained day, do their laundry and to the building manager be their tour guide? I tried to let one set of friends know that about all the music coming from I simply cannot accommodate them our apartment. When it wasn’t the in my home, and now they no lon- music (that we weren’t playing), ger communicate with me. — Sick it was that we flushed the toilet at 10:30 p.m. or (my favorite) she of Summer Guests Dear Sick of Summer Guests: heard “one shoe drop and waited up Summer is too short to spend all night for the other one.” Because stressed about houseguests, and life of the neighbor’s complaints, the is too short to spend acquiescing to landlord even threatened to evict us. One long weekend, we were others out of guilt. What you said — that you simply cannot accom- out of town. Minutes after return- modate them — was perfectly ade- ing home, we were told about the quate, and I’d encourage you to slew of complaints our neighbor tell any other prospective visitors had filed about how much noise exactly the same thing. If “friends” we’d made over the weekend (even though we were out of town). That was the final straw. We contacted a lawyer, who wrote a letter to our neighbor clar- ifying that she was interfering with our “legal rights of domicile” and that if she persisted, we would be obliged to take further action. After our downstairs neighbor complained to others in the build- ing about our lawyer’s letter, one by one all of the neighbors came to us to tell us their stories of how our downstairs neighbor had harassed them. Then, as a group, we com- plained to the landlord about her. Soon afterward, the woman down- stairs moved out and left us all in peace. We are not people who like the idea of going to a lawyer, but there are some people in this world who need that kind of response to behave appropriately. I would strongly rec- ommend that “Housebound” con- sider taking that step. — Justin F. Dear Justin F.: Of all the neighbor complaints I’ve heard, “I heard one shoe drop and waited up all night for the other one” takes the cake. No one should have to undergo the expense and incon- venience of moving because of a neighbor’s unfair demands. Good on you for standing up to a bully. THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. ARIES (March 21-April 19). What happened made a memory, and the memory caused you to want to return for more. Decide care- fully now. The cycle will make a chain; the chain will make a bond; the bond forms your very character, and by extension, life. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re usually so constant in your personality and choices that it always surprises you when certain people bring out a different side of you. The surprise will be a good one today. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Problems from childhood show up in your adult life wearing different clothing but feeling exactly the same as they always did. It’s a gift — an opportuni- ty to handle things differently and finally feel differently about it, too. grease you can still smooth this one over. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Relationship patterns will intensify. This isn’t really how you meant it to or wanted it to go, but there’s something good in it, too. Step back. Focus on your role, not theirs. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Specializ- ing in everything would be impossible: It’s an oxymoron! And yet you do have a knack for getting the hang of things quickly today, and you’ll find that before long you know more than most. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). What you wear will matter quite a lot more than seems right. This is about comfort and appropriate- ness for the elements as much as it is about projecting an effective social image. CANCER (June 22-July 22). No generation can rule forever. The torch must be passed. Today those in authority either don’t want to give it up, or they are being very careful to make sure that the next group is really ready. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It will be eas- ier than usual to get a hold of your thoughts and direct them in a helpful way. You’ll take advantage of this mental clarity, using it to enhance your personal life. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). One way of effec- tively dealing with people is to ignore their outbursts and misbehaviors as you focus exclusively on what they are doing right. This method will in fact work wonders for you today. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). This is no time to get mired in the complexities, though they’ll be presented in an enticingly sticky way. Perspective is everything today. The less you think of something as a problem, the less of a problem it becomes. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You don’t seek publicity, and yet it somehow finds you in a way, with your stellar reputation preceding you with today’s business in an important and most helpful manner. TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 28). Your willingness to extend yourself beyond your own previous boundaries and go where oth- ers won’t will give you a distinct advantage in business through the end of the year. Your personal life blossoms as you build confi- dence in many areas. Bonus money comes in October, November and June. Scorpio and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 4, 29, 1, 22 and 15. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Is it them, or is it you? This is the question that goes through your head today, as daily discourse seems to jitter and bang along instead of going smoothly. It’s them. But with a little extra 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
