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