6A
FEATURES
The joy of comparing
Dear Annie: I read your ing presents for each other’s
column daily and always like children next year. Instead,
your tough love and sensi- the children could do a secret
ble advice. I’m interested in Santa among themselves —
what your advice would be crafting gifts or using allow-
in the following situation. ance money to buy small
items, depending on
It involves gift giv-
DEAR
ing at Christmas for
their ages — so that
nieces and neph-
they might learn the
ANNIE
ews. My daughter
joy of giving.
does not feel that her
Dear Annie: I
brother gave as much
have an 88-year-
to her sons as she did
old friend who can’t
to his daughter and
hear and refuses to
two
stepchildren.
get tested for a hear-
ing aid. I have talked
She feels she was far
Lane
with her many times
more generous than Annie
Creators
Syndicate
Inc.
about this situation,
he was. I understand
but she either makes
that this is not my
problem but am curious about excuses about her hearing
what your advice would be to problem or gets angry and
her. Expense is not an issue. refuses to discuss the issue.
Also, my son’s wife does not She just smiles and nods
involve herself in shopping when people try to talk to her
for gifts for his nephews. It or tells them she can’t under-
may be that men just shop stand them. Talking on the
differently than women. — phone with her is impossible.
And her hearing problem has
Dreading Next Christmas
Dear Dreading Next gotten her into trouble when
Christmas: I think that if she’s at appointments with
your daughter is going to doctors, as she sometimes
get out the abacus and com- misses what they tell her.
pare receipts, she and your
The cost is not an issue,
son ought to just skip buy- because she could easily
afford hearing aids, and I
have offered to drive her to
any appointments. You can-
not have a conversation with
her, and she is becoming
more isolated and distracted
in her interactions with oth-
ers. I am losing patience
with her. Help! — Frustrated
Friend
Dear Frustrated Friend:
Denial can be a dangerous
coping mechanism, but it’s a
coping mechanism nonethe-
less — so your friend will
cling to it until she’s ready to
let go. Continue encouraging
her to get her hearing tested,
and even suggest getting your
own hearing checked at the
same time. If she were to feel
less singled out, she might
feel less defensive and more
open to the idea. There are
some rudimentary hearing
tests available online. You
could pull one up on your
phone, tablet or computer
the next time you’re together.
These online tests are no sub-
stitute for medical attention,
of course, but might be a
good first step to get her mov-
ing in the right direction.
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018
TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Of course you have
more power than you are exercising, but you
wisely weigh the consequences of each action.
True influence isn’t about what you can get people
to do; it’s about what you can inspire them to want
to do.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). The absence of
a person can be a presence — a presence so
strong it dominates the room, the hour, the talk
and the feeling of the day. This is how humans
can transcend the apparent laws of space and
time.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ll be the one with
the cool news soon enough. Today you’ll get a
chance to practice reacting to the cool news of
others. In a way, you’re modeling the reaction
you’d like to get when it’s your turn to be the
messenger.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Setting yourself up
for success will be a matter of casting the right
people in the right roles of your life. You need
someone to impress, someone to learn from and
someone to cheer you on.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’ll talk on a number of
broad topics and make people laugh, too. But your
secret to relating to people is not in expressing
yourself exceptionally well; rather, it is in observ-
ing exceptionally well.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). If it’s true that the
external circumstances somehow exist to balance
and harmonize what’s going on inside you, you
should be able to change your interior world
through a rearrangement of your environment.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It is your desire to be
a delight to others. You won’t have to do too much
to achieve this effect — maybe slightly more than
your usual self-care and making an effort to put
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
yourself in their presence. That’s it!
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). “How my achieve-
ments mock me!” said one character in a Shake-
speare play. It’s also the sentiment of everyone
who’s ever done something remarkable and been
daunted by the prospect of repeating it.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Because you
know yourself well, you will see the world with
greater accuracy. You can take your strengths and
failings out of the equation and try for an unbiased
view, to whatever extent that is possible.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Plant your affec-
tion and something will grow. Maybe it won’t be
what you expected. Every location is different, and
some ground is more fertile than other ground.
But something will come of it.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). To think deeply
into seemingly shallow things is the tenden-
cy shared by poets and storytellers, mystics,
inventors, designers and pied pipers of all sorts.
Caution: Some frivolous wastes of time really are
just that. Be discerning.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You can’t learn what
you already know. This is why you might have
to kick around some of the beliefs and stories
inside your head to see how sound they really
are. Believing in untrue things can prevent future
learning.
TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Jan. 24). You’ll
accomplish much by thinking positively and
strategically and then acting on what you plan.
You really do need a mentor, though, to keep you
on track. Seek qualified candidates now and by
March you’ll be on a plan you can stick to. You’ll
be celebrating major success milestones in April
and August. Cancer and Leo adore you. Your
lucky numbers are: 3, 33, 31, 20 and 14.