Tuesday, January 24, 2017
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
East Oregonian
Page 7A
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Mother-in-law’s pop-ins
make angry wife pop off
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
Dear Abby: My mother-in-law
in his room playing Xbox with his
has begun doing the “pop-in.” My
buddies. He is loud and obviously has
husband passive-aggressively hinted
fun, by the sound of it. However, when
that he wished he had known she
he comes out for meals, he doesn’t
was coming over. Her response was,
communicate or answer questions
“I’m your mother; I don’t need to let
like, “How was school?” or “What do
you know when I’m coming over.” I
you think of that?”
regard this as total disrespect.
My fiancée and I don’t live together.
She has done this plenty of times
We see each other three times a year
Jeanne
— including popping in when I was Phillips for two to three weeks at a time. My
having a dinner with my parents and
fiancée says Jason acts the same way
Advice
children, which made her mad because
whether I’m here or not. He isn’t close
she and my father-in-law hadn’t been
with his dad, either.
invited.
Is this a phase that he will grow out of,
She did the pop-in again last week. My or does he need professional help? We get
husband, four children and I were about to sit along, but there is never much conversation.
down to a family dinner when she rang the I ask questions to encourage interaction, but
doorbell. I didn’t have enough food for her and it hasn’t been successful. — Frustrated In
my father-in-law, which made us all uncom- Montana
fortable. She made a sarcastic comment, “Gee,
Dear Frustrated: Whether Jason’s going
I guess I shouldn’t have come over,” then she through a phase or not depends on whether he
sat in the living room staring at us as we ate.
has always had poor verbal skills and ignored
I have begged my husband to say some- questions he was asked. He might be reluctant
thing, but he says it would be disrespectful. to answer because he’s having problems
I said it is disrespectful that she comes over socially or academically in school, or because
without checking with us first. What’s your the opinions you’re asking for concern things
take on this? — No Pop-Ins, Please
he has never given much thought to.
Dear No Pop-Ins: You have my sympathy.
Boys that age are sometimes less verbal
Your mother-in-law is a handful. Your than when they are older, and their dependence
husband may be so cowed by his mother that on social media has contributed to it. Teens
he’s afraid to assert himself. You are under who spend most of their time in the virtual
no obligation to entertain anyone who pops world tend to have lower verbal abilities than
in, including her. The next time she shows those who spend less.
up unannounced, remind her to call first and
If you and your fiancée are truly concerned,
suggest that she come back some other time.
she should talk about this with a counselor at
Dear Abby: My fiancée has a 15-year-old Jason’s school and ask if counseling or inter-
son, “Jason,” who spends countless hours vention of any kind is needed.
DAYS GONE BY
BEETLE BAILEY
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
DILBERT
THE WIZARD OF ID
LUANN
ZITS
BY MORT WALKER
BY JIM DAVIS
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 23-24, 1917
The month of February has been designated
by the National Woolgrowers’ Association
as poison month. During that month every
sheepman in the country will be asked to put
out 500 strychnine baits on his land or range.
By this concerted method it is believed that an
enormous number of coyotes can be killed and
hundreds of dollars worth of sheep be saved.
Promises have been received from enough
stockmen to make sure that the practice will
be general. Strychnine capsules of three grains
can be secured at any drug store at an approxi-
mate cost of $15 per thousand.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 23-24, 1967
If you are a western novel fan, the name
Allen Elston should ring a loud bell. He has
31 books to his credit, 14 of which are on
the shelves of Umatilla County Library. This
prolific writer is a visitor in Pendleton this
week, doing research for a new book, the locale
of which will be Umatilla County. He has been
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
BY SCOTT ADAMS
BY BRANT PARKER AND JOHNNY HART
BY GREG EVANS
BY JERRY SCOTT AND JIM BORGMAN
spending his time at the library, going through
dusty files and viewing microfilm copies of the
East Oregonian. He is also taking notes from
old files at the newspaper office. “It takes me
about two weeks to compile enough notes to
form a complete mental picture of a commu-
nity,” said Elston in an interview. Names of
prominent early-day figures are jotted down to
use as background characters in the story.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 23-24, 1992
Gary Edwards feels connected to the crafts-
manship of yesteryear as he completes a cedar
footbridge in traditional Japanese style. Dr.
Steven Neal hired Edwards, a self-employed
carpenter in Pendleton, to make the bridge
for a new Japanese garden in his North Hill
yard. Neal didn’t provide a blueprint. The
design is based on a 1988 photograph of
Neal’s wife standing on a bridge in Kukuoka,
Japan. Edwards examined the photo closely,
sometimes with magnifying glass, before his
work began. “Most of it was in my mind. I
have very few sketches, and they’re just pencil
sketches,” he says.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Today is the 24th day of
2017. There are 341 days left
in the year.
Today’s Highlight in
History:
On Jan. 24, 1942, the
Roberts Commission placed
much of the blame for Amer-
ica’s lack of preparedness for
Imperial Japan’s attack on
Pearl Harbor on Rear Adm.
Husband E. Kimmel and Lt.
Gen. Walter C. Short, the
Navy and Army commanders.
On this date:
In 1742, Charles VII was
elected Holy Roman Emperor
during the War of the Austrian
Succession.
In 1848, James W. Marshall
discovered a gold nugget
at Sutter’s Mill in northern
California, a discovery that led
to the gold rush of ‘49.
In 1908, the Boy Scouts
movement began in England
under the aegis of Robert
Baden-Powell.
In 1924, the Russian city
of Petrograd (formerly St.
Petersburg) was renamed
Leningrad in honor of the
late revolutionary leader.
(However, it has since been
renamed St. Petersburg.)
In 1939, at least 28,000
people were killed by an
earthquake that devastated the
city of Chillan in Chile.
In 1945, Associated Press
war correspondent Joseph
Morton was among a group
of captives executed by the
Germans at the Mauthau-
sen-Gusen
concentration
camp in Austria.
In 1961, a U.S. Air Force
B-52 crashed near Goldsboro,
North Carolina, dropping
its payload of two nuclear
bombs, neither of which went
off; three crew members were
killed.
In 1963, a U.S. Air Force
B-52 on a training mission
crashed into Elephant Moun-
tain in Maine; seven of the
nine crew members were
killed.
In 1965, British statesman
Winston Churchill died in
London at age 90.
In 1975, the extremist
group
FALN
bombed
Fraunces Tavern in New York
City, killing four people.
In 1989, confessed serial
killer Theodore Bundy was
executed in Florida’s electric
chair.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
Jerry Maren (Film: “The
Wizard of Oz”) is 98. Cajun
musician Doug Kershaw is
81. Singer-songwriter Ray
Stevens is 78. Singer-song-
writer Neil Diamond is 76.
Singer Aaron Neville is 76.
Actor Michael Ontkean is
71. Actor Daniel Auteuil is
67. Country singer-song-
writer Becky Hobbs is 67.
Comedian Yakov Smirnoff
is 66. Actor William Allen
Young is 63. Bandleader-mu-
sician Jools Holland is 59.
Actress Nastassja Kinski
is 58. Rhythm-and-blues
singer Theo Peoples is 56.
Country musician Keech
Rainwater (Lonestar) is 54.
Obama White House budget
director Shaun Donovan
is 51. Olympic gold medal
gymnast Mary Lou Retton
is 49. Actor Ed Helms is 43.
Actress Carrie Coon (Film:
“Gone Girl”) is 36. Actress
Mischa Barton is 31.
Thought for Today: “All
men wish to have truth on
their side; but few to be on
the side of truth.” — Richard
Whately, British theologian
(1787-1863).
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE