Page 6B
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Friday, January 12, 2018
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Single mom puts real effort
into socializing with couples
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
BEETLE BAILEY
BY MORT WALKER
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
BY JIM DAVIS
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
Dear Abby: I have an answer for
Dear Abby: I have been married
a question from “Excluded in the
for 10 years. A lot of couples exclude
East” you printed on Sept. 24: “Why
singles because they don’t want them
do married couples exclude single
to feel like third wheels. I remember
people?”
when I was single feeling that way in
As a single mother with three
some groups, and it was depressing.
children for 15 years, I made the
Marrieds also have a different
conscious decision to conduct myself
mindset than singles, which can lead
as I always had when I was part of
to awkwardness. It can work, but it
Jeanne
a couple. I hosted backyard parties Phillips has to be the right group. — Married
and holiday dinners and invited my
In The Midwest
Advice
married friends. I initiated invitations
Dear Abby: We’re a gay male
for dinner and a movie.
married couple. We have many
At restaurants, I made sure to pick up my friends — singles and couples, gay and
own tab. If a couple insisted on paying for straight — with whom we socialize, usually
my meal, I insisted on paying the tip and was at restaurants. We often dine with single
prepared with cash. Why? Because I was friends one at a time, because splitting the
mindful that some men felt uncomfortable tab is simply a matter of two credit cards. If
about taking money from a single woman.
we’re with another couple, that’s two credit
If I wanted company for the evening, I cards. Three couples, it’s three cards, etc.
drove to their house. Sometimes I volun- But with five or seven people at the table,
teered to be the designated safe driver. Most paying for the meal turns into an exercise in
important, I never complained about my ex high finance. — Keeping It Simple In Palm
or vented about the difficulties of coping as a Springs
single mom.
Dear Abby: I’m in my early 60s and still
Needless to say, there was no flirting single. I actually PREFER to be left out of
or inappropriate comments. I also avoided invitations to eat in restaurants, go on trips,
lengthy side conversations with one spouse. In etc. with my many coupled friends. It makes
short, I worked hard to make sure my married me somewhat depressed to be with those
friends enjoyed my company as much as I who have found their mates. “Excluded’s”
enjoyed theirs, and it worked! — Laura In friends may be sensitive about this, too.
New York
I’m very comfortable at home with my
Dear Laura: I’m glad it worked for you. menagerie, and I often invite people over —
After I asked for readers’ input on the topic, I married couples included. — Dog Lady In
received many interesting responses. Read on Birmingham, Ala.
for a sample:
Dear Abby: Couples who tend to exclude
Dear Abby: I suspect that married couples their single friends, for whatever reason,
are afraid divorce is contagious. It could have need to remember that one day they, too,
something to do with the fact that some married may be single and overlooked. My dear
people are no longer happily married and they mom was left out a lot after her divorce, and
fear if they include a divorcée, it might trigger I remember how sad it made her feel. —
a divorce. — Happily Uncoupled In Ohio
Andrea In Denver
DAYS GONE BY
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 12, 1918
Recruiting Officer Peter Swartz has
received instructions that naval recruits may
be enlisted from now on for the duration of
the war. Previous to this time it was neces-
sary to enlist for four years in the service.
The quota for the western division is 150 a
week and the Portland division is 25 a week.
The Pendleton station quota is placed at one
a week. Officer Swartz has exceeded this
considerably. With the enlistment of Clarence
Sommers yesterday Sergeant Swartz already
has his quota for the present week, which
ends Thursday. Preference in the service
will be given radio electricians and aviation
mechanics according to word received
yesterday fro the navy department.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 12, 1968
The Boeing Co. said Friday it has prepared
and circulated a brochure offering nearly all
of the 100,000-acre Boardman tract in north
central Oregon for industrial use. Only two
small areas where Boeing has test facilities
and an administrative complex won’t be fully
available for sublease. Boeing holds a 77-year
lease on the Boardman site, negotiated with
the State of Oregon in 1963 for $60,000 a
year. The company built two test stands and
support facilities near the center of the tract for
static firing tests of liquid-propellant rocket
engines. It is using the site now to study jet
engine noise suppression for the supersonic
transport program.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 12, 1993
Being born with a variety of dwarfism and
afflicted by mental disabilities could have
meant confinement in a special education
classroom. Instead, 17-year-old Marty Platt
walks the hallways of Pendleton High School
with his taller classmates and takes biology
and English in a specially tailored curriculum
for slower students. A separate set of door
handles were added for Platt, ramps were built
to ease his progress between buildings —
although he prefers the stairs — and drinking
fountains were lowered. But those are just
the physical aspects of a federal requirement
calling for equal educational opportunity.
Schools and other public facilities had already
started down that path long before the land-
mark Americans with Disabilities Act passed
earlier last year. More far-reaching, and occa-
sionally controversial, is a move to integrate
disabled students in regular classrooms.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
DILBERT
THE WIZARD OF ID
LUANN
ZITS
BY SCOTT ADAMS
BY BRANT PARKER AND JOHNNY HART
BY GREG EVANS
BY JERRY SCOTT AND JIM BORGMAN
Today is the 12th day of
2018. There are 353 days left
in the year.
Today’s Highlight in
History:
On Jan. 12, 1948, the
U.S. Supreme Court, in
Sipuel v. Board of Regents
of University of Oklahoma,
unanimously ruled that
state law schools could not
discriminate against appli-
cants on the basis of race.
On this date:
In 1773, the first public
museum in America was
organized in Charleston,
South Carolina.
In 1828, the United States
and Mexico signed a Treaty of
Limits defining the boundary
between the two countries
to be the same as the one
established by an 1819 treaty
between the U.S. and Spain.
In 1915, the U.S. House
of Representatives rejected,
204-174, a proposed consti-
tutional amendment to give
women nationwide the right
to vote. The silent film drama
“A Fool There Was,” which
propelled Theda Bara to
stardom with her portrayal of
a predatory vamp, premiered
in New York.
In 1932, Hattie W.
Caraway became the first
woman elected to the U.S.
Senate after initially being
appointed to serve out the
remainder of the term of her
late husband, Thaddeus.
In 1945, during World
War II, Soviet forces began
a major, successful offensive
against the Germans in Eastern
Europe. Aircraft from U.S.
Task Force 38 sank about 40
Japanese ships off Indochina.
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr.
founded Motown Records
(originally Tamla Records) in
Detroit.
Today’s
Birthdays:
Actress
Katherine
MacGregor (TV: “Little
House on the Prairie”) is
93. The Amazing Kreskin
is 83. Country singer
William Lee Golden (The
Oak Ridge Boys) is 79.
Actress Kirstie Alley is 67.
Political commentator Rush
Limbaugh is 67. Radio-TV
personality Howard Stern
is 64. Basketball Hall of
Famer Dominique Wilkins
is 58. Rock singer Rob
Zombie is 53. Rock singer
Zack de la Rocha is 48.
Rapper Raekwon (Wu Tang
Clan) is 48. Singer Melanie
Chisholm (Spice Girls) is 44.
Thought for Today:
“Love is the strongest
force the world possesses,
and yet it is the humblest
imaginable.” — Mohandas
K. Gandhi, Indian spiritual
leader (1869-1948).
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE