Page 6B East Oregonian PEANUTS COFFEE BREAK Friday, September 21, 2018 DEAR ABBY BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ Accident ends couple’s plan to have children together FOR BETTER OR WORSE BY LYNN JOHNSTON B.C. BY JOHNNY HART PICKLES BY BRIAN CRANE Dear Abby: I am 15 years older Dear Abby: I am NOT one of those fit, active, socially involved and sexy than my boyfriend, “Spencer,” and senior citizens. I had a hard childhood, have two kids from a previous mar- riage. Spencer and I have been living was a busy wife and mother and, for together for the past 10 years. decades, worked at jobs I hated. I I planned to have his child, but was spent years longing for the day when I could retire and read, read, read with- involved in an accident and now can out feeling guilty about taking time no longer have kids. He blames me Jeanne nearly every day for having “experi- Phillips for myself. enced life” while he hasn’t. He wants Now that I’m retired, my baby Advice kids, and mine are mine — not his. He boomer cohort seems to feel we calls me ugly names now and is physi- seniors should all be wonder women cally and emotionally abusive. and men. Worse, my millennial children seem I love Spencer very much, and I feel deeply to agree. Is there a succinct and polite way to hurt. It wasn’t my choice to be infertile, but he tell them all to go take a flying leap? I’m per- truly hates me for it. I get choked and pushed fectly OK with being fat, happy and a source of and have bruises the next day. Do I just give up entertainment for my grandchildren, who are and leave him after so many years of harmony? — fortunately — too small to be judgmental. This has only gotten extremely bad over the — Old-Fashioned In Ohio Dear Old-Fashioned: Those who appear past year. My gut says he’s involved with a girl at work who is giving him bad advice. She’s 12 to be nagging you are well-intentioned and years younger than he is. I have caught them concerned about you. So be polite and smile texting and talking together in our car at his when you respond that you know they mean job. Please help me with some advice. — Lost well, but you have worked long and hard to finally be able to do exactly what you want to Soul In Oregon Dear Lost Soul: I’ll try. You should have do — which is nothing but read, read, read and drawn the line the first time Spencer became enjoy your grandchildren. That said, a person does not have to be abusive. For the sake of your children — not to mention your own safety — tell him he has Wonder Woman or Superman to devote half to leave. That’s what he’s really trying to do, an hour five days a week to her or his health force you to end what has become a toxic rela- by walking. You could listen to an audiobook tionship so he won’t have to take the respon- while you do it. In addition, you could also do sibility. Because his priority is having chil- something fun with your grandkids that incor- dren “of his own,” he needs to move on and, porates a little bit of movement for all of you. Just sayin’. frankly, so do you. DAYS GONE BY BEETLE BAILEY GARFIELD BLONDIE BY MORT WALKER BY JIM DAVIS BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE 100 Years Ago From the East Oregonian Sept. 21, 1918 Three Round-Up directors are now serv- ing with the American army in France. They are First Lieutenant Fred Steiwer who won his commission at the second training camp at the Presidio and has been with the artillery in France since last winter; Roy W. Ritner, who is a captain in the Red Cross service; and Lieu- tenant James H. Sturgis, who is also in the artil- lery. Lieut. Sturgis enlisted in the Washington artillery and was promoted first to sergeant and then to a lieutenancy. All three of these men were active Round-Up workers while here, Mr. Ritner having served continuously from the inception of the Round-Up until this year. 50 Years Ago From the East Oregonian Sept. 21, 1968 An invitation to witness history next Sat- urday at the dedication the mile-long, $448 million John Day Dam has been extended throughout the Pacific Northwest by Charles Baker and Andrew J. Cook, co-chairmen of the event. Upon a signal, spillway gates will be operated to change the flow over the spill- way; and the navigation lock’s lower gate will be raised to allow a tug and barge combination to pass downstream. The barge will contain 10,000 tons of grain and will represent the larg- est shipment ever transported along the upper river. Waiting below the locks for passage to the upper river will be the Pacific Inland Naviga- tion Co. tug Tyee with a barge containing anhy- drous ammonia. With a maximum rise of 113 feet, the John Day Dam lock is the highest sin- gle lift navigation lock in the world. 25 Years Ago From the East Oregonian Sept. 21, 1993 On Friday, Ed Simpson joked that he had a reason to stick around after he qualified for the wild horse race finals at the Pendle- ton Round-Up. If his team hadn’t won, he could head home to Redmond. Actually, Ed’s wedding was scheduled Saturday morning in Sherwood Park. Ed and Vicki Simpson were married previously for 11 years, then divorced for six years. They renewed their relationship in January, and they chose the Round-Up to repeat their vows. Ed and Vicki first met at a rodeo in Rawlins, Wyo. They knew family and rodeo friends all would be gathered here. The couple’s children, Laurie, 14, and Eddy, 6, also watched the remarriage. 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 On Sept. 21, 1981, the Senate unanimously con- firmed the nomination of San- dra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court. In 1792, the French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy. In 1893, one of America’s first horseless carriages was taken for a short test drive in Springfield, Mass., by Frank Duryea, who had designed the vehicle with his brother, Charles. In 1937, “The Hobbit,” by J.R.R. Tolkien, was first pub- lished by George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London. In 1938, a hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming some 700 lives. In 1977, after weeks of controversy over past busi- ness and banking practices, President Jimmy Carter’s embattled budget director, Bert Lance, resigned. In 1983, in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Interior Secretary James G. Watt jok- ingly described a special advi- sory panel as consisting of “a black ... a woman, two Jews and a cripple.” Although Watt later apologized, he ended up resigning. In 1985, In North Korea and South Korea, fam- ily members who had been separated for decades were allowed to visit each other as both countries opened their borders in an unprecedented family-reunion program. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo crashed into Charleston, South Carolina (the storm was blamed for 56 deaths in the Caribbean and 29 in the United States). Twenty-one students in Alton, Texas, died when their school bus, hit by a soft-drink delivery truck, careened into a water-filled pit. In 1996, John F. Ken- nedy Jr. married Carolyn Bes- sette in a secret ceremony on Cumberland Island, Georgia. The board of all-male Vir- ginia Military Institute voted to admit women. Today’s Birthdays: Author-comedian Fannie Flagg is 77. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is 75. Former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is 74. Musician Don Felder is 71. Author Stephen King is 71. Actor-comedian Bill Mur- ray is 68. Actor-comedian Dave Coulier is 59. Actress Cheryl Hines is 53. Country singer Faith Hill is 51. Coun- try singer Ronna Reeves is 50. Actress-talk show host Ricki Lake is 50. Actor Alfonso Ribeiro is 47. Actor Luke Wilson is 47. Actress Maggie Grace is 35. Thought for Today: “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridi- culed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” — Arthur Schopenhauer, Ger- man philosopher (born 1788, died this date in 1860). PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN BY DANA SIMPSON BIG NATE BY LINCOLN PEIRCE