B6
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Thursday, December 27, 2018
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Joining police force changes
view toward brother’s drinking
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
BEETLE BAILEY
BY MORT WALKER
Dear Abby: My brother is my
riage, he is well aware of how it
best friend. He is also an alco-
affects me. I have asked him many
holic. It runs in our family, and he
times to please not use spray in
has been addicted for years. His
the house, particularly when I am
home, to no avail.
drinking has affected me in sev-
He did it again yesterday and
eral (minor) ways over the years,
got angry with me when I asked
but I have always taken a hands-
why. He reads your column, so I
off approach, knowing I can’t force
know he will see your response to
him to get help.
J eanne
my inquiry. What is your advice?
Well, his drinking is starting
P hilliPs
— Fed Up in Florida
ADVICE
to affect my life in a more severe
Dear Fed Up: Stop asking your
way now. I joined the local police
husband not to use bug spray while
force. I am afraid that my broth-
er’s behavior could cost me my job if I’m
you are in the house. Be proactive and throw
seen with him while he acts out, or if I try
it out! You clearly have a severe allergy to
to defend him.
something in it, and for him to persist in
I love my brother fiercely, and I don’t
spraying while you are on the premises
know what to do anymore. I feel like I need
strikes me as not only selfish but also as a
form of assault that’s potentially very seri-
to avoid him, but I love him. Please help. —
ous. Call an exterminator to have it profes-
Challenged in the East
sionally done. There are other, less toxic
Dear Challenged: Establish some
ways to get rid of pests, and you should go
ground rules by explaining to your brother
online and explore them.
that although you love him, you cannot be
Dear Abby: I asked a woman I know
seen with him if he has been drinking, for
professionally if she’d be interested in hav-
fear it will jeopardize your job. It’s a valid
ing lunch. She said she would, and we had a
concern. Make clear that if he breaks the
lovely lunch — until the bill came. When I
law, you will be unable to intercede for him.
suggested we split it, she suggested I make
You are not responsible for his addic-
tion or for what he does when he’s under
it a business expense. I told her I couldn’t
do that because it wasn’t a business lunch.
the influence. I’m not saying this will be
I know if you invite someone to lunch,
emotionally easy for you, but you must let
you pay, but I didn’t think that’s what I did.
your brother suffer the consequences for his
I have done this before — and since — and
behavior if he acts out.
everyone pays for themselves. Do I owe
Dear Abby: I have severe asthma and
this woman an apology? — Everyone Pays
allergies, and I’m particularly sensitive to
in Texas
bug sprays. If I’m exposed to them, my lips
Dear Everyone: Not unless she became
and tongue tingle for hours.
defensive. However, because you did the
Every time my husband of 30 years sees
inviting, you should have paid the bill.
a bug or even a small ant in our house, he
If you want to lunch with her again, you
reaches for the bug spray and saturates the
should specify, “Let’s split it.”
house with it. Given the length of our mar-
DAYS GONE BY
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
BY JIM DAVIS
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Dec. 27, 1918
No, Pendleton is not being converted into
a sheep camp. Notwithstanding you may
catch the loud smell of “sheep dip” as you
pass along the streets, and should you pass
a sheep man he is sure to be standing with
a contented smile on his lips and his nose
tilted in the air sniffing like a pointer that
has located a China pheasant. All this smell
is being caused by a measure taken in the
effort to get the best of the influenza which
is threatening to put the entire town on the
shelf. Mayor Vaughan has ordered out the
street sweepers and the large tank on the
machine charged with a strong solution of
sheep dip which is sprinkled on the streets
as they are cleaned. This is the plan under-
stood to have been used at the town of Braw-
ley, Imperial Valley and was successful in
stamping out the influenza epidemic in five
days.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Dec. 27, 1968
A 16-year-old girl is probably black-
balled on several counts from a club mem-
bership she said she wanted. The girl,
arrested Sunday shoplifting a fifth of Oregon
grape wine from a Milton-Freewater market,
told police stealing something from a store
and getting by with it was a requirement for
joining a club. She was released in custody
of a brother until a juvenile court hearing.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Dec. 27, 1993
Bill Norris Jr. of Yuma, Ariz., pro-
vided a special Christmas surprise for his
mother, Imagene Norris of Pendleton —
an unexpected visit from him and his fam-
ily. When Imagene left Wednesday evening
to work swing shift, she was all packed to
visit in-laws in Northern California. She and
her husband, Bill Sr., had planned to drive
off early the next morning. But Bill Sr. was
aware of the true holiday plans. Their daugh-
ter, Linnett Preston of Pendleton, said he
did a good job of weaving lies to keep the
secret. Imagene arrive home from work at
12:30 a.m. Thursday. Linnett said the house
was full of her offspring, including Bill Jr.,
his wife, Jerre, and 1-year-old son, Tyler. Bill
Jr. had been in the Marine Corps since 1980.
He was released from the military Dec. 15.
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 361st day of
2018. There are four days
left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in
History:
On Dec. 27, 1979, Soviet
forces seized control of
Afghanistan. President Hafi-
zullah Amin, who was over-
thrown and executed, was
replaced by Babrak Karmal.
On this date:
In
1831,
naturalist
Charles Darwin set out on
a round-the-world voyage
aboard the HMS Beagle.
In 1904, James Bar-
rie’s play “Peter Pan: The
Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow
Up” opened at the Duke of
York’s Theater in London.
In 1945, the World Bank
and the International Mon-
etary Fund were formally
established.
In 1968, Apollo 8 and its
three astronauts made a safe,
nighttime splashdown in the
Pacific.
In 1970, the musical
play “Hello, Dolly!” closed
on Broadway after a run of
2,844 performances.
In 1981, composer and
bandleader Hoagy Carmi-
chael (“Stardust”) died in
Rancho Mirage, Calif., at
age 82.
In 2001, Defense Sec-
retary Donald H. Rumsfeld
announced that Taliban and
al-Qaida prisoners would be
held at the U.S. naval base at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Today’s
Birthdays:
Rock musician Mick Jones
(Foreigner) is 74. Actor
Gerard Depardieu is 70.
Jazz singer-musician T.S.
Monk is 69. Singer-song-
writer Karla Bonoff is 67.
Rock musician David Knop-
fler (Dire Straits) is 66.
Actress Maryam D’Abo is
58. Country musician Jeff
Bryant is 56. Actress The-
resa Randle is 54. Actress
Eva LaRue is 52. Wrestler
and actor Bill Goldberg is
52. Musician Matt Slocum
is 46. Actor Wilson Cruz is
45. Singer Olu is 45. Actor
Masi Oka is 44. Actor Aaron
Stanford is 42. Actress Emi-
lie de Ravin is 37. Actor Jay
Ellis is 37. Country singer
Shay Mooney (Dan & Shay)
is 27. Actor Timothee Chal-
amet is 23.
Thought for Today: “A
dollar saved is a quarter
earned.” — Oscar Levant,
American composer, musi-
cian, actor (born this date in
1906, died in 1972).
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE