B6
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Friday, January 25, 2019
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Shy guy overcoming addiction
flounders in the dating pool
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
BEETLE BAILEY
BY MORT WALKER
Dear Abby: I’m a 28-year-old
enjoy that are more social. It may
male who has never had a girl-
help you to develop your “people
skills” so you will feel less anx-
friend or a meaningful relationship.
ious in other social situations. But
I’m well-educated, nice-looking
do not allow yourself to use the fact
and have a good sense of humor.
that you are lonely to destroy your
But I get shy and nervous around
sobriety because it would be a poor
the opposite sex. Compounding
excuse.
that, I seem to have a serious “rest-
J eanne
ing face.” People assume I’m frus-
Dear Abby: I hate eating with
P hilliPs
my spouse because his table man-
trated or angry/grumpy when it’s
ADVICE
ners are awful. He sits with both
just my normal expression. I’m
elbows on the table, leans close
worried it makes me unapproach-
able or appear to be unpleasant.
to the dinner plate and uses his
I have overcome addiction, attend daily
fingers to push his food onto his fork. He
support meetings and have almost a year of
mashes everything on his plate together
sobriety. I avoid bar/club scenes where a lot
before he starts eating, smashes crackers in
of people my age socialize. I’m beginning
his soup, scrapes his spoon on the bottom
to feel very alone and empty. I asked out a
of the bowl and slurps his liquids. He also
licks his fingers.
temp at my job, but she had a boyfriend and
He thinks he can modify these behav-
offered to set me up with a friend of hers. I
iors when he’s with others, but he lapses
declined because I was embarrassed.
into them even when he’s with friends in
My friends tell me it’s a game of num-
bers, but it hurts being rejected all the time.
a restaurant. Please help me. How can I get
I see beautiful, nice women with men who
him to change? Must I tolerate it? I have
treat them badly, and I obsess over what’s
tried constructive suggestions and gentle
wrong with me. My experience with women
prodding with no success. Please respond
is limited. I’m not looking for a commit-
in your column because he reads it daily
— while he eats. — Distraught Spouse in
ment, just some friends to share good times
Columbus, Ohio
and laughter with. I’d love to have someone
Dear Distraught Spouse: Your hus-
to spend time with before loneliness awak-
band must have many wonderful qualities
ens previous bad habits. — About to Give
if you married him knowing this is the way
Up in Connecticut
he consumes his food. Among them is an
Dear About to Give Up: I doubt your
awareness that he should modify his eat-
“resting face” is what keeps women away.
ing habits when he’s with friends. Let him
It’s more likely the fact that you are afraid
know that you are his best friend and you
to interact with them.
would like him to practice his “party man-
Start by talking to some of the women
ners” when he eats with you. If he’s reluc-
in your support meetings. They already
tant, point out that he “lapses” when he’s
know something about you and the strides
socializing with others, and it isn’t pretty. It
you have made in overcoming your addic-
may motivate him to try harder.
tion. And involve yourself in activities you
DAYS GONE BY
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
BY JIM DAVIS
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 25, 1919
Because the common house cat, so popu-
lar as a pet but the enemy of birds, has grown
valuable because skins now sell for from 50
cents to $1, E.F. Averill, of the United States
Biological Survey office here is offering to
give instruction on how to “skin the cat”
and how to prepare the hides for market. He
is emphatic in stating that he will not buy
the skins himself, but will tell the local trap-
pers names of dealers who will. The skins of
20,000 house cats sold in St. Louis recently
for $9,500.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 25, 1969
Russel Wright, former Heppner resident,
was injured in a holdup attempt on a street
in downtown Seattle Tuesday night, accord-
ing to word received here by his brother,
Harley Wright. Russel Wright, who lives
in Kodiak, Alaska, was in Seattle on busi-
ness, and was jumped by two men and a
woman. He was knifed in the thigh, but a
policeman arrived before the holdup thugs
had obtained any money. He was not seri-
ously hurt, was treated at a hospital, and had
returned to Kodiak when his brother talked
to him by phone Thursday.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Jan. 25, 1994
David C. Cox, the California truck driver
arrested after a TV news magazine re-en-
acted a 1981 murder, was arraigned in
Umatilla County Circuit Court here Mon-
day. Cox is charged with aggravated mur-
der, which carries a potential death penalty,
and third-degree rape. Prosecutors say Cox
struck and strangled Naomi Marie McMa-
hill, a 14-year-old Nevada runaway, to con-
ceal the rape almost 13 years ago. Her body
was thrown into a culvert along Highway 74
southeast of Pilot Rock. McMahill’s body
was found in February of 1981, but she
remained unidentified until 1986.
TODAY 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 Jan. 25, 1971, Charles
Manson and three women fol-
lowers were convicted in Los
Angeles of murder and con-
spiracy in the 1969 slayings
of seven people, including
actress Sharon Tate.
In 1533, England’s King
Henry VIII secretly mar-
ried his second wife, Anne
Boleyn, who later gave birth
to Elizabeth I.
In 1890, reporter Nellie
Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) of
the New York World com-
pleted a round-the-world
journey in 72 days, 6 hours
and 11 minutes. The United
Mine Workers of America
was founded in Columbus,
Ohio.
In 1915, America’s first
official transcontinental tele-
phone call took place as Alex-
ander Graham Bell, who was
in New York, spoke to his for-
mer assistant, Thomas Wat-
son, who was in San Fran-
cisco, over a line set up by
American Telephone &
Telegraph.
In 1924, the first Winter
Olympic Games opened in
Chamonix, France.
In 1945, the World War II
Battle of the Bulge ended as
German forces were pushed
back to their original posi-
tions. Grand Rapids, Mich-
igan, became the first com-
munity to add fluoride to its
public water supply.
In 1961, President John F.
Kennedy held the first presi-
dential news conference to
be carried live on radio and
television.
In 1981, the 52 Americans
held hostage by Iran for 444
days arrived in the United
States.
In 1990, an Avianca Boe-
ing 707 ran out of fuel and
crashed in Cove Neck, Long
Island, New York; 73 of
the 158 people aboard were
killed. Actress Ava Gardner
died in London at age 67.
Today’s Birthdays: Coun-
try singer Claude Gray is 87.
Actress Leigh Taylor-Young
is 74. Actress Jenifer Lewis
is 62. Country musician Mike
Burch (River Road) is 53.
Rhythm-and-blues
singer
Kina is 50. Actress China
Kantner is 48. Actress Ana
Ortiz is 48. Drummer Joe
Sirois (Mighty Mighty Boss-
tones) is 47. Musician Matt
Odmar (Jars of Clay) is 45.
Actress Mia Kirshner is 44.
Actress Christine Lakin is
40. Rhythm-and-blues singer
Alicia Keys is 39. Actor
Michael Trevino is 34. Pop
musician Calum Hood (5
Seconds to Summer) is 23.
Actress Olivia Edward is 12.
Thought for Today: “The
telephone, which interrupts
the most serious conversa-
tions and cuts short the most
weighty observations, has a
romance of its own.” — Vir-
ginia Woolf, English author
(1882-1941).
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE