B6 East Oregonian PEANUTS COFFEE BREAK Friday, March 15, 2019 DEAR ABBY BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ Child’s accusations against cousin cause rift in family 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 and sis- my social media. I returned two emails, then ter-in-law recently told me their saw I had a response to one of my 5-year-old son claims my 9-year-old texts which read, “???” So I texted son touched him inappropriately on several occasions. Understanding back my name. Next thing I knew, that any parent believes what their my phone was ringing. It was an child says, I asked my son if he has acquaintance from years ago. I ever touched or done anything inap- answered, even though I could have propriate to anyone. His response let it go into voicemail, because I J eanne P hilliPs was, “Why would I do that?” didn’t want to be rude. However, the ADVICE My husband and I asked our son last thing I wanted to do was have a about it on several different occa- 3 a.m. conversation with this person sions and got the same answer. Not — or any person, for that matter. In my opinion, a phone call is different wanting to pressure him to the point of coer- cion and force him to admit to something he from a text. Calling me at 3 a.m. was inap- propriate, bordering on rude. The other per- did not do, I accepted his denials. son contends I shouldn’t have texted that late My brother and his wife are convinced if I didn’t want to talk. I have put this matter my son did these heinous things to their son. of contemporary communication etiquette What more is there for me to do? My son and out there, and the feedback I’m receiving on I are now being shunned and barred from the subject is divided. What do you think? — being around any of my brother’s kids. — Text Etiquette in the South Shunned in Colorado Dear Text Etiquette: What I think is that Dear Shunned: A young child might you owe the person an apology for having make a statement like the one your nephew disturbed him or her in the wee hours of the did to get attention, get the other child in morning and, while you’re at it, explain that trouble or because he is being touched inap- propriately by someone else. This certainly you didn’t think your text would be seen until after sunup. bears further exploration, and the people who Dear Abby: I get my hair done at the local should do that are your brother and his wife. beauty school. When I pay, there is no room If your son ends up being guilty, then you on the bill to leave a tip. Is it OK not to tip and your husband must investigate where these people because they are in school, or this behavior came from and get him profes- sional help. Until this is resolved, the children should I plan on bringing cash with me next time? — Wondering in California should be kept apart. Dear Wondering: If you like the ser- Dear Abby: The other day, I was check- ing numbers on my contacts list in my vice the student performed, show your grati- phone. It has been years since I purged any, tude (and respect!) by bringing along enough so I sent out a few texts with just the per- money to tip him or her. That’s what I would son’s name. Later, I woke up around 3 a.m. do, as long as there is no school rule that for- bids it. and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I checked DAYS GONE BY GARFIELD BLONDIE BY JIM DAVIS 100 Years Ago From the East Oregonian March 15, 1919 Once again Pendleton’s mysterious speed cop has demonstrated his ability as a sleuth. Three devotees of fast driving, Edward A. Porter, A. Gamey and Guy Struthers, were arrested yesterday afternoon for driving at about 30 miles an hour. Each paid a fine of $10 to Judge FitzGerald. Porter was “among those present” at a similar party last Wednes- day when he was arrested for fast driving. 50 Years Ago From the East Oregonian March 15, 1969 Mrs. Bill Buell of Umapine, whose hus- band is remodeling the house and apparently left some cracks, walked into the kitchen and found it buzzing. After phone calls to police and two beekeepers brought no help, “I turned the insect spray on ‘em and I killed 300 bees,” she said. “Yes, I counted them.” 25 Years Ago From the East Oregonian March 15, 1994 Condon’s tiny radio station — KGAB — is once again broadcasting — finally. The radio station Bill Roberts runs out of a bedroom in his home began broadcasting at 3:40 p.m. Monday over FM cable lines at 106.1. “To say that we are thrilled would be an understatement,” Roberts said this morn- ing. After mistakenly operating for a few weeks without a Federal Communications Commission license, Roberts had expected to have his station up and running again by last Saturday. The station wasn’t oper- ational, though, until Monday afternoon. Roberts is staging a grand opening cele- bration Saturday between noon and 6 p.m. complete with food, drink, music and the opportunity to be on the radio. BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE 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 March 15, 44 B.C., Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of nobles that included Brutus and Cassius. In 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus arrived back in the Spanish harbor of Palos de la Frontera, two months after concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere. In 1820, Maine became the 23rd state. In 1913, President Wood- row Wilson met with about 100 reporters for the first formal presidential press conference. In 1919, members of the American Expeditionary Force from World War I con- vened in Paris for a three-day meeting to found the Ameri- can Legion. In 1937, America’s first hospital blood bank was opened at Cook County Hos- pital in Illinois. In 1944, during World War II, Allied bombers again raided German-held Monte Cassino. In 1956, the Lerner and Loewe musical play “My Fair Lady,” based on Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” opened on Broadway. In 1977, the U.S. House of Representatives began a 90-day closed-circuit test to determine the feasibility of showing its sessions on tele- vision. The situation comedy “Three’s Company,” starring John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers, premiered on ABC-TV. In 1985, the first inter- net domain name, symbolics. com, was registered by the Symbolics Computer Corp. of Massachusetts. In 1998, CBS’ “60 Min- utes” aired an interview with former White House employee Kathleen Willey, who said President Bill Clin- ton had made unwelcome sex- ual advances toward her in the Oval Office in 1993, a charge denied by the president. Dr. Benjamin Spock, whose child care guidance spanned half a century, died in San Diego at 94. In 2005, Former World- Com chief Bernard Ebbers was convicted in New York of engineering the largest cor- porate fraud in U.S. history. (He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.) Today’s Birthdays: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 86. Actor Judd Hirsch is 84. Jazz musi- cian Charles Lloyd is 81. Rock musician Phil Lesh is 79. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 78. Rock singer-mu- sician Sly Stone is 76. Rock singer-musician Howard Scott (War; Lowrider Band) is 73. Rock singer Ry Cooder is 72. Actress Frances Conroy is 66. Actor Craig Wasson is 65. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is 64. Thought for Today: “You can’t copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you’re working with- out any real feeling.” — Bil- lie Holiday, American singer (1915-1959). PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN BY DANA SIMPSON BIG NATE BY LINCOLN PEIRCE