Wednesday, July 3, 2019
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
East Oregonian
A7
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Lines are drawn in family feud
over recovering addict
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
BEETLE BAILEY
BY MORT WALKER
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
DILBERT
THE WIZARD OF ID
LUANN
ZITS
BY JIM DAVIS
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
BY SCOTT ADAMS
BY BRANT PARKER AND JOHNNY HART
BY GREG EVANS
BY JERRY SCOTT AND JIM BORGMAN
Dear Abby: My stepbrother
because it appears to be manipula-
tive and a means of punishing you
“Pete” is a recovering addict who
for sticking to your guns.
did significant prison time for pos-
session and gang affiliations. He
Given the fact that Pete has
has also had multiple DUI convic-
tried to convince your husband to
tions. He’s been out for two years
share his scheduled medications
and is holding a job and taking
and has bragged about “acting
care of his kids part time.
good” when with family, you are
doing the right thing.
My parents think he’s com-
J eanne
pletely rehabilitated, but I think
Dear Abby: My sister — age
P hilliPs
he’s using again, based on his
57 — has terrible table manners.
ADVICE
behavior. He has tried to get my
We live three hours apart but get
husband to give him some of a pre-
together every two or three months
scription medication he takes, and
to enjoy each other’s company.
Recently, we went to a nice restaurant,
jokes about “acting good” when with fam-
ily but not at home.
and she let out a loud, obnoxious, disgust-
ing burp. I was surprised and embarrassed.
I decided I no longer want to be around
She quickly apologized. I said, “Can’t
Pete, particularly with my children, and
you lower the volume and cover your
I asked my parents not to have him over
mouth?” She became defensive and said, “I
while we are visiting. They said they
apologized!”
understood, but the last time we went for a
Her burping happens often, but this one
weekend, Pete was there with his son, and
was beyond the pale. I don’t like it, never
it was really uncomfortable. Now they say
have. How do I communicate to her effec-
they just want us to all get along and that
tively to burp quietly and in a controlled
I’m “snobby” for wanting to exclude Pete.
manner? — Disgusted in New Jersey
I have reached a point where I’m no lon-
ger willing to visit them because I can’t
Dear Disgusted: I think you have
trust them. They won’t come to my house,
already done that. Is it possible your sister
but are mad at me for “withholding their
suffers from a gastrointestinal disorder? If
grandkids from them” (their words) and
she hasn’t brought this to the attention of
her doctor, she should.
“breaking up the family.” What are my
If, however, there is nothing physically
obligations in this situation, and is it rea-
sonable to insist we visit without Pete? I
wrong with her, you may be happier having
hate to make them choose, but I also feel
your meals in a different kind of restaurant
like this is a safety issue. — Uncomfort-
— a loud, casual burger joint or a sports
able in Minnesota
bar where no one will notice her problem
while rooting for the home team.
Dear Uncomfortable: As a parent, you
Dear Readers: Have a very happy and
have to do what you think is best for your
healthy Fourth of July, everyone. And
children. I wish you had explained your
please be safe! — Love, Abby
parents’ reason for not visiting your home,
TODAY IN HISTORY
On July 4, 1826, 50 years
to the day after the Decla-
ration of Independence was
adopted, former presidents
John Adams and Thomas
Jefferson both died.
In 1776, the Declara-
tion of Independence was
adopted by delegates to the
Second Continental Con-
gress in Philadelphia.
In 1802, the United States
Military Academy officially
opened at West Point, New
York.
In 1817, ground was bro-
ken for the Erie Canal in
Rome, New York. The mid-
dle section of the waterway
took three years to complete;
the entire canal was finished
in 1825.
In 1831, the fifth pres-
ident of the United States,
James Monroe, died in New
York City at age 73.
In 1872, the 30th pres-
ident of the United States,
Calvin Coolidge, was born
in Plymouth, Vermont.
In 1910, in what was
billed as “The Fight of
the Century,” black world
heavyweight boxing cham-
pion Jack Johnson defeated
white former champ James
J. Jeffries in Reno, Nevada.
In 1939, Lou Gehrig of
the New York Yankees deliv-
ered his famous farewell
speech in which he called
himself “the luckiest man on
the face of the earth.”
In 1982, the space shut-
tle Columbia concluded its
fourth and final test flight
with a smooth landing at
Edwards Air Force Base
in California. Heavy metal
rocker Ozzy Osbourne mar-
ried his manager, Sharon
Arden, in Maui, Hawaii.
In 1987, Klaus Barbie,
the former Gestapo chief
known as the “Butcher of
Lyon,” was convicted by
a French court of crimes
against humanity and sen-
tenced to life in prison (he
died in September 1991).
In 1997, NASA’s Path-
finder spacecraft landed on
Mars, inaugurating a new
era in the search for life on
the red planet. CBS news-
man Charles Kuralt died in
New York at age 62.
In 2013, Egypt’s interim
president, Adly Mansour,
was sworn in following the
ouster of Mohammed Morsi,
the Islamist leader over-
thrown by the military after
just one year in office.
In 2017, the United States
confirmed that North Korea
had launched an intercon-
tinental ballistic missile, as
the North had boasted and
the U.S. and South Korea
had feared. Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson called
it a “new escalation of the
threat” to the U.S.
Ten years ago: Former
Tennessee Titans quarter-
back Steve McNair was
fatally shot in a Nash-
ville condo by his mistress,
Sahel Kazemi, who then
killed herself. North Korea
launched seven ballistic mis-
siles into waters off its east
coast. The Statue of Liber-
ty’s crown was reopened
to tourists for the first time
since September 11, 2001.
Serena Williams beat her
big sister, Venus, 7-6 (3),
6-2 for her third Wimbledon
title and 11th Grand Slam
championship.
Five years ago: Germany
summoned the U.S. ambas-
sador in Berlin after the
arrest of a man reported to
have spied for the United
States, heightening friction
between the two countries
over alleged U.S. eavesdrop-
ping in Germany. Richard
Mellon Scaife, 82, the bil-
lionaire heir to the Mellon
banking and oil fortunes and
a newspaper publisher who
funded libertarian and con-
servative causes and various
projects aimed at discredit-
ing President Bill Clinton,
died in Pittsburgh.
One year ago: British
police said two Britons who
fell critically ill in the town
of Amesbury were exposed
to nerve agent Novichok, the
same material used to poi-
son a former Russian spy in
a nearby area months ear-
lier. A protest against U.S.
immigration policy forced
the evacuation of the Statue
of Liberty on the Fourth of
July, with a group unfurl-
ing a banner from the ped-
estal and a woman holding
police at bay for hours after
she climbed the base.
Today’s
Birthdays:
Actress Eva Marie Saint
is 95. Actress Gina Lollo-
brigida is 92. Singer Bill
Withers is 81. Actress Kar-
olyn Grimes is 79. Rhythm
and blues singer Annette
Beard (Martha and the Van-
dellas) is 76. Broadcast jour-
nalist Geraldo Rivera is 76.
Vietnam War veteran and
peace activist Ron Kovic is
73. Rhythm and blues musi-
cian Ralph Johnson (Earth,
Wind and Fire) is 68. Singer
John Waite is 67. Rock musi-
cian Kirk Pengilly (INXS) is
61. Country musician Teddy
Carr is 59. Rock DJ Zonka
is 57. International Tennis
Hall of Famer Pam Shriver
is 57. Rock musician Matt
Malley is 56. Actor-play-
wright-screenwriter Tracy
Letts is 54. Actor Al Mad-
rigal is 48. Actress Jen-
ica Bergere is 45. Actor-
singer John Lloyd Young
is 44. Singer Stephen “Ste”
McNally (BBMak) is 41.
Actress Becki Newton is
41. Actor Mo McRae is 37.
TV personality Mike “The
Situation” Sorrentino is 37.
Rhythm and blues singer
Melanie Fiona is 36. Malia
Obama is 21.
Thought for Today: “All
progress has resulted from
people who took unpopular
positions.” — Adlai E. Ste-
venson, American diplomat
and politician (1900-1965).
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE