B6
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Friday, July 5, 2019
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Matriarch uses inheritance to
keep her family in line
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
BEETLE BAILEY
BY MORT WALKER
Dear Abby: For the last 12 years,
this poor woman lives, or the closest
we have been traveling 7½ hours to
Area Agency on Aging and ask what
see my husband’s grandparents. This
can be done to help her. If not you,
happens several times a year. Each
then your husband’s parents, aunts
time I pray it will be the last visit.
and uncles should do this. Ignoring
Invariably, when we return home,
her condition could be considered
elder abuse.
I am sick for about a week, and it’s
Dear Abby: I have never seen this
getting worse. At 96, Grandma isn’t
issue discussed anywhere but can-
cleaning the house (Grandpa died
J eanne
not believe I’m the only person who
four years ago). She lives on her own
P hilliPs
is dismayed by the tradition of bring-
in the country. Grandma has fallen,
ADVICE
ing casseroles to the homes of the
can’t cook for herself and still drives.
bereaved.
The closest family member lives
When my father died, my mother
seven hours away.
and I hosted a post-memorial get-together at
Grandma has always been a manipulator,
her home. Each of my parents’ many friends
and I’m tired of how she treats her family. She
and acquaintances brought a casserole.
uses the “financial inheritance” for leverage.
Mom’s refrigerator was always full, so there
My family has things planned out in advance
was no room after the seventh casserole. My
about what to do when someone has reached
mother told me to take the rest to the base-
a certain age.
ment and say it was put in the freezer. My
I’m tired of subjecting myself to this, let
parents never owned a freezer, so after every-
alone facing Grandma’s wrath. The rest of the
one left, we put 17 casseroles down the gar-
family accepts it for what it is. They don’t want
bage disposal.
to upset her, so they give in and accommodate.
Please make your readers aware that
Do I have the right to back out? — Wants To
post-funeral food is often inconvenient even
Run Away
if the thought is appreciated. A restaurant gift
Dear Wants: Before backing out, may I
card accomplishes the same thing and assures
recommend that you and your husband dis-
cuss this with all of the relatives involved?
the family will end up with something they
actually like. — Enough Is Too Much
It seems to me that a group intervention for
Dear Enough: That the love, effort and
Granny may be in order.
expense your parents’ friends went to ended up
If she has enough money that she’s success-
fully holding it over everyone’s heads, she has
down the drain is a shame. I am printing your
enough to hire someone to clean her house for
letter because your suggestion makes sense
her on a weekly or monthly basis. Rather than
and readers may appreciate it. If this happens
pray for her demise, ask yourself, “If she’s not
to other readers, it would not be ungracious to
cleaning and cooking, how is she taking care
be honest. Explain there is no more room in
of herself?”
the fridge or freezer and suggest the food be
taken with the mourners when they leave.
Contact the senior center nearest to where
DAYS GONE BY
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
BY JIM DAVIS
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
July 5, 1919
Until 9 a.m. today the presentation of “The
Spirit of ‘76” in the Victory parade hung in the
balance because of the non-arrival of the cos-
tumes. Bob Fletcher finally made a personal
tour to the post office and discovered that the
package which had been addressed in care of
the East Oregonian had been, because of illeg-
ible writing, mistaken for a package for the
Eastern Oregon State Hospital. The cocked
hats, coats, etc., were rescued and the day was
saved.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
July 5, 1969
The wheat-growing world may beat a path
to B.E. Hill’s door soon. The Pendleton man
has invented a new type of combine. Hill says
his machine will sell for 40 per cent less than
conventional machines, or a saving to the
farmers of $8,000 a machine. Although he is
67 — “I’m good for another 20 years” — the
inventor did all his own design work and much
of the actual construction of the prototype. Hill
is the owner of Hill’s Furniture Warehouse, a
factory and salesroom on Airport Road. The
machine is far enough along that Hill will test it
in a Pendleton wheat field this summer.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
July 5, 1994
Pendleton firefighters battled blazes all
over town as flying fireworks lit into dry
grass, trees — and a homeowner’s roof —
this Fourth of July. Fireworks ignited the
hillside near the Seventh-day Adventist
Church along the 1400 block of Southwest
Goodwin Place at around 9:20 p.m. Like
the night’s four other fires, it was apparently
started by illegal fireworks, which in Oregon
include those that fly and explode. Firefight-
ers rushed up the hill with three fire trucks
and were able to douse the fire within 10 min-
utes. But not before another blaze had begun
on the other side of town. A tree burst into
flames at Round-Up Park at around 9:30 p.m.
when fireworks struck an evergreen, catch-
ing its branches on fire.
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 July 5, 1954, Elvis
Presley’s first commercial
recording session took place
at Sun Records in Mem-
phis, Tennessee; the song
he recorded was “That’s All
Right.”
In 1811, Venezuela
became the first South
American country to declare
independence from Spain.
In 1865, the Secret Ser-
vice Division of the U.S.
Treasury Department was
founded in Washington,
D.C., with the mission of
suppressing
counterfeit
currency.
In 1935, President Frank-
lin D. Roosevelt signed the
National Labor Relations
Act.
In 1947, Larry Doby
made his debut with the
Cleveland Indians, becom-
ing the first black player in
the American League three
months after Jackie Robin-
son broke the color barrier
in the National League. In
the game against the Chi-
cago White Sox at Comis-
key Park, Doby, pinch-hit-
ting for Bryan Stephens,
struck out in his first at-bat
during the seventh inning;
Chicago won 6-5.
In 1971, President Rich-
ard Nixon certified the 26th
Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, which lowered
the minimum voting age
from 21 to 18.
In 1975, Arthur Ashe
became the first black man
to win a Wimbledon singles
title as he defeated Jimmy
Connors, 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
In 1989, “The Seinfeld
Chronicles,” the pilot to the
situation comedy “Sein-
feld,” aired on NBC-TV.
In 2011, a jury in
Orlando, Florida, found
Casey Anthony, 25, not
guilty of murder, man-
slaughter and child abuse
in the 2008 disappearance
and death of her 2-year-old
daughter, Caylee.
In 2013, Pope Fran-
cis cleared two of the 20th
century’s most influential
popes to become saints in
the Roman Catholic church,
approving a miracle needed
to canonize Pope John Paul
II and waiving Vatican rules
to honor Pope John XXIII.
Today’s
Birthdays:
Actress Shirley Knight is
83. Rock star Huey Lewis
is 69. Actress Edie Falco
is 56. Rapper RZA is 50.
Rock singer Jason Wade
(Lifehouse) is 39. Actor
Ryan Hansen is 38. Coun-
try musician Dave Hay-
wood (Lady Antebellum)
is 37. Rock musician Nick
O’Malley (Arctic Monkeys)
is 34. Actor Jason Dolley is
28. California Angels player
Shohei Ohtani is 25.
Thought for Today:
“Never let your sense of
morals prevent you from
doing what is right.” —
Isaac Asimov, American
author (1920-1992).
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE