COFFEE BREAK Saturday, September 7, 2019 East Oregonian C5 DEAR ABBY Daughter doesn’t share mom’s devotion to family heirlooms Dear Abby: My mother, who is in to have learned during my previous her late 60s, is obsessed with family visits. history and preserving attachments to The thing is, I really don’t care about relatives. In addition to being the fam- any of it. Some of the antiques are nice, ily genealogist, she collects and photos of my grandparents objects that belonged to rela- are fun to look at, but the rest of tives or people who “might” it, I have no interest in. have been relatives, those who As she’s getting older, my share our last name or lived mother is becoming increas- ingly agitated about what will in the same small town as our happen to her collection when ancestors. Her house is stuffed to the she dies. For a while she was gills with furniture, books, trying to give me some of the J eanne legal documents, photos and things. When she found out I P hilliPs ADVICE the like. Each object has a gave away a vase she had given story that goes with it. Every me, she just about flipped. Now time I visit, she spends liter- she is trying to get me to agree ally hours talking about the various to preserve her whole house the way it is histories of her things and tries to and pass it down to my future children get me to recite what I was supposed intact. Of course, I can’t promise that. Should I pretend to agree with her plan so her anxiety level goes down? This disagreement has now overshad- owed our relationship. I’ve tried to get her to see someone about her collect- ing habit and her anxiety, but she flat-out refused. — Not Interested in Utah Dear Not Interested: You say your mother is the family genealogist, which implies there are more family members than just you. Young people today are far less interested in family heirlooms than in previous generations, and it wouldn’t be surprising if your future children are no different. Suggest to your mother that she discuss with other relatives the option of giving them her collection to share with their children. But do not make any promises that you do not intend to keep. DAYS GONE BY 100 Years Ago From the East Oregonian Sept. 7-8, 1919 Flames which were burning furiously in every part of the Troy Laundry building totally destroyed the plant and equip- ment early Sunday morning, causing a loss estimated by H.E. Bender, manager, of $25,000. The cause of the fire, which was discovered at 5:15 a.m., is unknown to either Mr. Bender or to Fire Chief W.E. Ringold. As soon as adjustments have been made by the insurance men, expected here Tuesday, the plant will be rebuilt, Mr. Bender announced today. Meanwhile cus- tomers will be accommodated as usual, the Troy having been offered the use of the Domestic laundry plant at nights or that of the Eastern Oregon State Hospital. 50 Years Ago From the East Oregonian Sept. 7-8, 1969 Telephone service in the McKay Creek area east of Pilot Rock was cut off Sunday when a cable was shot. Eastern Ore- gon Telephone Co. manager Walt Karnopp said he presumed the cable was shot by a hunter. He said service to Spring Hol- low, north of Pilot Rock, was cut off late Sunday night, and again he presumed a hunter was responsible. Karnopp said that dry conditions and careless hunters could result in delaying a report of a serious fire or an accident, in turn causing loss of life or property. Karnopp said if thoughtless acts of careless- ness were continued, it was probable that eventually all areas containing objects that could be damaged by hunters would be closed completely. 25 Years Ago From the East Oregonian Sept. 7-8, 1994 With the onset of the heart-pounding beat of the traditional Indian drum, the Buddhist monk began to nod his head and smile. Soon the small man was peering out with curiosity at the dancers on the floor before him. Bodhi Daruma was surrounded by his new friends on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. He spoke to a group of young girls in tradi- tional dresses, laughing and pointing out to them that he too is an Indian because he is from India. By the end of the evening, Daruma had tossed aside all inhibitions and his sandals as well. The monk strolled about the reservation Longhouse in his new buckskin moccasins, a gift from an elder tribeswoman. Daruma was one of several guests on the reservation Wednesday led by Zen Master Shodo Harada, Roshi. An abbot of the Sogenji Tem- ple in Okayama, Japan, Harada and three of his students are vis- iting in the Seattle area. They made the trip to Mission at the invitation of Board of Trustees Chairman Donald Sampson. THIS DAY IN HISTORY On Sept. 7, 1977, the Panama Canal treaties, call- ing for the U.S. to eventu- ally turn over control of the waterway to Panama, were signed in Washington by President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos. In 1940, Nazi Germany began its eight-month blitz of Britain during World War II with the first air attack on London. In 1972, the International Olympic Committee banned Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett of the U.S. from fur- ther competition for talking to each other on the victory stand in Munich during the playing of the “Star-Span- gled Banner” after winning the gold and silver medals in the 400-meter run. In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and mor- tally wounded on the Las Vegas Strip; he died six days later. In 2007, Osama bin Laden appeared in a video for the first time in three years, tell- ing Americans they should convert to Islam if they wanted the war in Iraq to end. Thought for Today: “The theory seems to be that as long as a man is a failure he is one of God’s children, but that as soon as he succeeds he is taken over by the devil.” — H.L. Mencken, American journalist-author (1880-1956). Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg September 7, 2019 ACROSS 1 Thanos, to the Avengers 6 Staff opening? 10 In the thick of 14 “Later” 15 Throw a hissy fit 16 You can see right through it 17 *Ingratiate yourself 19 Sally who was the first U.S. woman in space 20 Pavarotti solo 21 Biological messenger letters 22 Pickle juice 24 Compadre 25 Formerly named 26 *Most direct route 28 With 43-Down, home for Macron 30 Ace or deuce 31 Cube that’s rolled 32 Positive particle 34 Harbor mammal 35 *Teddy bear, for one 39 Bengaluru bread 40 Beach city near Los Angeles 41 Road trip lodge 42 Smartphone downloads 44 Many Stonehenge celebrants 48 *Snobbish 50 EMT training component 51 Dalmatian doc 52 Judge’s proceeding 53 “___ Came in Through the Bathroom Window” 54 Cheese in spanakopita 55 Italian automaker 56 Celebration’s continuation, and a hint to the ends of the starred answers 59 Baum princess 60 Fancy hairdo 61 Airline seat request 62 Friendly email sign-off 63 Fumbles, say 64 “___ II” (2018 boxing movie) DOWN 1 “Room” or “key” preceder 2 Kind of network in computer science 3 A la King? 4 Vidal’s “___ Breckinridge” 5 “I did it!” 6 Whooping bird 7 Hot rock 8 A star may have a big one 9 “Giant” author Edna 10 4/ 11 Theme 12 Refusing to face facts 13 Sandra of “Gidget” 18 Unencumbered by 23 Ink color for debts 25 Spongy toy brand 26 Far from fresh 27 Slippery as an ___ “FOLLOW THE BALL” By Debbie Ellerin sudoku answers 29 Constructed, as a web 30 Final musical passages 33 Dangle a carrot in front of 34 Too big for one’s britches 35 Disinfect 36 Puzzles with seven pieces 37 RCA Victor pooch 38 Certain steel beam 39 Medical research org. 42 Word associated with a lightbulb 43 See 28-Across 45 Hardly inclined (to) 46 Stinging plant 47 Remained behind 49 Try to punch 50 Puck and Child 53 Cake mix instruction 54 County event 55 Key ring item 57 “___ he’s a jolly good fellow ...” 58 Ms. ___-Man