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