A12
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Man says machismo made
him give in to divorce demand
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
BEETLE BAILEY
BY MORT WALKER
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
DILBERT
BY JIM DAVIS
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
BY SCOTT ADAMS
Dear Abby: I was married to
may never see them again because
my wife for 29 years, and I have
his dad has a girlfriend now who
wants them. She’s behind him pur-
now been divorced for two. I
suing the issue with a lawyer.
have tried to move on, but I can’t
How can I help my husband?
because I still love her. She ini-
tiated the divorce because she
Should he give in to his father’s
thought I cheated on her. I didn’t
demands and return the medals
fight her because I was too macho.
and pictures, or should he fight to
keep them? — Middle of a Mess
I don’t know if I miss her or feel
J eanne
Dear Middle: How old are your
sorry for myself because I haven’t
P hilliPs
sons? Because of this rift, do they
been with a woman in more than
ADVICE
still have a relationship with their
two years. I’m attracted to women
grandfather? Would they appreci-
who are at least 15 years younger
ate the war medals and understand
than me or who are married.
what they stand for?
I have been on two dating sites for
My feeling is that you should stay out of
almost a year and even moved back to the
the line of fire and allow your husband and
state where my ex-wife lives hoping that
his own lawyer to fight this battle. How-
one day she will ask me out. I’ve been
ever, you may be able to sway the outcome
throwing hints her way and have even writ-
ten her letters, but she still thinks I cheated.
if you or your sons write your father-in-law
I ache for her. What should I do? — Fight-
a warm letter telling him how sad you feel
ing Chance in the East
about the situation and that his medals are
Dear Fighting Chance: Your marriage
heirlooms they and their children would
is history, and your “exaggerated masculin-
treasure in the future. Then cross your
fingers.
ity” caused it. I am struck by the fact that
Dear Abby: At what age does a person
nowhere in your letter did you deny that
stop calling an older neighbor “Mrs.” or
what your ex-wife thought was true. I don’t
“Mr.”? I was born next door and still live
understand what being “macho” has to do
here, so I don’t know what to call my neigh-
with not denying you cheated. What you
bors anymore. — Grown Up North
should do now is learn from it, grow from
Dear Grown: Before children reach
it and move on.
adulthood, it is considered respectful to call
Dear Abby: My husband and his father
adults “Mr.” and “Mrs.” Not knowing your
had a falling out. My husband’s father now
neighbors, I can’t guess how formal they
has hired a lawyer to get the pictures and
may be. Because using their first names has
Vietnam medals back that he had given my
not been your practice and you don’t want
husband as a gift years ago. This is his only
to risk offending them, ask them what they
son.
would like to be called in light of the fact
We have two sons whom my husband
that you are all adults. Erring on the side of
would like to pass the medals down to. He
respect will never be wrong.
knows if he gives the medals back that he
DAYS GONE BY
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Dec. 15, 1920
This county’s District Attorney R. I.
Keator today expressed considerable dis-
satisfaction with the manner in which men
convicted from here are sent to the state
penitentiary in Salem only to be let out
after serving short sentences. Harry Sam-
uels, self confessed murderer of Omer
Ollinger, of Milton, sentenced to life
imprisonment about 18 months ago, is
already seeking parole, according to the
district attorney. This man pleaded guilty
in court and admitted that he committed
the murder in cold blood. Austin Mann,
who was convicted and sentenced from
here not more than a year ago for auto theft,
was paroled after serving a short time. He
went out of the state, breaking the first pro-
vision of his parole, spirited a minor girl
away from her home and after getting her
in trouble with federal authorities married
her. He was arrested by breaking the parole
and ordered returned to the penitentiary. He
is reported to have again been turned out
by the parole board.
50 years ago
Dec. 15, 1970
Cattlemen are winning praise for their
leadership in helping to establish pollution
control regulations that fit the interests both
of the public and the stockman, says Wal-
ter Leth, director of the Oregon Department
of Agriculture. He told the Umatilla County
Cattlemen’s Association at their annual con-
vention that almost nobody “in this state
recognizes the job cattlemen have done.”
Months ago, worried about the effect of pos-
sible stern new regulations, the cattlemen
began meeting officials of the Department
of Environmental Quality to help develop
practical solutions to pollution problems.
Fred Phillips, Keating, president of the
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, said cat-
tlement must head off “hysteria” over pol-
lution. “Nobody is as good at protecting
the environment as the farmer,” Leth said,
“because his whole existence depends on it.
25 years ago
Dec. 15, 1995
Because of tighter budgets and recent
job changes and transfers, the number of
Oregon State Police troopers and Uma-
tilla County Sheriff’s deputies patrolling
the “west end” has been cut in half. It’s not
unusual to have just one deputy patrolling
for the county and one trooper covering the
freeway all the way from the Heppner junc-
tion almost to Arlington. Sometimes there
are no patrols from either agency. When that
situation occurs, the two departments share
on-call responsibilities. While the num-
ber of officers has declined, the amount of
crime and population has grown. “A lot of
people are moving into the unincorporated
areas because they know eventually they’ll
be annexed,” said Al Humphrey, chief crim-
inal deputy for the sheriff’s department.
Both the county and state agencies expect
new hires in 1996, but that will still leave the
number of officers relatively low. Freeway
drivers in west Umatilla County and north-
ern Morrow County may be less likely to get
a ticket with fewer officers on patrol, but if
they need help it may take longer to get it.
TODAY IN HISTORY
THE WIZARD OF ID
LUANN
ZITS
BY BRANT PARKER AND JOHNNY HART
BY GREG EVANS
BY JERRY SCOTT AND JIM BORGMAN
On Dec. 15, 2013, Nel-
son Mandela was laid to rest
in his childhood hometown,
ending a 10-day mourning
period for South Africa’s
first Black president.
In 1890, Sioux Indian
Chief Sitting Bull and 11
other tribe members were
killed in Grand River, South
Dakota, during a confronta-
tion with Indian police.
In 1965, two U.S.
manned spacecraft, Gemini
6A and Gemini 7, maneu-
vered toward each other
while in orbit, at one point
coming as close as 1 foot.
In 1967, the Silver Bridge
between Gallipolis, Ohio,
and Point Pleasant, West
Virginia, collapsed into
the Ohio River, killing 46
people.
In 2000, the long-trou-
bled Chernobyl nuclear
power plant in Ukraine was
closed for good.
In 2001, with a crash
and a large dust cloud, a
50-foot tall section of steel
— the last standing piece
of the World Trade Center’s
facade — was brought down
in New York.
In 2016, a federal jury
in Charleston, South Caro-
lina, convicted Dylann Roof
of slaughtering nine Black
church members who had
welcomed him to their Bible
study.
Today’s
Birthdays:
Singer Cindy Birdsong (The
Supremes) is 81. Actor Mel-
anie Chartoff is 70. Rock
musician Paul Simonon
(The Clash) is 65. Actor
Molly Price is 55. Figure
skater Surya Bonaly is 47.
Actor Maude Apatow is 23.
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE