A12
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Thursday, February 25, 2021
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Only grandchild announces
transition to living as a boy
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
Dear Abby: My granddaughter
find PFLAG at pflag.org, and their
just informed me she has decided
phone number is 202-467-8180.
Dear Abby: I am a 50-year-old
she would be happier living as a
man. My whole life, my relationship
boy, and she has gone so far as to
legally change her name. I want to
with my father has been strained.
be supportive, but I admit I’m having
When I was in my teens and 20s,
a lot of trouble accepting it, or at least
when he bought presents for my two
figuring out how to deal with it.
siblings and not for me, he would say
J eanne
She’s my only grandchild and
things to me like, “I forgot I had you.”
P hilliPs
In spite of this, I became very
most likely the only one I’ll ever
ADVICE
have. I loved my granddaughter with
successful in life. I had a great
all my heart, and I don’t know how
career and am now retired. My father
to shift gears to a grandson. I keep
recently announced to me that he had
stumbling when I try to use the new name.
made only two mistakes in his life — marry-
I would welcome any suggestions you could
ing my mother, who has put up with him for
make, including information about support
more than 60 years, and having children.
groups you might know of. — Grandma In
My dilemma is, he is now 90 with many
health problems. He is in the hospital now for
Pain
a heart problem. I know he won’t last much
Dear Grandma: Gender reassignment is
not something that someone does on a lark.
longer. I feel nothing for him, and I am not
There are many steps involved, and the jour-
sad. When he dies, I know I won’t care. Is this
ney, while liberating, can be challenging both
normal? I feel guilty for feeling this way. —
physically and emotionally. I am sure this is
Don’t Care in Tennessee
something your grandchild has given much
Dear Don’t Care: Please don’t feel guilty
thought to.
for feeling no regret at the prospect of “losing”
Yes, coming to terms with it can be as
a cruel and withholding parent who made it
much of a journey for family as it is for the
his business to make those around him feel
transgender person, and it can take time and
“less than.” Do not be surprised if, rather
understanding on all sides. A group called
than feel a sense of loss, you feel at peace,
PFLAG can help you through this. It has been
as though a weight has been lifted from your
mentioned in my column for decades. It has
shoulders. You should not feel guilty for that,
helped countless families to build bridges of
either. Comfort and emotionally support your
mother as best you can when he dies, but don’t
understanding between themselves and their
lesbian, gay and transgender loved ones.
be shocked if she, too, feels some relief. Their
Please don’t wait to contact them. You will
union could not have been the happiest.
DAYS GONE BY
BEETLE BAILEY
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
BY MORT WALKER
BY JIM DAVIS
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Feb. 25, 1921
The new coyote poison introduced this
winter by the Biological Survey is proving to
be sure death to the sheep-killing pests. This is
the report made by Stanley G. Jewett, the pred-
atory animal inspector for the Oregon-Wash-
ington district. For years the survey has been
experimenting with different kind of poison
and different methods. The new poison is
called “Piper’s Special” in honor of Stan-
ley E. Piper, who perfected the new poison.
Strychnine is the basis, which is combined
with other ingredients through a heating
process to conceal the bitter taste. Jewett says
the poison is not being used on any range used
by stockmen without their consent. It is being
furnished free to all stockmen who must agree
to use it according to instructions and report
results to Jewett’s office. About 50 percent of
all animals killed by the new poison are found.
Stockmen have reported the finding of 25 dead
coyotes as the result of one day’s efforts.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Feb. 25, 1971
A baby girl was born Tuesday in the front
seat of a car in the parking lot of Pendleton
Community Hospital. “Congratulations,”
a state police officer told the father, Shane
Allen, Milton-Freewater, and handed him a
traffic citation for violation of the basic rule.
Lt. Tom Taylor said the officer had clocked
Allen at 92 miles an hour in the 40-mile zone
entering Pendleton on Highway 11. He said
the officer had pursued Allen for several
miles at “very high speeds.” When the offi-
cer stopped Allen, Taylor said, and found
that Mrs. Allen was in labor, he told Allen,
“Get her to the hospital. I’ll catch you later”
and followed Allen to the hospital. Nursing
instructor Kathleen Herrett delivered the
baby. The birth was the first in the hospital
parking lot, according to hospital adminis-
trator Sam Loewen. “Everybody’s fine,” he
said of Mrs. Allen and her baby.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Feb. 25, 1996
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. That
lesson flew home to roost last week when wild
turkeys along the upper Umatilla River took
the bait and met with the surprise of their
feathered lives — a rocket-powered net trap.
The device snared 51 turkeys in one shot
during a trap-and-transplant operation near
Thornhollow. Part of an on-going effort to
improve on the introduction of wild turkeys,
the department traps the wild birds and
releases them elsewhere in similar habitat, but
where their numbers are fewer. Responding
to a damage complaint by a landowner, who
insisted that too many turkeys were scratch-
ing out a living on his land, led to the wild
scene of turkey muggings and the not-so-easy
task of untangling 15-pound birds from the
net. The wild turkeys originated from stocks
of Rio Grande turkeys from Texas that were
introduced to southwest Oregon and even-
tually transported to northeast Oregon after
their numbers rose steadily in the Southwest.
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 Feb. 25, 1986, Pres-
ident Ferdinand Marcos
fled the Philippines after 20
years of rule in the wake of
a tainted election; Corazon
Aquino assumed the presi-
dency.
In 1901, United States
Steel Corp. was incorporated
by J.P. Morgan.
In 1913, the 16th Amend-
ment to the U.S. Constitution,
giving Congress the power
to levy and collect income
taxes, was declared in effect
by Secretary of State Philan-
der Chase Knox.
In 1919, Oregon became
the first state to tax gasoline,
at 1 cent per gallon.
In 1950, “Your Show of
Shows,” starring Sid Caesar,
Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner
and Howard Morris, debuted
on NBC-TV.
In 1954, Gamal Abdel
Nasser became Egypt’s
prime minister after the
country’s president, Moham-
med Naguib, was effectively
ousted in a coup.
In 1964, Muhammad
Ali (then known as Cassius
Clay) became world heavy-
weight boxing champion as
he defeated Sonny Liston in
Miami Beach.
In 1983, playwright
Tennessee Williams was
found dead in his New York
hotel suite; he was 71.
In 1991, during the
Persian Gulf War, 28 Amer-
icans were killed when
an Iraqi Scud missile hit a
U.S. barracks in Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia.
In 1994, American-born
Jewish settler Baruch Gold-
stein opened fire with an
automatic rifle inside the
Tomb of the Patriarchs in
the West Bank, killing 29
Muslims before he was
beaten to death by worship-
pers.
In 2010, in Vancouver,
the Canadian women beat
the United States 2-0 for
their third straight Olympic
hockey title.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
Ann McCrea is 90. Actor
Diane Baker is 83. Former
talk show host Sally Jessy
Raphael is 79. Rock sing-
er-musician/actor John Doe
(X) is 68. Actor Tea Leoni is
55. Actor Sean Astin is 50.
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE