A14
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Thursday, March 18, 2021
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Couple’s future is threatened
by fiancee’s grief, depression
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
BEETLE BAILEY
BY MORT WALKER
Dear Abby: My fiancee and I
Dear Abby: My 13-, almost
have been together for four years. I
14-year-old daughter, “Gabbi,” is
have lost a lot of people in my life, so
a shining star of responsibility and
I am used to death. She, on the other
being self-driven. She also likes nice
things.
hand, didn’t experience it until two
Gabbi has been babysitting for
years ago, when she lost her grand-
father. The next year, her mother
my sister for several months and has
passed, and last year we lost a child
saved almost every penny, which
Jeanne
amounts to hundreds of dollars. I’m
— her oldest — my stepson.
Phillips
Abby, she is so lost. She’s no
proud of her discipline. However, I
ADVICE
think she should start buying some
longer the same person she once
was, and I totally understand that.
of her “frivolous wants” herself.
I’m sad and depressed, too, but she’s
I’m willing to buy her and my
bad.
other children gifts when I can and on special
occasions on my single income, but Gabbi
I love this woman like I have never loved
often asks me for $10 here and $10 there.
any other. I can’t picture life without her, but
lately I have begun to wonder how it would
Because it’s more than I can afford, I have
affect me, her and the kids if I left. I’m not
to say no and see her silent disappointment. I
equipped to deal with someone else’s depres-
know the simple answer is to not give in, but
sion on top of my own. I have been trying, but
I want my daughter to learn that it’s OK to
I’m finding myself getting more and more
spend a little on herself here and there. I’m not
angry. What should I do? — Torn in the East
sure what words to use to convince her. Can
Dear Torn: You mentioned that you, too,
you help? — Mom On A Budget
suffer from depression. Are you receiving
Dear Mom: Your daughter is old enough
treatment for it? If you are seeing a psychol-
for an honest conversation with her mom.
ogist (and being medicated), discuss this with
Start by telling her how proud of her you
the person who is working with you. You may
are that she has shown how disciplined and
need a change in your medication.
responsible she is because those traits will
It isn’t surprising that with so much loss all
serve her well in years to come.
at once in her life, your fiancee is grieving and
Tell her you feel bad about disappointing
depressed. Frankly, while I might suggest she
her when you refuse her requests, but now
join a support group for help in coping with
that she’s nearly 14, she’s mature enough to
understand you are the sole wage earner,
the loss of her child, she may also need help
money is tight and her frequent requests put
from a licensed mental health professional.
Although you are tempted, I don’t think
a strain on the budget. Then point out that
now is the time to abandon your fiancee and
she has saved quite a bit of income from her
her children. Once she is stabilized, you may
babysitting, and she should direct some of it
not want to leave at all.
toward the items she’s asking you for.
DAYS GONE BY
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
BY JIM DAVIS
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
From the East Oregonian
100 years ago
March 18, 1921
The present system of naming the streets
and avenues of the city of Pendleton was
declared to be most unsatisfactory at the meet-
ing last night of the city council. The question of
renaming the streets was brought up by Mayor
Hartman, who declared it was impossible for
anyone but an old inhabitant to tell where any
one of the streets of the city were. He suggested
a system whereby the streets would be lettered
or numbered. Following a short discussion by
various members of the council, all of whom
were apparently in favor of a change, the city
attorney was ordered to investigate the proce-
dure necessary to bring about the change.
50 Years Ago
March 18, 1971
It was a fun day at the Heppner-Morrow
County Chamber of Commerce meeting as
observance of St. Patrick’s Day was carried
out in honor of the many early settlers from
that country. Attorney Phill Mahoney, who
arrived in Heppner in time for the St. Patrick’s
celebration in 1917, sported a brilliant green
tie complete with Irish motifs as he told of
the early days. Both of his parents came
from Ireland, and he knows the background
of many of the old timers. In 1917 there was a
big parade of Irishmen on Main Street. This
was followed by a “football game” at the fair-
grounds, played with a rum bottle. “In time-
out they drank White Mule,” Mahoney said.
The chamber’s Irish theme was carried off by
Joe Doherty, Pendleton, who sang “Danny
Boy.” Doherty, whose paternal grandfather
and mother came from Ireland, grew up “just
over the county line” in Umatilla County, but
is claimed as a Heppner boy.
25 Years Ago
March 18, 1996
The Queen of the West sternwheeler cruise
ship in early April will resume bringing tour-
ists up the Columbia River and, after a short
bus ride, into Pendleton for a taste of the
authentic West. The flavor, however, will be
a little different this year. Stops at the Pend-
leton Woolen Mills and the Pendleton Under-
ground Tours will remain, but tourists will be
treated to a barbecue lunch and Native Amer-
ican show at the Wildhorse Gaming Resort.
Last year, the lunch and show took place at
the Pendleton Convention Center. Michael
Lomax, vice president of the American West
Steamboat Company, said since the stern-
wheeler began making the trip last year, the
city has become one of the line’s most popu-
lar destinations. He said exposure to Native
American culture is an important part of the
Western experience Pendleton offers. From
March to December, tour groups are in Pend-
leton about every four to seven days.
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 March 18, 1963,
the U.S. Supreme Court, in
Gideon v. Wainwright, ruled
unanimously that state courts
were required to provide
legal counsel to criminal
defendants who could not
afford to hire an attorney on
their own.
In 1922, Mohandas K.
Gandhi was sentenced in
India to six years imprison-
ment for civil disobedience.
(He was released after serv-
ing two years.)
In 1925, the Tri-State
Tornado struck southeastern
Missouri, southern Illinois
and southwestern Indiana,
resulting in some 700 deaths.
In 1942, President Frank-
lin D. Roosevelt signed an
executive order authorizing
the War Relocation Author-
ity, which was put in charge
of interning Japanese-Amer-
icans, with Milton S. Eisen-
hower (the younger brother
of Dwight D. Eisenhower) as
its director.
In 1965, the first space-
walk took place as Soviet
cosmonaut Alexei Leonov
went outside his Voskhod 2
capsule, secured by a tether.
In 1974, most of the Arab
oil-producing nations ended
their 5-month-old embargo
against the United States that
had been sparked by Ameri-
can support for Israel in the
Yom Kippur War.
In 1996, rejecting an
insanity defense, a jury in
Dedham, Massachusetts,
convicted John C. Salvi III
of murdering two women in
attacks at two Boston-area
abortion clinics in December
1994. (Salvi later committed
suicide in his prison cell.)
In 2018, Vladimir Putin
rolled to a crushing reelec-
tion victory for six more
years as Russia’s president.
Today’s Bir thdays:
Composer John Kander is
94. Nobel peace laureate and
former South African presi-
dent F.W. de Klerk is 85. Jazz
musician Bill Frisell is 70.
Actor Geoffrey Owens is 60.
TV personality Mike Rowe
is 59. Singer-actor Vanessa
L. Williams is 58. Olym-
pic gold medal speedskater
Bonnie Blair is 57. Rapper-
actor-talk show host Queen
Latifah is 51.
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE