A14 East Oregonian PEANUTS COFFEE BREAK Thursday, May 5, 2022 DEAR ABBY BY CHARLES M. SCHULZ Mom doesn’t know how to tell son about father FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE B.C. PICKLES BEETLE BAILEY BY LYNN JOHNSTON BY MASTROIANNI AND HART BY BRIAN CRANE Dear Abby: I’m in the pro- Dear Abby: I have a won- cess of building my first house derful 12-year-old son, “Oli- down the street from my par- ver,” who was conceived during ents. Recently, my mom told me a date rape at a work party. I she wants a key so she and Dad don’t remember much about can have access to my house in that night. When I found out I case of severe weather. The lay- was pregnant, I hoped my hus- out and foundation of my house band at the time was the father. J EANNE are sturdier than theirs. When I When the baby came, it was ob- P HILLIPS told her I didn’t want anyone to vious he wasn’t, because Oliver ADVICE have a key, she got really offend- is a different race. ed. It made me feel awful, but We divorced when Oliver was Abby, this is my first house, and 2. After I explained what hap- pened, he offered to be Oliver’s “dad” if I have to give a key to someone when because he had bonded with him — pro- I don’t want to, it defeats the purpose of vided he would not have to pay child having my own place. I have been living with my parents to support. I agreed. There have been times when Oliver and save up, and Mom has used guilt trips his brothers have asked about his brown against me before. My sister and brother- skin, and I have been able to dodge the in-law agree I shouldn’t give in to her. I question. He’s getting to an age where I feel like a horrible daughter for refusing because she’s not the type to snoop, but don’t think I can hold off much longer. I’m not sure what to tell him. I don’t there have been instances when I’ve been think I want him to know he is a product in my room and she has entered without of rape, nor do I want to throw myself knocking. Should I stick to my guns or under the bus and say I cheated on his am I wrong? — Daughter In Dilemma Dear Daughter: It strikes me as some- dad. Please help. — Looking For Best what pushy that your mother would ask Way In Washington Dear Looking: I fail to understand for a key to your home before it is even why you would equate “rape” with completed. Because the house symboliz- “cheating.” What happened wasn’t your es your independence, I don’t think you fault, and you should feel neither guilt should hand the key over. It may make nor shame that it happened. While I un- sense to have someone you trust be able derstand your desire to protect Oliver, to enter if you are traveling or have a pet you should tell him the truth. When you that needs to be walked while you are do, be sure to emphasize how much you working. In that event, you may change and your ex love him and how proud you your mind and see the wisdom in offer- ing her one. are that he is your son. BY MORT WALKER DAYS GONE BY 100 years ago — 1922 GARFIELD BY JIM DAVIS Breaking all records at the Oregon Agricul- tural College, Miss Mildred Rogers, daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. L. L. Rogers of this city, plunged 60 feet in a distance plunge at the O. A. C. swimming tank recently. Fifty-three feet was the best record made up to this time. Miss Rogers, who is a freshman at the college, is a member of the Varsity swimming team and has won honors in various other swimming events. While attending high school here she was prominent as a member of the basketball team as well as for her skills in swimming. 50 years — 1972 BLONDIE BY DEAN YOUNG AND JOHN MARSHALL An elderly couple, eating a picnic lunch in Roy Raley Park, were startled Thursday when more than 50 young people marched into the park and started to hold an anti-war protest. The couple stayed a few minutes and then left. Most of the young people were students from Blue Mountain Community College. The BMCC student council joined with the National Student Association in calling for a student strike Thursday, to protest the escalation of the Vietnam War. The young people organized at the Union Pacific Depot at 11 a.m. With a police escort, they marched down Main Street, then turned on Court. The students obtained a parade permit from city officials. At the park, students and faculty members from BMCC spoke out against the war, while the many young people played frisbee, enjoyed the sunshine and passed a petition for a marijuana referendum. 25 years ago — 1997 The communities of Pendleton and Pilot Rock have plenty of differences. But they share one thing — a commitment to the youth of their communities. And that commitment has begun to reap benefits. Leadership teams for both Deacon Perkins’ class at Pilot Rock High and Brian Schimel’s class at Sunridge Middle School have been giving back to their communities. What they are giving is their time and labor, and sometimes combining a little blood along with the sweat. Perkins’ class recently participated in a blood drive while Schimel’s painted the stage at Pioneer Park. At the start of this week, Pilot Rock students got out their shovels and began digging plots at the cemetery, where they are planting a permanent flower garden. At the end of the week, Sunridge students will take out their own shov- els. They’re putting on a petting zoo in Pendle- ton Grain Grower’s parking lot. The competition between the two communities is increasing. It’s a productive rivalry: kids competing against another in the community service arena. TODAY IN HISTORY DILBERT THE WIZARD OF ID LUANN ZITS BY SCOTT ADAMS BY PARKER AND HART BY GREG EVANS BY JERRY SCOTT AND JIM BORGMAN On May 5, 1961, as- tronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America’s first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Mercury capsule Freedom 7. In 1925, schoolteach- er John T. Scopes was charged in Tennessee with violating a state law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. (Scopes was found guilty, but his conviction was lat- er set aside.) In 1942, wartime sugar rationing began in the United States. In 1945, in the only fatal attack of its kind during World War II, a Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, kill- ing the pregnant woman and five children. In 1973, Secretariat won the Kentucky Der- by, the first of his Triple Crown victories. In 1994, Singapore caned American teenager Michael Fay for vandal- ism, a day after the sen- tence was reduced from six lashes to four in response to an appeal by President Bill Clinton. In 2009, Texas health officials confirmed the first death of a U.S. resi- dent with swine flu. In 2014, a narrowly di- vided Supreme Court up- held Christian prayers at the start of local council meetings. In 2016, former Los Angeles trash collector Lonnie Franklin Jr. was convicted of 10 counts of murder in the “Grim Sleeper” serial killings that targeted poor, young Black women over two de- cades. In 2020, Tyson Foods said it would resume limited operation of its huge pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, with enhanced safety measures, more than two weeks after closing the facility because of a coro- navirus outbreak among workers. Facebook said it had removed several ac- counts and pages linked to QAnon, taking action for the first time against the far-right conspiracy theory circulated among Trump supporters. PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN BY DANA SIMPSON BIG NATE BY LINCOLN PEIRCE