A14
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Thursday, May 12, 2022
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M. SCHULZ
Mom wants to keep kids
in the dark about death
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE
B.C.
PICKLES
BEETLE BAILEY
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
BY MASTROIANNI AND HART
BY BRIAN CRANE
have offered an apology to her
Dear Abby: My daughter-in-
privately. Back off and lie low
law, “Brooke,” lost her grand-
until the funeral. Your DIL is
father five weeks ago. She has
not herself right now. She needs
chosen not to tell her 4- and
time to cool off and regain some
10-year-old kids about it. She
perspective.
has ordered my husband, me
Dear Abby: When my hus-
and our son not to mention it.
band leaves town for a work trip
The kids see her grandmother
J EANNE
or a vacation, or if I’m out of
at least once a week, and SHE
P
HILLIPS
town for any period of time, we
is not supposed to tell them ei-
ADVICE
are suddenly in love again! We
ther.
miss each other like crazy and
I didn’t know the kids hadn’t
send loving texts and exchange
been told and I started to
say something at a family dinner. The mushy phone calls.
When he’s home and we’re living life
10-year-old heard me, and I got shushed.
I’m mad at the whole situation. Brooke with jobs, kids, bills and responsibilities,
refuses to tell them “until she’s ready,” we are disconnected and distant. We in-
and I couldn’t disagree more. I under- teract more as partners and friends than
stand her grief. I have lost grandparents romantic lovers. We’ve been married for
and parents. The services won’t be for 21 years, and it’s always been this way.
several weeks. I understand she can’t deal Does absence truly make the heart grow
with the loss yet, but denying her kids fonder, or can we stand each other only
the truth only delays her grieving process when we’re not together? — Perplexed
and also doesn’t allow them their time to In Texas
Dear Perplexed: Absence doesn’t al-
grieve and process.
Now Brooke is mad and screaming ways make the heart grow fonder, nor
and crying about it. I’m trying to back does it necessarily drive a wedge between
off, but I’m angry that her needs are be- a couple whose marriage has a strong
ing put first and at being told I made a foundation. That when you are apart you
horrible mistake by offering the love and your husband feel the need for the
and caring I thought they needed. How romantic connection that brought you
can I repair the perceived mistake I have together tells me your marriage is strong
in spite of the responsibilities of your
made? — Vexed In Vermont
Dear Vexed: If you were unaware that daily lives. Have you considered treating
your DIL was trying to shield her kids yourselves to an occasional date night,
from the reality of their great-grand- just the two of you, away from the dis-
father’s death when you spoke out, you tractions of the children? If you haven’t,
did nothing wrong. However, you should I’ll bet you would both enjoy it.
BY MORT WALKER
DAYS GONE BY
100 years ago — 1922
GARFIELD
BY JIM DAVIS
The raising of sugar beets to supply the
Utah-Idaho Sugar Co. is an experiment which
will be tried at Stanfield, in the hopes that
the beets, which thrive best in rather heavy
irrigated soil and which resist alkali, can be
grown successfully. Manager Rosenfeld,
manager of the Walla Walla district of the
sugar company, and Fred Bennion left today
for Stanfield with enough beet seed supplied
by Mr. Rosenfeld to plant several small tracts.
The first growths will be used for extending
the crop. The beets are shipped to the compa-
ny’s plant in Toppenish and Yakima, Wash-
ington, there being no factory in Oregon.
50 years ago — 1972
BLONDIE
BY DEAN YOUNG AND JOHN MARSHALL
Girls 10-15 who like to play ball won’t feel
left out this summer in Pendleton. For the first
time, a girls’ softball league will be organized
by the city recreation department. John Shef-
fold, city recreation director, said Pendle-
ton’s Little League organization removed
the big stumbling block that faced the girls’
program — a place to play. The girls have
been invited to play their games at the Little
League park on SE Byers from 1-4 p.m. when
Little League teams aren’t using it. The city
recreation department will furnish equipment
for the games but teams that form will have to
furnish their own practice equipment.
25 years ago — 1997
At 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, Dave Fair-
ley will accept bids from those who want to
own the rustic log cabin carefully crafted by
students at Weston-McEwen High School
in Athena. It measures 16-by-16 feet, and
comes equipped with a half loft. It is hewn
from fully-scribed lodge pole pine donated
by The Masonite Corp. Andy Muncy and Bill
Corley of Masonite organized the donation
and delivered the logs to the school. Once the
logs arrived, the designing began. Students
relied on their previous drafting and wood-
tech classes for help as they began from
scratch. Led by teacher David Lange and
parent-volunteer David Lynde, 14 young men
created their own structure. In doing so, they
utilized the most difficult method of log cabin
construction: chinkless, or Swedish Cope. The
students learned valuable lessons in team-
work as the project progressed. The cabin is
now on display for prospective bidders. Once
purchased, the students will break the building
down for the owner to transport. The structure
is complete with walls, rafters, floor joist and
a rustic, Adirondack-style porch.
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 12, 1949, the
Soviet Union lifted the
Berlin Blockade, which
the Western powers had
succeeded in circumvent-
ing with their Berlin Air-
lift.
In 1932, the body of
Charles Lindbergh Jr., the
20-month-old kidnapped
son of Charles and Anne
Lindbergh, was found
in a wooded area near
Hopewell, New Jersey.
In 1933, the Federal
Emergency Relief Admin-
istration and the Agricul-
tural Adjustment Admin-
istration were established
to provide help for the
needy and farmers.
In 1943, during World
War II, Axis forces in
North Africa surren-
dered. The two-week Tri-
dent Conference, headed
by President Franklin
D. Roosevelt and Brit-
ish Prime Minister Win-
ston Churchill, opened in
Washington.
In 1958, the United
States and Canada signed
an agreement to create the
North American Air De-
fense Command (later the
North American Aero-
space Defense Command,
or NORAD).
In 1970, the Senate
voted unanimously to
confirm Harry A. Black-
mun as a Supreme Court
justice.
In 1975, the White
House announced the
new Cambodian govern-
ment had seized an Amer-
ican merchant ship, the
Mayaguez, in internation-
al waters. (U.S. Marines
gained control of the ship
three days after its seizure,
not knowing the 39 civil-
ian members of the crew
had already been released
by Cambodia.)
In 1982, in Fatima,
Portugal, security guards
overpowered a Span-
ish priest armed with a
bayonet who attacked
Pope John Paul II. (In
2008, the pope’s longtime
private secretary revealed
that the pontiff was
slightly wounded in the
assault.)
In 1986, the military
action-drama film “Top
Gun,” starring Tom Cruise
and Kelly McGillis and
released by Paramount
Pictures, had its world
premiere in New York.
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE