A14 East Oregonian PEANUTS COFFEE BREAK Thursday, June 2, 2022 DEAR ABBY BY CHARLES M. SCHULZ Self-centered brother has siblings at their wits’ end FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE B.C. PICKLES BEETLE BAILEY BY LYNN JOHNSTON BY MASTROIANNI AND HART BY BRIAN CRANE risk, see this sibling separately Dear Abby: I come from one-on-one. If he’s not playing a nice family. My siblings are to a crowd, he may behave dif- thoughtful and kind, but one ferently. of my brothers is a conversa- Dear Abby: My ex-husband tional narcissist. He drones on and I divorced three years ago for hours (if we let him) without after he had an affair and de- asking a single question. stroyed our lives (including his He sees nothing wrong with J EANNE daughter’s). The divorce took talking endlessly about his work P HILLIPS about a year. Since then, he has and his acquisitions, which in- ADVICE stopped communicating with me terest no one. He will compare, and pretends I never existed. My indirectly, my home with his, as- stepdaughter, “Dana,” however, suming that his is far superior and better decorated. All of us listen to never let go. I held on as well for a couple of years, him and do our best to show an inter- est without ever receiving that courtesy but as time goes on, I am feeling I’m in an increasingly impossible situation. in return. In his times of need, I have been there What my ex did and his actions that fol- for him and listened to his troubles, and lowed were incredibly cruel. They devas- I have gotten the impression that he’s tated me. Staying in touch with Dana has kinder than any of us have assumed, slowly become a painful reminder of that given his self-centered ramblings. Is there and has made it difficult for me to close any way to influence him toward being this unhappy chapter of my life. I don’t a more thoughtful conversationalist? want to hurt Dana. I hope that one day she’ll understand, but I feel the need to — Sore-Eared Sibling Dear Sibling: Yes, there is. “Someone” cease contact in order to heal fully. Is this is going to have to tell this brother — in too cruel? — Traumatized In Florida Dear Traumatized: What a sad situa- as gentle language as possible — that hogging the conversation is as unwel- tion. I’m sorry you feel there is no other come as hogging all the food at the buf- way to heal from your ex-husband’s be- fet. He should also be told that compar- trayal than to distance yourself from ing what he has to that of his siblings, Dana, who loves you. However, feeling who may have less, comes across as brag- as you do, you must take care of yourself. ging, which makes them uncomfortable. Please do not “ghost” her. It is important If no one has the courage to address that you explain to her, as kindly as pos- this, a group intervention may be needed sible, your reasons for ending your rela- to stanch the motormouth. However, tionship, so she understands this is not if this is more than any of you want to her fault. BY MORT WALKER DAYS GONE BY 100 years ago — 1922 GARFIELD BY JIM DAVIS The honor of a citation by the national commander of the American Legion is the lot of Pendleton, according to a letter that has been received by Adjutant C. C. Proeb- stel from department headquarters at Port- land. Nine communities in the state have been designated for the honor. The cita- tion, signed by Hanford McNider, national commander, Lemel Bolles, national adjutant, Lane Goodell, department commander, and Harry N. Nelson, department adjutant, reads as follows: “The city of Pendleton has earned the lasting gratitude of the nation. In a time of economic unrest and industrial depression she has furnished employment to all her veterans of the World War. In acknowledgment of the patriotic service the American Legion extends to all its citizens its thanks and appreciation.” 50 years ago — 1972 BLONDIE BY DEAN YOUNG AND JOHN MARSHALL Toll Bridge Junction has taken a heavy toll in lives and property damage, and those close to the scene of confusion at the intersection say the toll is going to continue to mount because of increasing traffic and higher speeds. Oregon State Highway Division officials soon will receive a sheath of petitions with signers from western Umatilla and northern Morrow coun- ties who want the intersection improved. The junction’s signing is causing confusion in the minds of motorists unfamiliar with the area, say Umatilla residents petitioning the commis- sion. Highways are vital to the economic life of Umatilla with its motels and restaurants. 25 years ago — 1997 Perhaps a calf roper’s heart revs like an Indy car during the few seconds between when the calf dashes across the rodeo arena and the horse and cowboy are left behind waiting to pursue. Or maybe it’s during that brief moment after the rope leaves the cowboy’s hand and spans the space between horse and calf that adrenaline pumps almost through the brim of his hat. It’s hard to say when critical rodeo mass is reached, but one thing’s for sure, no collegiate calf roper in the United States can harness the energy and use it to his advantage better than 19-year-old Seth Hopper of rural Stanfield. Hopper, who is ranked No. 1 in the country in collegiate calf roping, leaves Friday for a chance at the national title in Rapid City, S.D. Over the course of BMCC’s rodeo season, which included 10 competitions throughout the Northwest, Hopper has collected the points necessary to put him in the lead nationally. 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 June 2, 1997, Timo- thy McVeigh was convict- ed of murder and conspir- acy in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Okla- homa City that killed 168 people. (McVeigh was ex- ecuted in June 2001.) In 1924, Congress passed, and President Calvin Coolidge signed, a measure guaranteeing full American citizenship for all Native Americans born within U.S. territo- rial limits. In 1941, baseball’s “Iron Horse,” Lou Geh- rig, died in New York of a degenerative disease, amy- otrophic lateral sclerosis; he was 37. In 1966, U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed pho- tographs of the lunar sur- face. In 1979, Pope John Paul II arrived in his na- tive Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Com- munist country. In 1981, the Japanese video arcade game “Don- key Kong” was released by Nintendo. In 1999, South Afri- cans went to the polls in their second post-apart- heid election, giving the African National Con- gress a decisive victory; retiring president Nelson Mandela was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki. In 2016, autopsy re- sults showed superstar musician Prince died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opi- oid painkiller. In 2020, defying curfews, protesters streamed back into the nation’s streets, hours after President Donald Trump urged governors to put down the protests set off by the killing of George Floyd. Mayors and governors from both parties rejected Trump’s threat to use the military against protesters. The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington sharply criticized Trump for staging a visit to St. John’s Church across from the White House after au- thorities had cleared the area of peaceful protest- ers. PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN BY DANA SIMPSON BIG NATE BY LINCOLN PEIRCE