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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 2020)
8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD THuRSDAY, JunE 25, 2020 COFFEE BREAK Video dinner parties help distant family stay close DEAR ABBY: May I share with you a way my husband and I are staying connected? My daughter came up with the idea. She and her daughter live a good dis- tance from us. She decided the four of us should have a virtual dinner together three times a week. We move our dining chairs together and position a tablet opposite us so we are visible on the screen. They do the same. We use FaceTime (Skype or a similar app would also work) to connect online. We set dinner on the table, say grace together and proceed to eat — all the while talking, joking and laughing as if we were in each other’s presence. Abby, I can’t tell you how much this has alleviated the feelings of isolation. We look forward to it all day. We phone, text and email at other times, as well, but these dinners together are a very spe- cial hour or more that give us a feeling of still being connected. It’s a dif- DEAR ficult time right now, but this is such a ABBY simple thing. I bless my amazing and wonderful daughter every day for thinking of it. — STAYING CLOSE DEAR STAYING CLOSE: For those who, because of travel restrictions or financial con- straints, cannot be together in person, this is a tradition that could continue well after the quar- antine has lifted. I, too, bless your amazing and wonderful daughter for coming up with the idea and you for sharing it. Salut and bon appetit! DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have about a dozen nieces and nephews on each side of our family. As each of them has mar- ried, we have given them gen- erous gifts. My wife and I have two adult children. When our daughter was married 10 years ago, she had a big reception, with all the best of everything. Our son chose to elope last year. He had a small ceremony when they returned — just parents and grandparents. My wife is now very upset that no one has acknowledged the wedding with even a card — let alone a gift. Should we bring this up to our families? Is it cus- tomary to give gifts only when there is a traditional ceremony and reception? — EMPTY-HANDED DEAR EMPTY-HANDED: I can see why your wife is upset. Because you have been so gen- erous with your family members when they were married, it would have been thoughtful had they reciprocated with your son. How- ever, the rule of etiquette is that gifts are required when someone accepts a wedding invitation, and your son chose to elope instead of having one, which may explain the lack of response from your relatives. DEAR ABBY: My mother-in-law is wigging out because I allow our two cats and our dog to lick mixing bowls and dinner plates before I put them in the dishwasher. We have an active, healthy family, with no allergies, chronic health problems or obesity. Our house is clean, although I wouldn’t eat off my floors. Shoes are left in the laundry room. We have never even had a case of flu, thanks to flu shots, common sense and probably some luck. Our dishwasher is set to do a long wash with a heated drying cycle. Am I terrible? I fail to see the problem, but she thinks I’m liable to poison the kids. — WONDERING IN THE SOUTH DEAR WONDERING: You are not going to poison the kids, yourself or her son, but you could cause problems for your feline family members if they happen to eat any garlic or onions. That said, you may give your mother-in-law a coronary if you continue letting her see what you have been doing. So, in the interest of family har- mony, when she’s around, cut it out. Segway, popular with police but not the public, hits the brakes By Matt Ott and Cathy Bussewitz Associated Press BEDFORD, N.H. — Segway, which boldly claimed its two-wheeled personal transporter would revolutionize the way people get around, is ending production of its namesake vehicle. The Segway PT, pop- ular with tourists and police officers but perhaps better known for its high-profile crashes, will be retired on July 15, the company said in a statement. Within its first decade, the Segway PT became a staple in security and law enforcement, viewed as an effective and efficient per- sonal vehicle,” said Judy Cai, Segway president, in a statement, noting that in the past decade it gained popularity with vacationers in major cities in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. But the Segway, which carries a standing pas- senger on a wide platform, accounted for less than 1.5% of the company’s rev- enue last year. The com- pany said 21 employees will be laid off, another 12 employees will stay on for two months to a year and five will remain at the Bedford, New Hampshire facility. “This decision was not made lightly, and while the current global pandemic did impact sales and produc- tion, it was not a deciding factor in our decision,” Cai said. The transportation rev- olution that inventor Dean Kamen envisioned when he founded the company in 1999 never took off. The Segway’s original price tag of around $5,000 was a hurdle for many cus- tomers. It also was chal- lenging to ride because the rider had to be balanced at a specific angle for the vehicle to move forward. If the rider’s weight shifted too much in any direction, it could easily spin out of Photo by Sue Ogrocki/AP In this May 1 photo, a security guard wearing a mask and riding a Segway patrols inside Penn Square Mall as the mall reopens in Oklahoma City. Segway says it will end produc- tion of its namesake two-wheeled balancing personal transporter, popular with tourists and police officers but perhaps best known for its high-profile crashes. control and throw the rider off. They were banned in some cities because users could easily lose control if they were not balanced properly. “What did they think the market was when they built this, when they designed it?” asked Maryann Keller, principal at Maryann Keller & Associates. “My impres- sion was they were talking about this as personal mobility. How could you think that something this large and expensive would be personal mobility?” Ten months after buying the company in 2009, British self-made million- aire Jim Heselden died after the Segway he was riding careened off a 30-foot cliff not far from his country estate north of London. He was 62 years old. In 2003, President George W. Bush avoided injury after tumbling off a Segway at his parents’ summer home in Kenne- bunkport, Maine. A cameraman riding a Segway ran over Usain Bolt in 2015 as the Jamaican sprinter did a victory lap after winning a 200-meter race in Beijing. Bolt wasn’t injured and later joked about the incident. In 2017, Segway got into the scooter business, just as the light, inexpensive and easy-to-ride two-wheelers took over urban streets. Riders took 38.5 million trips on shared electric scooters in 2018, according to the National Associa- tion of City Transportation Officials.
