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.