8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
COFFEE BREAK
Unequal division of housework puts marriage on stormy path
DEAR ABBY: I have been mar-
ried for seven years and have two
children. My husband and I both
work full-time, yet I do almost all
of the household chores. I have
asked him repeat-
edly to help ease
my workload and
stress by dividing
the chores more
equitably, but my
requests are met
minimally and temporarily. This
has caused arguments, tension
and resentment.
He says, “You and I value dif-
ferent things,” or, “This isn’t what
I want to focus on at home,” or,
“Your standards are too high and
have negatively impacted your
relationship with our kids.” I do
ask our kids to clean up routinely
because I want them to be active
members of this household, and
this is how I was raised.
It’s putting a strain on my mar-
riage and affecting my feelings
toward my husband. Do I need
to let this go? Or
are my priorities
DEAR
misplaced?
— OUT OF
ABBY
BALANCE
DEAR OUT OF
BALANCE: From
your husband’s perspective, why
should he have to help with the
housework if he can jawbone
you into doing the lion’s share?
Perhaps you should offer him
a choice — participate more or
someone will have to be hired to
take some of the burden off your
shoulders.
As to your children, please
stick to your guns. It is important
they master basic housekeeping
skills so that when they become
adults, they will be able to take
care of themselves. Few chil-
dren relish the idea of doing
housework, but many of them
do it anyway as a way to earn an
allowance.
DEAR ABBY: I was happily
married to the same woman for
51 years. “Jane” was married 42
years to the same man. We were
both widowed. We hooked up and
were enjoying our time together,
but after about three years it all
changed.
Do you believe in split person-
alities, the Jekyll and Hyde thing?
Jane started falsely accusing
me of having affairs with other
women. The last two women she
accused me of being involved with
I don’t even know. The accusa-
tions have been coming more fre-
quently. One day she’s fi ne; the
next day she is accusing me.
Jane doesn’t like vulgar lan-
guage, and normally she doesn’t
use it. But when she’s accusing
me of communicating with these
women, she uses words that
would make a sailor blush! A
researcher’s fi rst guess was the
early stages of Alzheimer’s. I
know she is paranoid, but why?
— HATES THE CHANGE
DEAR HATES: A person-
ality change such as you have
described can be a symptom of
Alzheimer’s disease, but it can
also be caused by small strokes
and other dementias. Jane’s para-
noia could also be a symptom
of a physical illness. If she has
family, it is very important that
you inform them about what’s
happening so they — and you —
can encourage her to be evaluated
physically and neurologically. If
you do, it might save not only her
life but also your sanity.
DEAR ABBY: When I was
21, my grandparents told me,
“It’s better to be loved than to
be right.” Fifty years later, I’m
still trying to follow that advice
because it’s so true. Sometimes it
is very hard to practice, but I will
never forget those words.
— KEN
DEAR KEN: Anything that
encourages folks to get along
better is good advice in my book.
People sometimes place too much
importance on trying to be right.
Now, allow me to share an adage
with you that I learned from MY
grandfather: “I never learned any-
thing while I was talking.”
La Pine man completes restoration of legendary WWII plane
By Jackson Hogan
EO Media Group
SUNRIVER — After
a year and a half of work,
“Rosie The Rocketer,” a
WWII-era Piper L-4H air-
plane, has returned to its
original 1944 condition,
when it was outfi tted with
bazookas to blast Nazi
tanks in France.
La Pine resident Colin
Powers, who recently com-
pleted extensive restoration
of the plane in his garage,
has restored many World
War II planes. But bringing
the plane fl own by U.S.
Army pilot and WWII hero
Charles “Bazooka Charlie”
Carpenter back to life was
his favorite project, he said.
“It’s been an honor to do
this airplane for the family
of Maj. Carpenter,” Powers,
84, said. “I’m very happy
the way it turned out.”
During combat in
France, Carpenter strapped
three bazookas to each
wing of the frail reconnais-
sance plane.
Carpenter used that
plane, which he nicknamed
“Rosie The Rocketer,” to
blow up multiple Panzer
tanks north of the town of
Nancy.
After the war, Car-
penter returned to the U.S.
and became a high school
teacher. The plane stayed in
Europe, where it eventually
wound up in an Austrian
aviation museum.
After a long series of
events, Massachusetts arti-
facts nonprofi t The Collings
Foundation tracked down
the plane and shipped it to
Powers to renovate in early
2019.
Powers said he fi nished
the renovation right on
schedule, as the plane will
be sent back to Massachu-
setts in late July, where it
will be on display at The
Collings Foundation’s
museum.
Originally, Powers
planned to get the plane
licensed with the Fed-
eral Aviation Administra-
tion and fl y it at an experi-
mental aircraft convention
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin this
summer. The COVID-19
pandemic canceled those
plans.
73rd
Anniversary
SALE
Value at Every Price
Be safe, practice social distancing.
Photo by Ryan Brennecke/EO Media Group
Colin Powers points to a small green box on the top of the 1944 Piper L-4H while talking
about the restoration process of the plane Saturday, June 27, at the Sunriver Airport. The
box was added by U.S. Army pilot Charles Carpenter as a rear view mirror to see enemy
planes approaching from behind.
“It just saddens me that I
can’t fl y it,” Powers said.
Still, the plane — which
sits in a hangar at the Sun-
river Airport — looks just
as it did in 1944. The bot-
toms of both wings have
“invasion stripes” painted
on them, which many allied
WWII planes had around
the time of the Normandy
invasion, to prevent troops
from shooting at their own
aircraft, Powers said.
Swivel
Rockers
$
Five
Drawer
Chest
299 499
$
• Free Delivery
• In-Store Credit
• 70 Store Buying Power
• Decorating Assistance
1520 ADAMS AVENUE La GRANDE, OREGON 97850
There’s also a black-and-
white photo in the cockpit
of Carpenter’s wife and
daughter. The photo was
given to Powers by the
daughter in the photo, Carol
Apacki.
“A lot of guys in these
planes, they put up a picture
of (actress) Betty Grable,
but not him,” Powers said.
In October, Powers
invited Apacki — now
a 77-year-old resident of
Granville, Ohio — and
Apacki’s daughter, Erin
Pata, to see the plane.
Pata, a graphic designer,
re-painted the “Rosie The
Rocketer” logo on the side
of the plane in an identical
fashion to her grandfather’s
original design.
“She did a masterful job,
and really worked hard to
make it exactly like it was
in the original,” Apacki
said.
Apacki said she’s kept in
contact with Powers during
the plane’s renovation.
“Awesome is the word
that comes to mind; it’s
unbelievable,” Apacki said.
“It’s the ending of a really
long journey.”
Apacki hopes that the
restoration of her father’s
plane will show younger
generations the power
and bravery that ordinary
people can possess.
Rustic Oak Finished
Entertainment Center
$
699
HOURS:Mon. - Fri.
9:30 am-6:30 pm
Sat. 9:30 am-5:30 pm
Sun. 12 noon-4 pm
(541) 963-4144 • 888-449-2704