COFFEE BREAK B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD SATuRDAY, AuguST 7, 2021 Friend forced to play role in couple’s melodrama and stayed with her only because he wanted to have enough people for a nice student house. Fast-forward three years: We are out of college, and I still live with Jen. Isaac relies on her for all his emotional needs and says she’s his “best friend.” She can’t say no to him or distance her- self because she’s still hoping that “maybe” something could happen. Earlier this year he told me that he was not planning on getting back together with her, but he’s here almost every day, insisting on spending time with us. It’s frustrating since I feel Jen deserves more. She’s very anx- ious, and told me during the Dear Abby: I have two good friends who dated all through col- lege until “Isaac” broke up with “Jen” in a very stressful and dra- matic way. We were all living together in a house, and he broke up with her to date a girl he liked from his newspaper club. We used to host parties for the club, and the girls would openly flirt with him in front of Jen. During the mess of the breakup, I learned that Isaac had known for a while he wanted to end things with Jen, breakup that she didn’t want me telling her any details about him that she wouldn’t want to hear. I’m now wondering if I have used that as an excuse to spare her from all the things I feel she ought to know. I don’t know how I would even broach the sub- ject, and it’s making me irritable around them. Help! — Hoping I’m A Good Friend Dear Hoping: Jen made clear that she doesn’t want to hear any bad news from you. If you dis- close what you know, you will lose your housemate. The mes- sage you want to deliver falls into that category. From your descrip- tion of Isaac, he’s a user and a player. She would be better off their relationships. We would appreciate it if you could find the answer, if there is one. — Curious in the East Dear Curious: Unlike with straight couples, who define their spouse as “husband” or “wife,” when male couples marry, both spouses refer to their partner as “husband.” With female cou- ples, the spouses are both called “wife.” Household tasks usually fall to whomever does them best or wants to do them. Roles are assigned according to ability and circumstance, rather than imi- tating traditional marital duties. (By the way, the same applies to some opposite-sex couples as well.) without him in her life. But she must arrive at that conclusion herself. (After their breakup, she should have realized he couldn’t be counted on.) Sometimes people have to learn the hard way, and Jen appears to be one of them. If you uncouple your life from theirs and spend less time with them, it will be healthier for you. Dear Abby: There are sev- eral same-sex couples within our circle of friends and former co-workers. Whether male or female, each has a husband and wife. We are not sure how it is decided who will assume which role; and we don’t feel comfort- able asking what might be too intrusive a question regarding NEWS OF THE WEIRD Library book returned after 50 years with $20 bill Caravella purchased her winning ticket from a Publix supermarket in Brandon, just east of Tampa. The store will receive a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket. The $30 game that Car- avella won launched in February 2020 and features 155 top prizes of $1 million and over $948 million in cash prizes. The Associated Press PLYMOUTH, Pa. — A book checked out a half-century ago has been anonymously returned to a library in northeastern Pennsylvania, officials said. The Wilkes-Barre Citi- zens’ Voice reports that the 1967 copy of “Coins You Can Collect” by Burton Hobson arrived last month at the Plymouth Public Library in Luzerne County along with a $20 bill. An accompanying unsigned letter, written as if by the book itself, said “Fifty years ago (yes 50!), a little girl checked me out of this library in 1971. At this time, she didn’t know they were going to move from Plymouth. Back then, kids weren’t told things like that. “As you can see, she took very good care of me,” the letter continued, explaining that it was packed away often for frequent moves but was “always with many other books.” The writer, speaking in her own voice rather than as the book, then says she often intended to send the book back but somehow never got around to it. “This became a run- ning joke in my family. Each time we moved, they always asked me if I packed ‘the Plymouth Book,’” she wrote. The letter writer said she knew the $20 wouldn’t come close to paying the accrued fine, but suggested “Perhaps you can pay off some fines of some kids with it.” Library director Laura Keller said she did just that, Woman unaware she had $39M lottery ticket in purse for weeks Dave Scherbenco/The Citizens’ Voice Plymouth Pa. Public Library Director Laura Keller holds up the book “Coins You Can Collect”, Tuesday Aug. 3 2021, after it was returned 50-years overdue. Included with the book was a letter and $20 donation. (Dave Scherbenco/The Citizens’ Voice via AP) paying “some hefty fines” of a young mother who wanted to start borrowing books again. Borrowing privileges at the library are suspended if fines exceed $5, she said. Both letter and book will soon be on display at the library, Keller said. The writer’s identity remains a mystery, although she souri woman’s luck quickly changed when she won $1 million from a Florida Lot- tery scratch-off ticket. Angela Caravella, 51, of Kansas City, Missouri, claimed a $1 million top prize last month from The Fastest Road to $1,000,000 scratch-off game, according to a Florida Lottery news release. said her family and friends would know the story was about her if it was pub- lished in a local newspaper. Woman bought $1M lottery ticket after flight was canceled TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Having just had her flight canceled, a Mis- weather | Go to AccuWeather.com She chose to receive her winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $790,000. “I had a feeling some- thing bizarre was going to happen after my flight was canceled unexpectedly,” Caravella said. “I bought a few scratch-off tickets to pass the time and just like that — I won $1 million!” AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 55/67 Kennewick 56/72 St. Helens 57/75 Hood River 57/69 54/77 Condon 64/79 59/76 SUN MON TUE WED Partly cloudy Times of clouds and sun Sunny and pleasant Mostly sunny and pleasant Partly sunny and very hot 81 45 89 52 95 51 Eugene 9 6 4 56/80 79 51 88 59 96 61 9 8 4 La Grande 58 71 48 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 10 7 9 52 66 44 Comfort Index™ 7 85 56 92 60 10 7 5 TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Thursday Low Thursday High: 122° Low: 34° Wettest: 3.45” 92° 55° 92° 57° 92° 60° PRECIPITATION (inches) Thursday Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date 0.05 0.47 0.07 2.93 6.06 Trace 0.21 0.10 6.33 10.76 0.00 0.23 0.10 15.60 15.33 HAY INFORMATION SUNDAY 35% WNW at 7 to 14 mph 10.2 0.20 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Friday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 3% of capacity 39% of capacity 25% of capacity 55% of capacity 9% of capacity 8% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Thursday) Grande Ronde at Troy Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder Burnt River near Unity Umatilla River near Gibbon Minam River at Minam Powder River near Richland OREGON Rome Lakeview North Bend WEATHER HISTORY AGRICULTURAL INFO. Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration Death Valley, Calif. Leadville, Colo. Lake City, Fla. High: 100° Low: 44° Wettest: 0.02” Philadelphia, Pa., had a high temperature of 106 degrees on Aug. 7, 1918. This mark was not matched until 1936 and has yet to reach that high again. SUN & MOON SAT. Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset 5:44 a.m. 8:12 p.m. 4:24 a.m. 8:17 p.m. SUN. 5:45 a.m. 8:10 p.m. 5:32 a.m. 8:49 p.m. MOON PHASES 517 cfs 109 cfs 106 cfs 44 cfs 100 cfs 34 cfs New Aug 8 First Aug 15 Full Aug 22 Beaver Marsh 57/75 Last Aug 29 62/83 Silver Lake Jordan Valley 57/82 Paisley 50/83 49/79 Frenchglen 57/82 65/86 Klamath Falls 48/83 City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Hi/Lo/W 67/54/c 75/44/s 84/54/s 69/53/pc 80/40/s 66/52/pc 77/51/pc 79/49/s 70/45/pc 80/50/pc 77/56/pc 69/55/pc 74/46/pc 76/48/s 65/43/pc 77/58/pc 83/43/s 86/45/s Hi/Lo/W 69/54/pc 83/55/s 83/59/s 70/53/s 84/47/s 68/52/s 86/58/s 83/51/s 79/49/s 87/56/s 87/57/s 87/60/s 81/54/pc 84/53/s 72/51/pc 86/58/s 89/49/s 89/50/s 60/91 Lakeview 49/86 McDermitt 54/88 RECREATION FORECAST SUNDAY REGIONAL CITIES MON. Grand View Arock 56/83 60/88 Shown is Sunday’s weather. Temperatures are Saturday night’s lows and Sunday’s highs. SUN. Diamond 56/79 Fields Medford Brookings Boise 65/84 61/82 53/69 60/85 50/79 Chiloquin Grants Pass Juntura 54/80 50/72 49/78 Ontario 67/87 Burns Brothers 56/77 Roseburg Huntington 52/72 Bend Coos Bay 62/79 67/82 Seneca 57/75 Oakridge Council 54/75 58/76 54/76 Elkton THURSDAY EXTREMES ALMANAC 51/66 John Day 56/79 Sisters Florence Powers 53/78 Baker City Redmond 50/61 53/64 Halfway Granite 54/77 Newport 53/66 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. 59/77 54/71 57/79 59/78 74 51 6 Corvallis Enterprise 52/66 58/71 Monument 59/72 Idanha Salem TONIGHT 6 56/70 La Grande 56/70 Maupin Comfort Index™ Elgin Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg Lewiston 67/76 60/74 60/74 TIllamook 54 75 41 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 Walla Walla 66/77 Vancouver 56/75 54/67 Baker City BERLIN — Lottery officials say a woman in Germany carried a win- ning ticket in her purse for weeks without realizing it was worth about $39 million. Lotto Bayern said last month that the 45-year-old woman was the sole winner of a draw on June 9, having correctly guessed seven fields on a German lottery ticket. It quoted the woman, who wasn’t named, saying “I still get dizzy at the thought that I carelessly carried almost 33 million euros around in my purse for several weeks.” The mother of one had picked random numbers on the 1.20-euro lottery ticket and doesn’t plan to play again, saying the win was “more than enough for my husband, my daughter and me,” the company quoted her as saying. It said she plans to use her lucky windfall to live a healthy life and do more for the environment. SUN. City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla MON. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 76/57/pc 83/60/pc 72/54/c 82/60/s 68/46/pc 79/48/s 86/55/s 95/61/s 61/48/pc 62/49/s 73/50/pc 80/55/s 87/56/s 86/58/s 81/54/pc 88/56/s 74/55/pc 83/59/s 76/55/pc 84/62/s 75/51/pc 79/53/s 79/44/s 87/51/s 83/55/pc 88/61/s 79/53/pc 87/61/s 70/54/pc 79/60/pc 79/57/pc 90/65/s 67/42/pc 78/47/s 74/57/pc 83/62/s Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE Colder Mostly sunny 47 41 68 41 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. Partly sunny Partly sunny 55 45 79 49 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK Cooler Periods of sun 55 36 64 38 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR Periods of sun Breezy in the a.m. 65 43 74 49 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Cooler Partly sunny 75 41 71 48