October 9, 2021
Activities
5
Generous friend ready to cut
off assistance
Ripleys——Believe It or Not!
Dear Abby
DEAR ABBY: I have a long-
distance friend I met online 10
years ago. I took pity on her be-
cause she was nearly destitute,
and I have been helping her
pay her bills. She’s visited me
a number of times, and I care
about her a lot. However, her
constant requests for money
are starting to make me un-
comfortable. (She can’t work
for health reasons, and there’s
a major scarcity of social ser-
vices or competent care in her
Rust Belt locality.)
I do not want to continue en-
abling her. I have tried suggest-
ing she move closer to her sis
ter, seek better care, etc., but
she doesn’t have the motiva
tion. I have a hard time saying
“no" to people. I got married
recently, and I don’t want this
situation to negatively affect
my relationship with my wife.
In my friend’s current emo-
tional state, I’m afraid if I end
my friendship with her, she’ll
never recover from the emo
tional trauma. She even tat-
tooed my name on her wrist
so she’d see it every time she
wanted to cut herself, like
she used to do before we met.
What should I do? TIED TO
HER
DEAR TIED: Start research-
ing assertiveness training pro-
grams for yourself, because
you sorely need more help
than I can give you in one col-
umn. Discuss this with your
wife for additional emotional
support, because you are right
- continuing to give your on-
line friend financial help WILL
destroy your marriage. After
that, tell this needy woman
you won’t be sending her more
money, and that you do not
want her to contact you until
she has moved closer to her
sister so she can find the help
she needs. Do not feel guilty
for doing this. You have been
extraordinarily generous to
have let this go on for a decade.
had been invited to go to a ball
game with a friend and would
be leaving almost immediately,
adding it was an hour’s drive
away and they would be gone
all day and returning early
evening. They said we were
welcome to "just hang out"
and wait for them to return.
We said we would head home
the same time they left for the
ballgame. I was stunned and
felt they were incredibly rude.
Am I overly sensitive, or was
this an acceptable way to treat
guests? -- TAKEN ABACK IN A
COLD STATE
7
SILLER WHALES
HAVE
BEST FRIENDS
SCIENTISTS THEORIZE THAT ICELAND REPRESENTS
THE LAST REMNANTS OF ICELANDIA, A TEXAS-SIZED
CONTINENT THAT DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE WAVES
OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN = _
TEN MILLION YEARS AGO.
WL, I THINK YOUR
IDEA FOR A TV SHOW
IS OFFENSIVE AND 1
WOUN’T WATCH IT.
DEAR ABBY: My husband
and I have good friends who
winter every year in another
state, halfway across the coun-
try. For years they asked us to
come for a visit. Last winter,
we were vacationing about six
hours from where they were
staying. We called and asked
if they were available and if it
would be convenient for us to
come for three days. They as-
sured us they had no commit
ments and would love for us to
come, which we did.
In the early morning of the
third day, they announced they
DEAR TAKEN ABACK: I
agree that it was rude. Your
friends had a choice, to ful
fill their duties as gracious
hosts, or be selfish and go to
the game. By choosing the lat-
ter, they damaged a longtime
friendship. I can see why you
were “taken aback.”
Dear Abby is written by Abi-
gail Van Buren, also known
as Jeanne Phillips, and was
founded by her mother, Pau
line Phillips. Contact Dear
Abby at www.DearAbby.com or
P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles,
CA 90069.
10-9
Crossword
No OffENS,
| BUT I’M NOT
, EXACTLY GONG
FOR THE
UBER-NERD
DEMOGRAPHIC.
YOU KNOW, EVEN
A TRAINWRICK
SHOW CAN BE
(00 ANNOYING
10 NATCH...
....00
MUCH
WRECK,
NOT
ENOUGH
TRAIN.
S/ BIT
X OHHHH. WHAT
...WHUP?
A GLORIOUS
WRECK
PLEASE CLOSE
THE DOOR
NEXT TIME!
ACROSS
1 Makes a blouse
5 Mr. Bacharach
9 Interprets tea
leaves
14 Feel certain
15 Where Hong
Kong is
16 Studio feature
1 7 Rochester’s Jane
18 Notorious pirate
19 Car pedal
20 Tackled a job
(2 wds.)
22 Kept away from
24 Barbecue gadget
26 Make do with
27 Making gentle
30 Put up with
35 Leave-taking
36 Tough fiber
37 Knights’ titles
38 Physique
39 Hawaii’s main
industry
O
10-6-21
42
Miserables"
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN IT MEANS
SOMEONE $ TALKING ABOUT SET
YOUR CIFES GOALS AND    YOUR
THEY TEWA YOU TO REACH GOALS
FOR THE MOON 9 / REALLY
-----, _ HIGH.
BUTIS THE MOON OF
SOMETHING YOU COURSE
CAN ACTUALLY NOT
STRETCH OUT
AND REACH:
SO THEYRE CONDEMNING
ME TO A LIFETIME OF
FUTILITY
I NEVER I CANT EVEN 1
MIND.) REACH THE
| |TO P SMEL F OF
:     MY PANTRY
S AG €
0 E
I’VE BEEN THINKING
ABOUT THINGS
JMOAV?5 10-9
WHY CANT YOU
JUST ADMIT THAT
ADDING SERVERS
WILL INCREASE
ENERGY COSTS?
YOU
HAVE?
WELL, FOR ONE THING,
IT’S OBVIOUS TO ANY
IDIOT. SECONDLY,
IT ISN’T RELATED TO
OUR DISCUSSION
SHOULDN’T YOU LEAVE
HEAVY STUFF LIKE THAT TO
SOMEONE BETTER QUALIFIED?
43 PTA and NEA
45 Courteous chap
46 Bullring
48 Tiny, as a town
(hyph.)
50 Poorly made
51 Before, to poets
52 Fix up an old
house
54 Treat a wound
58 Sullivan’s
collaborator
62 Outlandish
63 Mend socks
65 Ontario neighbor
66 Web-toed
mammal
67 Rapier’s kin
68 Track event
69 Misty-eyed
70 Fishing items
71 Ollie’s partner
1 7
20
27
35
38
21
28
29
24
39
THOSE ARE
FAIRLY GOOD
REASONS.
48
44
49
, M 7 6 1 6
) A M u m
54
62
6
55
st
ISCOVeRet IN
URUGUAY, THE
LARGEST
SABER-TOOTHED CAT
SKULL EVER FOUND
MEASURES
6 INCHES LONG.
MEANING IS OWNER
WEIGHED ABOUT 960
POUNDS:
Current puzzle answers
W
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ng |
O
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2021 UFS, Dist. by Andrews McMeel for UFS
DOWN
1 Slant
2 "Orinoco Flow"
singer
3 Sentence part
4 Term of
endearment
5 Cookie-making
6 Resorting to
7 Disencumber
8 Youngsters
9 Take to task
10 Breadwinners
32 Ran a fever
33 What’s in
34 Dreaded
assignment
36 Shades
40 Hideous
monsters
41 Taj —
44 Ballerina Moira
11 Cold
icicle
12 Hockey feint
13 Musher’s
vehicle
21 Glazed goody
(var.)
23 Comes to the
rescue
25 More grim
27 Major no-no
28 Beautify
29 Gnat
31 Not include
47 Bandits
49 Mean and
nasty
50 Polishes
53 Snowy-white
bird
54 Ducklike bird
55 Mandolin
cousin
56 James or Kett
57 First orchard?
59 Was, to Ovid
60 Costa —
61 Harold of the
comics
64 Mimic
6
s
10
11
12
13
15
18
40
45
22
25
26
30
31
0
6
32
33
33a
r
57
63
41
52
64
53
[58
3.
47
50
59
60
61
1
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