wednesday, september 2, 2015 | west hawaii today
4B
Dear Annie:
After
14 years of marriage,
my husband, “Ron,” left
me for another woman.
Here’s how it happened:
For several years, friends
had dinner with us once
a week. One day, they
brought along “Fran,” a
recently widowed woman
they took under their
wing. Ron initially told
me he found her vulgar,
overweight, unattractive
and heavily tattooed.
Fran talked nonstop
about herself, bragging
about her time in a biker
club where she enjoyed
“getting wasted on drugs
and having random sex,”
a lifestyle she want-
ed to get back into.
Within weeks, Ron
changed his tune about
Fran. He decided she was
“cool,” and he, too, want-
ed a life that included
drugs and random sex.
He and Fran began to
text and call each other
daily, often right in front
of me. Ron began to find
fault with everything I
said or did, and criticized
me to others. He even
assaulted me physically
and then stopped speak-
ing to me for months.
Finally, he left and
moved in with Fran.
Annie, I did everything
for Ron. I helped support
us with my full-time job
while doing all the cook-
ing and cleaning. Our
sex life was great. I kept
myself slim and attractive.
Nearly a year after Ron
left, he begged me for for-
giveness, and I agreed to
let him come home pro-
vided he got into anger
management counseling.
I also told him if he ever
assaulted me verbally or
physically again, I would
terminate the marriage.
With counseling, Ron
became a different man,
loving and supportive,
and very apologetic. But
to this day, he has been
unable to tell me what
he found so provocative
about Fran, a woman
he now says he abhors.
Why would a man
leave a loving relation-
ship for one that is so
destructive? If any of
the men in your reading
audience have done this,
could they tell me why?
And were they happy?
— Waiting for Answers
Dear Waiting:
We
don’t believe Fran was
the attraction. We think
it was the promise of her
lifestyle that he found
fascinating, exciting and
freeing. But it turned out
to be something much
less appealing in practice.
We are glad Ron has
become a better hus-
band, and if our readers
have more to say, we’ll
be happy to print it.
Dear Annie:
What a kind gesture
“Heartbroken Brother-
in-Law” did by ordering
vases of his wife’s ashes
to be given to his wife’s
sisters. It’s a shame they
thought it was in poor
taste and now the rela-
tionship is damaged.
When my sister died a
few years ago, we didn’t
know this was an option.
Her son took the urn
back to his home state.
He didn’t do this selfishly,
of course, but all of us
who loved her would have
been so grateful to have
had that remembrance.
Please tell “Heartbroken”
that he was indeed
thoughtful and kind.
— Louisville, Ky
Dear Louisville:
Several readers suggest-
ed the sisters may have
had religious reasons to
reject the cremains, but
we think a brother-in-law
of 60 years would know
whether this was the case.
We hope their relation-
ship has been repaired.
Annie’s Mailbox
is written by Kathy
Mitchell and Marcy
Sugar, longtime editors
of the Ann Landers col-
umn. Email questions
to anniesmailbox@
creators.com, or write
to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o
Creators Syndicate, 737
3rd St., Hermosa Beach,
CA 90254. Find Annie
at facebook.com/askan-
nies. To find out more
about Annie’s Mailbox
and read features by
other Creators Syndicate
writers and cartoonists,
visit creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2015 CREATORS.COM
ACROSS
1
Thrown skyward
7
Parent of a zorse
or a zonkey
12
“Fresh Air”
network
15
Knuckle to the
head
16
Lop-___
17
“Hostel” director
Roth
18
*It’s divided into
four zones in the
contiguous U.S.
states
20
React to a
stench, maybe
21
One end of a
fairway
22
Carne ___
(burrito filler)
23
Eight-year
member of
Clinton’s cabinet
24
Common school
fund-raiser
27
*Coup d’état, e.g.
29
Blood-typing
system
30
What a line drive
lacks
32
“… ___ ye be
judged”
33
*Incidental
chatter
37
Stain on one’s
reputation
41
Home of the
Buccaneers
42
Knuckleballer
Wilhelm
44
Have ___ (avoid
blame)
45
“You’ve
convinced me!”
47
*Handouts to
theatergoers
49
Regatta gear
51
Flight info, briefly
52
End to “end”
53
*Make retroactive
57
Russell of “Black
Widow”
60
Site with Daily
Deals
61
Fare for Oliver
Twist
63
Hoodwink
64
Great Society
inits.
65
Statistical
achievement in
basketball … or
what the answer
to each starred
clue is
69
Fraternity letter
70
As late as
71
Breath mint in a
tin
72
Hyphenated ID
73
Half of the letters
in this answer’s
row
74
“Of course, that’s
obvious”
DOWN
1
Young ___ (tots)
2
Container for
6-Down
3
Where forgotten
umbrellas may
accumulate
4
Vice president
before Ford
5
Half a 45
6
Chai ___
7
Sleep indicator in
a British comic
strip
8
Really get to
9
Like some
showers
10
Many movies
with built-in
audiences
11
Ending with Gator
12
More than half of
Israel
13
It lacks depth
14
Extreme hardship
19
Full of school
spirit
23
Corkscrew-
shaped pasta
24
Prickly pears, e.g.
25
James ___
Garfield
26
Remained idle
28
Founded: Abbr.
31
Sound of a
wooden shoe
34
Like a haunted
house
35
Restaurant dish
that patrons may
make themselves
36
“American
Sniper” subject
Chris ___
38
Person who can
do no wrong
39
Stubborn sorts
40
Totally
disoriented
43
Act the snitch
46
Chinese New
Year decorations
48
“Fargo” assent
50
Walks like a
peacock
53
Big swigs
54
Arafat’s
successor
55
New Orleans
cuisine
56
Ragtime pianist
Blake
58
France’s ___ des
Beaux-Arts
59
Defeats handily
62
Some add-ons
65
Expected in
66
Word repeated in
“___ in, ___ out”
67
Polygraph
detection
68
Some desk
workers, for short
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ASTROLOGY
E u g e n i a L a s t
annie’s mailbox |
advice
Husband ditches wife for drug using, ex-biker chick
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015
CELEBRITIES
BORN
ON THIS DAY:
Salma Hayek,
49; Keanu Reeves, 51; Mark
Harmon, 64; Terry Bradshaw, 67.
Happy Birthday:
Your open-
ness and concern for the wel-
fare of your community, friends,
family and environment will
bring you recognition and praise.
Stepping up and doing things
because you want to be a part of
the changes going on around you
will improve your life and put you
in a position to attain a brighter
future. Your numbers are 9, 14,
21, 27, 30, 39, 46.
ARIES (March 21-April
19): Push your limits. You will
impress the people around you
if you pick up your pace and
present your skills with passion.
When opportunity knocks, you
have to be ready to open the door
and jump into action. Romance
is encouraged. 3 stars
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Put more emphasis on expand-
ing your mind and your inter-
ests. Don’t get into a dispute with
someone when you should be
focusing on your own accom-
plishments. Learn from past
experience and refuse to let your
emotions take over. 3 stars
GEMINI
(May
21-June
20): Finish the jobs you’ve left
undone. Taking on too much or
neglecting one thing in order to
do another will lead to dissatis-
faction. A verbal agreement and
a tight schedule will help you
stay on track and out of trouble.
3 stars
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Stick to what you know and do
best. Trying to follow others or
live up to someone else’s expecta-
tions will be a waste of time. Set
your goals and don’t worry about
anything except finishing what
you start. 2 stars
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Your
high-spirited attitude and keen
ability to express yourself will
take you far. Make important
changes now in order to set the
stage for things to come. Business
and pleasure trips will pay off.
Romance is highlighted. 5 stars
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Make a point to invite friends
over for a get-together. A chance
to share your concerns or express
your intentions will gather inter-
est from others and will help you
narrow down your plans. Be sure
to finish what you start. 5 stars
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Personal improvements and
making a point to bring about
changes that will boost your
confidence should be put into
play. Refuse to let anyone put
demands on you or your time.
Put your own needs first. 3 stars
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Think big and use your imagina-
tion and intuition when making
business or domestic decisions.
A chance to get ahead will reveal
itself if you rely on your knowl-
edge and skills to help you pres-
ent what you have to offer. 3 stars
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21): Strive to make personal
improvements that will help you
look, feel and do your best. Plan
a trip or check out new hob-
bies that fit your current situ-
ation. Implementing a routine
that improves your health and
well-being will pay off. 3 stars
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19): Don’t be troubled by the
changes going on around you.
Property investments will turn
out better than you anticipated,
and so will a relationship that
you have with someone special.
Good fortune is within your
reach. Invest in your future. 5
stars
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18): Your loyalty toward both
old and new friends will help
you bring them together. You
will get the support you need to
make positive financial changes
and improve the way you live.
Something interesting will devel-
op that could improve your love
life. 2 stars
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Work and money should be your
primary concerns. Making voca-
tional changes will lead to greater
stability. You don’t have to give
up one position in order to take
on another. Spread your talent
around and you will advance. 4
stars
Birthday Baby:
You are
responsive, productive and
precise. You are generous and
thoughtful.
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