Colby Free Press Thursday, September 7, 2006 Page 7 Mother Goose & Grim • Mike Peters (Sample) Grandma spends time complaining DEAR ABBY: I am 34. My last school. I no longer attend college. living grandparent is my grand- Abigail I am working part-time now, using mother, “Gladys,” who is 87. Ever the other time to look for a second since my grandfather died eight Van Buren job. years ago, she has been depressed At family gatherings, my par- without showing signs of getting • Dear ents continue to say I attend this any better. Abby prestigious school, that I am “do- The only thing that gives Gran- ing great” and that I’m almost ny Gladys any pleasure is seeing done with college. her family — but it’s never enough I am not hurt as much as I am • Patrick McDonnell for her. her own generation. ashamed. No matter how often she sees Many women are widowed Are my parents ashamed of me anyone in the family, she tries to after long marriages and go on and my current “non-student” sta- make us feel guilty for not spend- to live satisfying lives. tus? ing more time with her. You know as well as I do that What should I do? I moved to another state last older people do a lot more than — DENIED IN N.Y. year, and whenever Granny Gla- “gripe about their aches and DEAR DENIED: Your par- dys calls she tries to make me feel pains.” ents may feel ashamed that they guilty for moving. As their health permits, they haven’t been able to pay for your She has no interest in making donate time to the community, education as they had planned, friends, and if I suggest she join a socialize and keep themselves but I don’t think they are in any senior citizens group, she com- active and involved. way ashamed of you. plains that “all old people do is Your grandmother appears to With one year of college under gripe about their aches and pains,” have chosen to do none of those your belt, it is important that For Better or Worse • Lynn Johnston and she doesn’t want to listen to things. you complete your education. people complain all day. In fact, she seems to be happy Because you can no longer de- But Abby, all my grandmother in her misery. So please don’t try pend upon your parents to pay does is complain about how lonely to change her — because if you for it, my advice is to pay a visit she is! succeed, you’ll take away what to the financial aid office of the How can I ease my guilt about appears to be her favorite topic school you were attending and moving to another state? of conversation. see what you can work out. And how can I help her to be less Your local library is also a ter- depressed and stop laying guilt DEAR ABBY: I am a daughter rific source of information when trips on our family? of two parents who, until recently, researching scholarships for — WORRIED ABOUT have been the best parents a girl which you might qualify. GRANNY, MORRISVILLE, could hope for. Please don’t wait any longer to N.C. I graduated from high school do this. DEAR WORRIED ABOUT and was accepted into a presti- Hagar the Horrible • Chris Browne GRANNY: You appear to be a gious college in New York. I at- Dear Abby is written by Abigail sweet, caring person, but it tended the school for a year, and Van Buren, also known as Jeanne should not be your responsibil- my grades — like those of many Phillips, and was founded by her ity to lift Granny Gladys out of freshmen — were not exciting. mother, Pauline Phillips. Write her eight-year “depression.” During the second semester, my Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.- Your grandmother appears to father lost his job, and so I finished com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Ange- be prejudiced against people of the semester and dropped out of les, Calif. 90069.

Bridge Family Circus • Bil Keane

Garfield • Jim Davis

Blondie • Chic Young

Eliminating the Luck Element Assume you’re declarer at four hearts and West leads the king of spades. It seems natural to win the spade, draw trumps and lead a diamond to the jack. If the finesse succeeds, you have 10 sure tricks. But if it fails, you could find yourself in serious trouble and go down if East shifts to a club. Crossword This would be the wrong way to play the hand, however. There is a much safer method of play, and, in fact, it’s sure to succeed regardless of how • Mort Walker the East-West cards are divided. The proper approach is to win the spade lead, draw trumps and cash the A-K of diamonds, de- liberately rejecting the finesse. You then lead dummy’s jack of spades, but instead of ruffing it, you discard the five of diamonds! West finds himself on lead but helpless. He can- not afford a spade continuation, which would present you with a ruff-and-discard, so he is forced to return either a diamond (if he has one) or a club. If West has a diamond, he can’t lead it without establishing a diamond trick for you in dummy. • Jim Borgman & Jerry Scott He also can’t lead a club without making your king a trick. So, no matter what he decides to do, West is certain to hand you the contract once you adopt this line of play. Situations like this occur over and over again, and the trick is to recognize them as they arise. The principle that governs them is always the same: Before pinning all your hopes on the favor- able location of a particular card (such as the queen of diamonds or ace of clubs in this deal), you should seek a method of play that either re- duces or eliminates the element of luck. When- ever possible, leave nothing to chance. Zits • Jim Borgman & Jerry Scott Cryptoquip

Sally Forth • Greg Howard