Sheinwold’s bridge

Jumble

Dear Annie: I am married to awonderful guy who has a daughterby his ex-girlfriend. I have not yetmet my stepdaughter. Her motherhas full custody and won’t allow myhusband access.

I am older than my husband bythree years. I want to have a child.Before we married, my husband andI talked about having kids. We talkedabout it again last December, andwe agreed that it was time to start afamily.

Here’s the problem: He has nowdecided he’s not ready. I work in thematernity ward of a local hospital,and I see the complications olderwomen can have with pregnancyand with delivery. I am getting closeto that age. I want to have a healthypregnancy and child, but the longerwe wait the harder it will be. My feel-ing is that one is never really “ready”for kids, but you make the neces-sary sacrifices to have something soamazing in your life.

I have asked my husband why thesudden change in attitude, and hisonly response is, “I don’t know.” I’mgetting tired of that, but when I sayso, he replies, “I feel ya.” Totally nothelpful. I don’t want to force him tohave a baby, but I want a family andam getting tired of his excuses. I lovemy husband, but this is driving mecrazy. How can I find out what isreally bothering him and get him onthe same page again? — Monica

Dear Monica: Whether or not tohave children is one of those non-negotiable issues that can break upa marriage. Your husband is beingevasive and seems uninterested inthe idea of children. We wonder whyhe hasn’t fought harder to be a partof his daughter’s life. If having a childis crucial to you, your husband needsto know that you are willing to leavethe marriage in order to find a morecooperative partner. Frankly, wearen’t sure he will make any effort tostop you.

Dear Annie: I have worked in therestaurant industry all of my life. Ourplace is near a clinic. It’s one thing toleave gum under the tables, but I amamazed at the number of people wholeave their used bandages, cotton andsurgical tape. They just put it on theirplate and expect us to dispose of it.Yuck.

I understand that these peopleare coming to eat after having pro-cedures done, and I am grateful fortheir business. But would it be toomuch to ask that they dispose ofthese medical bandages in the bath-room garbage? It’s pretty disgustingto have these things on the table. —A Waitress, Not a Nurse

Dear Waitress: We agree. Sinceyou get a lot of clinic customers, youcan ask management about postinga sign asking people to dispose ofpost-procedure bandages in a spe-cially designated “hazardous waste”container in the bathroom. But somepeople will leave them on the tableregardless. It might be wise to talk tomanagement about having a box ofdisposable gloves that can be wornwhen clearing the tables.

Dear Annie: This is for “Con-cerned,” who objected to havinghis late wife’s photo displayed at hisgranddaughter’s wedding.

When my daughter married, shehad a table in the lounge area withphotos of both sets of parents, eventhough one set was divorced. No oneobjected, including the new signifi-cant others. She also included photo-graphs of all four sets ofgrandparents, even though threewere deceased.

The bride could put a picture ofher grandfather and grandmothertogether, and also one of the grand-father with his new wife. Seems ano-brainer to me, and it’s silly of thegrandfather to be so petty about it.Weddings are headaches enough. —Grateful We Get Alongin My World

ANNIE’S MAILBOX

Husband changesmind about children

Hocus FocusChess quiz

Today is Wednesday, March 27, the 86th day of 2013. There are 279 days left in theyear.

Today’s highlight in history:

On March 27, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted present-day Florida.

Cryptoquip

Today in history

The Cryptoquip is a substitution cipher in which oneletter stands for another. If you think that X equals O, itwill equal O throughout the puzzle. Single letters, shortwords and words using an apostrophe give you cluesto locating vowels. Solution is by trial and error.

© 2013 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

WHITE WINS A PIECE

Hint: Key is a double threat.

Solution: 1. Qc2! (threatens

Rxc6, as well as Qh7 mate)

[Korobov-Antipov ’13].

TIME OUTCrossword

Super Quiz

Subject: ALPHABET WORDS

Each answer is a word that has

the sound of a letter of the alpha-

bet. (e.g., An insect. Answer: Bee

(B).)

FRESHMAN LEVEL

1. A question word.

Answer________

2. A beverage.

Answer________

3. A vegetable.

Answer________

GRADUATE LEVEL

4. A command to turn to the

right.

Answer________

5. A large area of salt water.

Answer________

6. Used to reinforce a listener’s

agreement (chiefly Canadian).

Answer________

PH.D. LEVEL

7. A reminder.

Answer________

8. A bird.

Answer________

9. An elevated railway.

Answer________

1.Why(Y).2.Tea(T).3.Pea(P).4.Gee(G).5.Sea(C).6.Eh(A).7.Cue(Q).8.Jay(J).9.El(L).

Take this Super Quiz to a Ph.D. Score 1 point for each correct answer on the Fresh-man Level, 2 points on the Graduate Level and 3 points on the Ph.D. Level.

ANSWERS:

SCORING:18 points — congratulations, doctor; 15 to 17 points — honors graduate; 10 to 14 points

— you’re plenty smart, but no grind; 4 to 9 points — you really should hit the booksharder; 1 point to 3 points — enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0 points — whoreads the questions to you?

(c) 2013 Ken Fisher

HAPPY BIRTHDAY forWednesday, March 27, 2013:

This process might be challengingat times, but your self-discipline willstrengthen and you’ll learn patience as aresult. Libra has the same issues you do,but he or she makes different choices.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)HHHH

Your resourcefulness finds ways tocome to an agreement with which nearlyeveryone is content. Tonight: Don’t loseyour temper — take a walk instead.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)HHH

Pressure builds, which creates moreback-and-forth between you and someoneelse. You can’t sit on your anger muchlonger, as it is likely to emerge, no matterwhat you do. Tonight: Relax at home.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)HHHH

Your awareness of the different possi-bilities will help you decide. You might notget others’ support for a decision, but fol-low through on it anyway. Tonight: Spiceup your life.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)HH

You are likely to feel the impact oftoday’s Full Moon. A loved one decidesthat it’s his or her way or the highway.Tonight: At home.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)HHH

You might encounter the unexpectedwith a loved one. A partner suddenly couldveer in a new direction. Avoid someone inyour day-to-day life who often challengesyou. Tonight: Talk up a storm.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)HHH

Your spending could spiral out of controlwithout self-discipline. Your creativity willemerge as you try to find a different wayto get what you want without breaking thebank. Tonight: Plan on taking it easy.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)HHHHH

Your ability to step in and make a situa-tion work comes to the forefront. Unusualnews from someone at a distance couldhave you pondering different possibilities.Tonight: Whatever makes you happy.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)HH

Every time you go off and try to dosomething, it seems as if you hit somekind of complication. Don’t push to haveyour way. Do what you feel is necessary,and only that. Tonight: Off on your own.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)HHH

You see the value in nearly every sug-gestion or idea. The problem is decid-ing which one to choose when there isso much focus on whose idea is right.Tonight: Where friends are.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)HHH

Keep reaching out to someone you careabout, even though this person often cre-ates tension. A situation might force youto take the lead. Tonight: Could go late.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)HHHH

You might want to detach, as it couldbe difficult to come to an agreement withsomeone who is determined to be right.Tonight: At a favorite spot.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)HHHH

Deal with someone’s need to be in con-trol. On a superficial level, this personmight win. On a deeper level, however, vic-tory will be yours. ßßTonight: Be a team.

HoroscopeThestarsshowthekindofdayyou’llhave:5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average;2-So-so; 1-Difficult

Jacqueline Bigar

Wednesday, March 27, 2013 THE NEW MEXICAN B-5