ACROSSACROSS 1 Martianfeature 1 Martianfeature 7 Toldtales 7 Toldtales11 Sermon11 Sermon12 OldAtlantaarena12 OldAtlantaarena13 Likesomemush-13 Likesomemush-roomsrooms14 “—LasVegas”14 “—LasVegas”15 Petstorebuys15 Petstorebuys16 Doled(out)16 Doled(out)17 Shoelaceproblem17 Shoelaceproblem18 Espritdecorps18 Espritdecorps19 Pronto,inmemos19 Pronto,inmemos21 Huck’spal21 Huck’spal22 Southerndrink22 Southerndrink25 Heir,often25 Heir,often26 Tug-of-warneed26 Tug-of-warneed27 Onlineicon27 Onlineicon29 Fling29 Fling33 Submerged33 Submerged34 Numberaftercuatro34 Numberaftercuatro35 Docopywork35 Docopywork36 Patrolboat36 Patrolboat37 Celticletter37 Celticletter38 Suave38 Suave39 Went9039 Went9040 Smallfrog40 Smallfrog

DOWNDOWN 1 Lookinto 1 Lookinto 2 Flyingreptileofmovies 2 Flyingreptileofmovies 3 Bajabuddy 3 Bajabuddy 4 LikeSherpas 4 LikeSherpas 5 Pipebends 5 Pipebends 6 Reubenbase 6 Reubenbase 7 Romanticsort 7 Romanticsort 8 Parrot 8 Parrot 9 Completelyenclose 9 Completelyenclose10 Smallcrown10 Smallcrown

16 Complete,asbusiness16 Complete,asbusiness18 Collegestudy18 Collegestudy20 Sippingaid20 Sippingaid22 Setanearliertimefor22 Setanearliertimefor23 Straight23 Straight24 Beatlesclassic24 Beatlesclassic25 Cavalryweapons25 Cavalryweapons28 Lugged28 Lugged30 Likebarbeer30 Likebarbeer31 Playpart31 Playpart32 Moretickedoff32 Moretickedoff34 Makesound34 Makesound36 Recipeunit36 Recipeunit

Q: I’m reluctant to get my kids, ages 2 and 9, the flu vaccine, but this year our pe-diatrician says it’s required — at least by his practice. They’ve never had the flu and I don’t want the flu shot to make them more vulnera-ble to COVID. What do you think I should do? — Jessie G., Joplin, Missouri

A: A lot of folks are hes-itant to get the flu shot for their kids (and themselves). A new study from the Uni-versity of Colorado School of Medicine found that 6.1% of parents are hesitant to give their children routine child-hood vaccines, but a whop-ping 25.8% are reluctant to have them get the influenza vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says compliance is even lower. In the 2018-2019 flu season, vaccination coverage with at least one dose was 62.6% among children 6 months through 17 years. That means 37.4% of parents had their kids skip it.

As the saying goes, “He (or she) who hesitates is lost.” And there is a lot to lose if you hesitate to get your kids the flu vaccine, especially this year. Getting children (and adults) the 2020-2021 shot can reduce the risk of simultaneous infections or consecutive infections with the influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2. We fear kids risk severe illness, even

death, if they get the two vi-ruses around the same time. The CDC estimates that last year, flu vaccines reduced children’s doctor visits for the illness by 55%.

Furthermore, the flu shot does not increase the risk of contracting COVID-19, as some on social media have claimed. For data and de-tails, go to FactCheck.org. The vaccine also cannot give you the flu — neither the in-jection nor the nasal spray contains viruses that can reproduce or infect a person. So please talk to your pedi-atrician about getting your child 6 months and older a flu shot. (Some children re-quire two shots, four weeks apart). And Mom and Dad, get yours, too!

Q: My wife and I like to have dinner late, after the kids have eaten and we’ve put them to bed. But now she says she’s going to eat din-ner at 6 p.m. with the kids, because she wants to lose weight. Can you help me talk her out of eating dinner earlier? — Steve D., Chicago

A: Sorry, Steve, but your wife is onto something that’s very important for you (and everyone) to pay attention to, whether you want to shed extra pounds, stabilize blood glucose or just maintain your health.

A new study in the Jour-nal of Clinical Endocrinol-ogy & Metabolism backs up what we’ve been saying for about two years (check out Dr. Mike’s recent book, “What to Eat When”): You want to eat 75% of your daily calories before 2 p.m., and you want to finish eating for the day more than three hours before bedtime.

One of folks’ biggest mis-takes is eating most of their calories late in the day, with a heavy dinner and late-night snacking. The When Way is about flipping that around. And once you have your early, light dinner, you want to start a period of fast-ing that is 12 hours or longer (7 p.m. to 7 a.m., say). Over time, try to extend that to 14 to 16 hours (7 p.m. to 9 a.m. or 11 a.m.). That allows your body to use the food you eat most efficiently, avoids glu-cose spikes and promotes better sleep.

In the study, two groups of folks were given exactly the same calorie count for din-ner. One group ate at 6 and one at 10. Both groups went to bed at 11. The folks who ate later had a 10% reduction in fat burning, higher cor-tisol levels while they slept (not restful), an 18% higher glucose level and increased weight. So there’s your proof — now tell your wife how smart she is and see what you can do to adopt this eat-ing schedule too!

Page 11Weekend

Saturday-Sunday, July 18-19, 2020

Zits

Lockhorns

BaBy BLues

Dustin

FamiLy circus

ARIES (March 21-April 19)HHHH Today, your residence and family life are highlighted. This is a wonderful time to facilitate better communication between both relatives and extended family members.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)HHH Relationships with siblings and neighbors can be demanding. Be patient. Undercurrents and extenuating circumstances are afoot. Facts come to light.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)HHHH Conversations about monetary matters are enlightening. You learn more about financial management. Do not repeat financial patterns and habits that led to previous disappointments.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)HHHHH Frustrations will melt away. This is a cycle of higher energy leading to much accomplishment. Personal opportunities abound. Enjoy life and put plans in motion for future dreams.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)HHHH Memories of a past love must be kept in perspective. Your interest in helping the disadvantaged or addressing ecological concerns grows. Quietly, you will do much good in the world.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)HHHH Community involvement will be rewarding today. A mission to make the world a better place appeals to you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)HHHHH Innovate and be creative today. It is a perfect time to begin writing a book, assembling artistic creations or selecting educational goals. Listen carefully to others.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)HHHHH Your aspirations are moving to a higher plane. Prepare for journeys of the mind and body. Some of you will explore other countries.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)HHHH It will be a wild but interesting day. Decide what you really want and pursue it. There are endings and beginnings in process. You are open to learning.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)HHHHH Talented and powerful people are drawing closer to you. The promise of partnerships that are sources of growth and opportunity is very real. Allow others to express individuality while discussing plans.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)HHHHH A sense of discovery and novelty is pervasive throughout today, promising tremendous strength and vitality. Your sense of adventure deepens.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)HHH Don’t change your commitment status today. Be friendly and tolerant of the foibles of a loved one. A change of heart may be followed by regrets.

Parsons S nu

Dear Amy: I have a se-vere general allergy to poi-son ivy. If the tiniest amount of the poison ivy urushiol oil touches any part of me I will break out with hun-dreds of small, but itchy, blisters. These blisters cover my body (not just where I’ve come in contact). Without a steroid prescription from my doctor it can take months for a breakout to clear up.

My problem is that I like to hike on trails that have been cleared of poison ivy, but frequently the areas off the side have poison ivy. I stay on the trail, so this isn’t a problem, but people love to bring their dogs, and if their dogs go off the trail, come in contact with poison ivy, and then touch me, it results in hundreds of blisters, doctors appointments, costs, medi-cation and misery. Because of this, I try to be proactive.

I’ll say: “Please, don’t let your dog touch me, I have allergies.”

They say: “Oh, don’t wor-ry he is friendly.”

I say: “I don’t care. I can’t touch your dog.”

Then the person gets mad or acts insulted — or worse, they let the dog jump all over me.

I don’t hate dogs. I just don’t want dogs (or any an-imal) touching me unless I

absolutely know they hav-en’t had any contact with the common substance that makes me so sick. How would you address this is-sue? — Allergic

Dear Allergic: I definitely enjoy dogs, but I also won-der why some dog owners don’t seem to realize that their beloved family mem-bers are actually animals. Dogs are sometimes unpre-dictable (this is understand-able because they are ani-mals), and dogs can pose a risk to humans.

Just as no parent should assume that every strang-er will find their children charming, no dog owner should assume that every-one will want to interact with their dog.

“Oh don’t worry, he is friendly” is not an appro-priate answer to a human who can’t have contact with a dog without experiencing extreme consequences. The dog’s friendly nature is not in question.

You should say, “I have extreme allergies and could land in the hospital if I have contact with your dog. I’m going to stay on this side of

the trail while you pass by.”Dear Amy: I have en-

joyed the testimonials in your column from people who have successfully quit smoking.

After smoking for de-cades, I managed to kick the habit, permanently, a few years ago. I tried everything, and would be successful for a few weeks and a few months, even at one point for over a year. But I always relapsed, and I always felt terrible about myself when I fell off the wagon, which made everything worse.

I finally realized that - for me - quitting smoking would be a lifetime project. Truly a one-day-at-a-time proposition. Once I started focusing more on my suc-cesses than my failures, I was able to build on them. — Smoke Free

Dear Smoke Free: Testi-monials from people who have “been there” are in-spiring to people who are still struggling. Thank you.

You can email Amy Dick-inson at askamy@amydick-inson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twit-ter @askingamy or Face-book.

Solution for 7/17/20

By THOMAS JOSEPHBy THOMAS JOSEPH

Here’s How It Works:Sudokupuzzlesareformattedasa9x9grid,brokendownintonine3x3boxes.Tosolveasudoku,thenumbers1through9mustfilleachrow,col-umnandbox.Eachnumbercanappearonlyonceineachrow,columnandbox.Youcanfigureouttheorderinwhichthenumberswillappearbyusingthenumericcluesalreadyprovidedintheboxes.Themorenumbersyouname,theeasieritgetstosolvethepuzzle!

Answer to July 17 Puzzle

Contact with friendly dog could be poisonous

Kids and flu vaccines; eat early in the day to stay happy, healthy and wise