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4 days ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Relative to the longstanding tradition of men proposing marriage to women, and in this day of slow (but hopefully inexorable) movement towards gender equity, I wonder if the percent of marriage proposals initiated by women has increased. Should it? GENTLE READER: Sure, it should. In a sensible world, it would hardly matter which half of a couple suggested getting married. But there is nothing sensible about what has happened to marriage proposals.
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1 week ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a friend, Nora, whom I have known since high school. She now lives in a nearby town, but too far to just make a visit for the day, so when we do get together, it requires a weekend stay for her and her husband. We do get along and enjoy their visit, except for one thing. When I entertain, I like to plan all the food and prepare it in advance so I don’t spend a lot of time cooking while they are here.
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1 week ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was on a flight and sitting in the aisle seat. The middle seat and window seat were occupied by strangers. The plane had landed, and people were standing in the aisle waiting for the door to open. I remained seated, waiting for the aisle to clear. The woman in the window seat reached over and poked me, telling me to stand up. I have severe hearing loss. I wear a hearing aid and an implant. I’m not sure if she had been trying to tell me this and I hadn’t heard her. I was infuriated.
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1 week ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: As a frequent tourist, I take lots of photos wherever I go. I try not to be intrusive, but it isn’t feasible to ask permission of anonymous people in public spaces, and U.S. courts have ruled that nobody has a right to privacy in such settings. Everyone carries a phone these days, and the number of people taking photos has increased dramatically as a result. Candid photos are much more interesting than posed photos or photos without people.
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2 weeks ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Our group of friends is about 15 people large. We have known each other for over three decades. At the opposite end of the group is a couple that we only see if the entire group gets together. We like to entertain and have invited this couple for years. They have never accepted our invitations, though they accept invitations from others in the group. In some cases, they RSVP “no,” but other times they do not reply at all. Finally, we hosted a party and decided not to invite them.
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2 weeks ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My child’s school is having a staff appreciation week, which isn’t a bad idea, given the effort they put in and how they enhance our kids’ lives. What strikes me as extremely gauche, however, is that it’s organized and run by the school, while asking parents to contribute. This seems like the kind of thing that parents should organize if they want to, rather than being pressured into it by the school. If the administration wants to do it themselves, then they should fund it.
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3 weeks ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My daughter was married this past weekend. She originally invited her maid of honor, “Sophie,” without a plus-one because my daughter was unaware of any relationship. Sophie complained and asked for a plus-one so that her boyfriend, Sam (whom my daughter had never met), could attend with her. Sophie’s parents were also not invited, and this was intentional.
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3 weeks ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have developmental prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, and cannot recognize any human faces. I work remotely in a profession that does not require me to interact directly with others. My husband watches TV and movies with me in case I confuse the characters, and goes to parties with me to help me know who I’m talking with. I have been very open about my condition and my willingness to answer questions about it, and have made sure to inform all my friends about it.
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4 weeks ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was taught by my mother and grandmother, who practiced what they preached, that condolence letters should be acknowledged. Their practice was to answer every condolence letter with a return letter. It could be long or short, but at the very least it should express gratitude.
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1 month ago | 
spokesman.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: When hosting a cocktail hour, how does the hostess gracefully navigate the quantity of food served? For example, if the cheese platter is reduced to a few bites, should the hostess be constantly monitoring and replenishing it, even if the planned “hour” has passed? I certainly don’t want to appear stingy with guests. But bringing out more food seems to encourage lingering and drifting into dinner time and beyond.
