-
1 week ago | 
arcamax.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.
-
1 week ago | 
arcamax.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: It seems more and more of my friends' young adult children are getting tattoos. Often my friends share the news like the tattoo is some sort of accomplishment and, if the young adult is present, will summon them over to show off the new ink to (presumably) collect compliments. While I don't begrudge others doing what they want with their bodies, I don't have tattoos myself and don't personally understand the appeal.
-
1 week ago | 
arcamax.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 exponentially as a result. Candid photos are much more interesting than posed photos or photos without people.
-
2 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Our house uses an electronic door code instead of a key and lock. Our relatives know the code, from times when they needed to access our home without us there -- for instance, picking up supplies for us while we were in the hospital, or getting to the house before us for a dinner when the weather was bad. Outside of times such as those, when is it acceptable for them to use the code? GENTLE READER: None times. Because they then transform from helpful relatives to scary intruders.
-
2 weeks ago | 
arcamax.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 when 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.
-
2 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: One co-worker likes to host office parties with food-themed potlucks. She will suggest a dish that she will cook and bring to share, such as trays of chicken wings or seafood pasta. Generally a lunch would have eight to 20 people. As she likes to make these meat- or seafood-based dishes, she will then ask for financial contributions to pay for the ingredients and keep her own costs down. Everyone else is welcome to additionally make or bring something to share.
-
2 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a dear friend who occasionally attends functions with me where food is available -- usually breakfasts. She invariably takes an item (a bagel, muffin or cookie, say), breaks off the amount she wants and then puts the remainder back on the serving platter. I think this is wrong, as she's touching the food with bare hands and returning it for others to eat.
-
2 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My son is graduating with honors from a very selective university. My husband wants to invite family from both sides to attend, which would require everyone to travel out of state to a very expensive city. Initially, we were going to host a nice party after the ceremony. Now it's completely off, due to volatility in my husband's job. He still wants to invite everyone, but let them know we can't house them or provide any celebration outside of the graduation ceremony.
-
2 weeks ago | 
arcamax.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.
-
3 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: When serving a steak, the server will often say something along the lines of, "Please cut into the center to make sure it's cooked the way you want it."At a business dinner of around 20 people, I was rather rudely corrected for doing so by someone who thought I was about to commence eating before everyone's entree had been served. Should I have waited until everyone was served to check my steak, even though I wasn't eating yet?
