Life Advice

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See, I Was Protecting You From The Other Creepy Men

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a 67-year-old man who works out regularly at a gym. The gym is open 24/7, and members have a key fob to enter since it is not always staffed.

I was exercising at 9 p.m., and the only other person there was a young, attractive woman, probably in her 40s. We exchanged pleasantries. When I was finished with my workout, I ...Read more

Every Milestone Comes With A Wish List

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We have friends who seem to think every little milestone should be celebrated like a small wedding. They hold celebrations and attach a wish list, sometimes with hundreds of gift ideas, to every invitation. Birthday parties, gender-reveal parties, baby showers (for every child, often asking for a box of diapers as well as a ...Read more

Rude Passenger Puts The 'bark' In 'disembark'

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is the proper etiquette for disembarking a plane when the aisles are full and someone's bag is several rows behind them?

I was getting off a flight when a couple in the row in front of me tried to get other passengers to retrieve their large carry-on bags from the overhead compartments, four rows back, and pass them up ...Read more

Apparently It Wasn't A Very Good College

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A friend from college works in Europe now and asked to stay with me for 10 days when he was here visiting. I made sure he had fresh towels every day.

His first day here, he flooded my bathroom floor while taking a shower (he said he "forgot how shower curtains work") and called for help. I quickly grabbed a towel and threw it...Read more

Honesty Not Always The Best Policy

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I are frequently invited to another couple's parties. We are all gay, male seniors.

One member of this couple seems to be going through some cognitive issues. He tells everyone assembled the same lengthy jokes and goes on and on about his religious and political views, always offending some present.

We have ...Read more

Can A Passenger Ask The Driver Not To Smoke?

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a lifelong nonsmoker and naturally do not permit anyone to light up in my home or in my car. No exceptions. But when I'm a passenger in a vehicle driven by a friend who smokes, they will inevitably light up without asking if it's OK.

They'll crack their window and blow the smoke out through the crack. Even so, the wisp ...Read more

Well, This Escalated Quickly

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am currently staying with a family friend and her husband for a few days while visiting my hometown. The husband clearly isn't happy with me staying here, so I have not interacted with him much.

On my second day here, the husband asked for a divorce. Now I can hear them fighting, and the tension is insane.

How do I ...Read more

Only Happy Stories About Dogs, Please

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My dog is a great conversation starter. Strangers who stop to admire him will often share a story or two about their own pets, or their own memories of dogs they've known.

As much as I enjoy this, I've noticed that these strangers will often -- with no prompting from me and with no obvious conversational cues leading toward ...Read more

When In Doubt, Ignore The T-Shirt Message

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Last summer, I attended a barbecue with my husband's co-workers and their families. I was introduced to a co-worker's wife, who was wearing a T-shirt commemorating her close relative's untimely death a year prior. My husband had told me what happened at the time, and how devastating it was to her and the rest of the family.

I...Read more

Were We Rude To Leave A Concert After Four Hours?

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My spouse and I are friends with a couple, one of whom is in a band. This band put on a show at a local restaurant, and we went to show support.

We arrived prior to the start of the show, around 7:30, and enjoyed the music, applauding loudly and singing along to the songs we knew. However, as it got later and later, around 11...Read more

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On Other People's Heads

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: This time of year, it often rains in the afternoon, and so I carry an umbrella with me. However, many people do not.

On occasion, it will start raining when I am in a crowd -- at the ballpark, for example, or waiting for the light to change on a crowded sidewalk. If I open my umbrella, then the rain that hits it falls onto ...Read more

Live And Let Live -- Even The 'we're Pregnant!' People

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Lately it has seemed that the phrases "We're pregnant" and "They're pregnant" have been subsumed into acceptable usage.

Although I'm not a doctor, last time I checked, only women get pregnant. There is no biological reality where a woman and her partner are both pregnant with the same baby. Hence, "My partner is pregnant" or ...Read more

Snobbery A Bad Look For University President

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was invited by a friend who works in our state's governor's office to attend a college football game in the university president's box. This is a nationally recognized university, but not an Ivy League school.

At the game, the president asked me what college I had attended, then gave me a condescending stare when I named ...Read more

Wondering What They'd Prefer? Just Ask

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We have a longtime friend, and now neighbor, who cannot consume food orally due to extensive cancer surgeries and treatments years ago. They can consume very limited quantities of liquids, but they use a tube-feeding process for all nutrition, and have done so for years.

We will soon host a formal, seated dinner party for a ...Read more

'sorry, My Pillow Needs This Seat'

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I travel frequently, and I have noticed that airports are reducing the number of seats at the gates. I will arrive at the gate more than an hour before boarding, only to find all the seats already taken -- except for the three holding someone's coats and pillows, or the one next to a couple with their luggage on it.

If I ask,...Read more

Help! My Teen Nephew Wants To, Like, Talk To Me

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: How do I kindly tell my sister that her son's texts to the family are annoying?

He's 14, and his texts and phone etiquette leave us scratching our heads. He doesn't "read the room," often sending gifs and memes more appropriate for his friends than a family chat that includes his mom, aunts and grandparents. Or he will call ...Read more

Email 101: Assume Everything Will Be Forwarded

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I'm a member of several organizations. Frequently I've sent updates or comments to the leaders of these groups, who then forward my email to everyone with their reply.

Do I need to put a "for your eyes only" disclaimer on each email? That seems a bit stiff, but my emails aren't necessarily for publication!

GENTLE READER: ...Read more

Alternative To Hollering 'housekeeping!'

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am the janitor at a truck stop. What is the best way for me (a man) to announce myself when entering the women's restroom to clean it?

I start with calling out, "Hello. Janitor. Is anyone in here?" but it just doesn't sound right. Some ladies say nothing in response, and if I didn't look under all the stall doors, I would ...Read more

Get Over It: Most Brides Wear White

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a close friend who is getting married, for the third time, later this year. In between her marriages, she has had lengthy relationships with other men.

I'm OK with all of that, except for one thing: She is treating this third marriage and its ceremony as if it's her first. She is planning on wearing a traditional white...Read more

Sick Guest Asked To Stay Home -- Does Not Take It Well

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I had invited a group of friends and family to my home for Christmas dinner and a celebration: six adults and two young children.

The problem was with one guest, who had been bedridden with a severe flu the entire week leading up to Christmas. I kept in touch with this individual throughout her illness.

On Christmas Day, she...Read more

 

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