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Category: Manners Matter

  • Manners Matter: Friendly Bets Between Friends Turn Sour

    Dear Mary Pat, I’m a Packers fan and my buddy has been a lifelong Cowboys fan. We had a friendly bet for Sunday’s playoff game. If the Cowboys won, I’d have to wear a Dallas jersey to work one day this week and if the Packers won, he would have to wear a Green Bay […]

  • Manners Matter: How to Deal with a Party Crasher

    Dear Mary Pat, I have an acquaintance who just shows up at places uninvited. He has an uncanny knack for knowing when a party is happening or a business function is taking place. Sometimes, it is really inappropriate such as when he showed up at our buddy’s wedding reception. There wasn’t a place set for […]

  • Manners Matter: Why Do People Go Out When They’re Sick?

      Dear Mary Pat, We had our annual NYE party and a lot of our good friends and family attended as they usually do. My only complaint is that my cousin showed up with her husband and they were both really sick. Never ones to miss a celebration, they said they couldn’t bear the thought […]

  • Manners Matter: Thank You Notes Are Not Old Fashioned

      Dear Mary Pat, I have a large family and I give/send gifts to nearly everyone, including my 19 nieces and nephews. It takes me a good amount of time to plan my gift list, purchase the gifts, wrap them, and send them for the ones who live out of town. While we were all […]

  • Manners Matter: Selfish Scrooges

    Dear Mary Pat, I own a boutique in the county and I’m known for my gift wrapping. I’ve always offered it for my customers free of charge. We had a busy Saturday and I had a line of people waiting to check out and at least half of them needed items wrapped for Christmas. While […]

  • Manners Matter: Why Am I at the Kiddie Table?

    Dear Mary Pat,   My cousin is getting married soon. I was really looking forward to going to the wedding until I found out that my boyfriend and I are going to be at the kiddie table at the reception. And by “kiddie,” I’m not talking pre-teens…there will be six children, four of whom still […]

  • Manners Matter: Overloaded Around the Holidays

      I’m already feeling panicked about getting ready for Christmas. I have a lot to do throughout the year, but the holidays fill up my calendar to the point of exhaustion. I want everything to be perfect for my husband, my kids and my co-workers (I also plan the annual holiday party at work). How […]

  • Manners Matter: Time to Visit Gramps

    Dear Mary Pat,   My grandpa has been in a nursing home for over a year now and he is having a really hard time adjusting. I’m five hours away by car and drive to see him every other month. I would love to see him more often but between my job and my family […]

  • Manners Matter: What’s Appropriate to Spend for Hostess Gift?

    Dear Mary Pat, I have been invited to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving dinner since I won’t be able to spend the holiday with my family this year. Is there a rule of thumb for what to spend for a hostess gift? Signed, What to Bring? Ellison Bay, Wis.   Dear What to Bring?, There […]

  • Manners Matter: Anticipating Thanksgiving Tension

      Dear Mary Pat, I’m dreading Thanksgiving. It’s the only time of year that I see my wife’s cousins and I’m anticipating lots of tension at the dinner table. We are a family divided when it comes to politics. Even in an off-election year, things can get heated, but after this year? I’m expecting some […]

  • Manners Matter: Is Live Trapping Best?

    Dear Mary Pat, My roommate saw a mouse in the basement as well as some droppings. We rent an older home from a couple who doesn’t live locally and we are responsible for a lot of the maintenance for the house. We are at odds at how to deal with this situation. I’m up for […]

  • Manners Matter: My Neighbors Are Too Neighborly

    Dear Mary Pat, My new neighbors seem to believe in being very neighborly, too neighborly if you ask me. They pop over at all hours of the day for no reason other than to visit. While I don’t mind lending an egg, the occasional social call or helping in an emergency, I’m not so sure […]

  • Manners Matter: Any Ideas for Last Minute Halloween Costumes?

    Dear Mary Pat, I still don’t have costumes figured out for my kids and Halloween is right around the corner. It’s not in our budget to get store-bought costumes (we have six kids) and with our schedules, this is not highest on our list of priorities. Any ideas for last minute costumes? Signed, Costume-less Sturgeon […]

  • Manners Matter: Eavesdroppers at Restaurants

    Dear Mary Pat,   I was having dinner with several friends at one of our favorite local restaurants. We like to sit at the bar since it’s a little less formal, a little more comfortable and then we visit with other locals. Last week, a woman we didn’t know saddled up next to us, eavesdropped […]

  • Manners Matter: No More Noise Pollution

    Dear Mary Pat,   I was in the grocery store doing my weekly shopping and I kept running into the same man aisle after aisle. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but this particular man was listening to music from his phone. That wouldn’t be a big deal either, but he wasn’t using earbuds…he […]

  • Manners Matter: I’m Not A Delivery Service

    Dear Mary Pat, We have had a vacation home in Ephraim for years now. Most of our friends know this and when they find out we will be in Door for the weekend, so many of them will ask us to bring something back for them. I feel like I’m running a delivery service sometimes. […]

  • Manners Matter: How to Give Tactful Feedback

    Dear Mary Pat,   My friend wrote a book and it is terrible. He’s been talking about it for months, so I was really looking forward to reading it. He gave me the final draft and wanted me and a couple of others to read it to get some feedback before he starts trying to […]

  • Manners Matter: The Polite Way to Deal with a Grandstander

    Dear Mary Pat,   A group of my friends and I all went out to dinner a couple of weeks ago. We all go out frequently together with the exception of one guy “Joe.” Joe paid for his drinks at the bar and made sure to keep his expenses separate from the group tab. The […]

  • Manners Matter: Stuck In The Middle

    Dear Mary Pat,   Friends of mine separated last year after 18 years of marriage. I was so surprised when I found out and really sad for them both. I have known “Joe” for years and only met “Jane” at their wedding, but I’m fairly close to both of them now. I told them both […]

  • Manners Matter: Audience Members Are Too Noisy

    Dear Mary Pat,   You have probably addressed the issue of noisy audiences in previous columns, but I have to vent. We attended The Full Monty on Aug. 9 and left fuming over the continuous and loud talking from three nearby ladies. The play was absolutely outstanding but we missed much of the dialogue because […]