The Polite One's Insights

  Starbucks in Dixon, Ca A Starbucks Memory On a recent visit to a Starbucks, which I love, my husband and I received   more than our favorites beverages. It was raining like sheets of water were falling from the sky. 　　 Just walking from the car to the door of Starbucks – which wasn't far — was a drenching experience. 　 There was a young attractive couple , probably in their early twenties, walking well ahead of us. 　 He opened the door for his lady (good move) and stayed there holding the door for us while getting completely soaked. We quickly stepped inside stood next to his lady and thanked this wonderful example of a gentleman.  　 We waited for them to walk in front of us and 　 motioned to go before us, but they wouldn't have it. 　 They both smiled and shook their heads telling us to go first. 　 For a society that seems to have a 'me first' attitude, this is very encouraging. 　　 Plus, how many times have you heard that this younger generation has ...

Kenny Gives to a Homeless Man While enjoying my coffee and croissant at a local grocery store, a young man named Kenneth surprised me with his selfless act of kindness.  I see him quite often, but he is the type of person who flies under the radar, not drawing attention to himself.  All the while, Kenneth briskly does a great job and makes others happy through his kindness. One such example is what follows.   On Memorial Day, Kenny found a homeless man outside the store rifling through the garbage for breakfast.  Instead of walking away as most do, he welcomed the older man into the store.  He asked him to wait while he retrieved his wallet.  I watched from afar as Kenny showed the man how to get his coffee and breakfast.  The man stood taller than before obviously proud that he could purchase his meal.  It was a very pleasant sight to see. Because of my profession, I challenge others to commit RAKs (random acts of kindnesses) thr...

A Day in Macy's This was an interesting day.  I detest shopping but had no choice. I needed slacks and had put it off too long. 　　 So, here I am on sensory overload with too many choices and finding nothing that fits right. 　 Why are all the waistlines of slacks hitting the hips these days?  Most of us older... ahem, mature women tend to prefer slacks that don't emphasize the hip line. 　 So, after trying on at least six pairs of slacks and my poor husband smiling and saying for the tenth time, "You look great sweetie", I decided that we needed professional help.   I figured that it wouldn't be easy to find someone to stop what he/she was doing to come and help me find slacks that would fit. 　 This is a good attitude to have when shopping.  　 There seems to be plenty of salespeople to ring up our purchases, but so few to help us choose them. 　 I had a surprise coming.   The first check stand we walked up to was busy—very busy. 　 Luckily, th...

We Are All Ambassadors of Our Country Whether it's the delicious cheeses of Wisconsin, world-class wines of California, or the unmatched beauty of our national parks, most of us are proud of what we have to offer here in the US.   In fact, when out-of-town visitors come knocking, we typically go out of our way to show off the best of our little hamlet.   Still, how many of us apply this same measure of pride or effort for foreign tourists?   Granted, serving as a tour guide daily may be near to impossible for those living in touristy locations, such as San Francisco.   Nevertheless, simple courtesy doesn't take much effort.   After all, we are all ambassadors of our country whether we are at home or abroad.   Consider how you would want to be treated. As an etiquette teacher, I teach that the basic tenet of 'manners' is to treat others as we wish to be treated.   Therefore, it is only good manners to treat our foreign guests with kindness and ...