Quiet Please ... and Remove Your Hat

I like going places. It doesn't matter where. A nice restaurant where the food is good and puts a smile on my face or just a drive. Long trips are the best. When I was a kid it was like going on an adventure.

One thing I remember is that everybody would dress up when they went somewhere. Men would wear a coat and tie and women would wear a dress and jewelery. Even if you went to a baseball game the men dressed nice. And you never saw a man with a hat on his head if he was inside. It just wasn't done. If there was a rude chart then wearing a hat indoors would have been near the top. That's something that bugs me. No matter how nice the restaurant is half the men are wearing a stupid cap. I want to go over to them and yank it off and throw it on the floor. What's the big deal about wearing a hat anyway? If you're reading this and you wear a hat indoors then stop it right now. And don't let your kids do it either.

I love electronic devices. Laptops, Pocket PC's, MP3 players and cell phones are too good to believe. The Internet is tremendous. Hooray for the guy that invented it. He was a genius. Since he was a genius we know algore couldn't have anything to do with it.

There's one thing about them. No matter where you go someone is being rude with their electronic device. There's something about them that impair the senses. I think it's because you can't do two things at once unless one of those things is natural, like breathing.

It'd be a great thrill if the world would discover etiquette. Over the past few years I've tried to imagine going to a restaurant and not hearing someones phone conversation from across the room or listen to somebody trying to sing while listening to their MP3 player. How come only the people who can't sing always sing in public? And why do people have to talk so loud when they're on a cell phone?

HELLO. I'M HAVING A QUIET DINNER...

Think about how rude is it to have your phone go off in the restaurant. There ought to be voluntary electronic device free zones. I don't think the government should get involved.

The next time you go out anywhere remember to turn off the phone and take off your hat.