Restaurant Hatwatch Officer in action:
Nope. My phone is my movie ticket. But I always turn it off during the movie and wish there was a rule that if your phone lights up or makes a sound during a movie you get immediately kicked out.
Meh, nobody needs a phone to buy a movie ticket. Do you turn the damn thing off once you get past the “ticket taker”, or is the phone on at the concession stand, and (worse) during the coming attractions?
Have you been to a movie theater within the past 5 years? Most people don’t use paper tickets anymore. The “ticket taker” scans the QR code on the phone. I don’t buy concessions but if I did they would also scan the barcode on the phone to purchase. I already said I hate people who have their phone on during the film so not sure what you’re arguing against.
Sir/Madam, would you kindly remove your head?
Regarding “hats off indoors,” I have no problems with things like baseball caps bearing sports team logos in a sports bar, or cowboy hats at a country and western bar, or pretty much anything at a dive bar. Somewhat similarly, I feel the same about hats being worn at diners like Denny’s, or the restaurant at pretty much any truck stop. They are okay in such places.
But there are some places where they should be removed, IMHO. A private club where you are invited as a guest for a function (e.g. a wedding) or simply for dinner and/or drinks, a cocktail bar at an upscale hotel, the dining room at that same hotel, at church, in a court of law. There are other places, but those are what occur to me first.
Only screams from teen-aged girls…
I don’t mind children in restaurants, even the upper tier ones. As long as they stay in their seat or near the table. No running around. And I shouldn’t have to change my behavior because there are children present.
If the child has a game to play, the sound must be muted. Not just turned down low. There is no need to hear the sound on a video game. Same goes for being on a plane or train. If it’s a movie or television show, the child can use headphones as well as an adult.
I once read in a magazine that it’s important to know that “life is not ‘come as you are’”. That has stuck with me.
I would prefer a society where people were more sensitive to a dress code. You dress up when going out to do things. I get a kick out of pictures of old baseball games where the stands are full of people in suits. It’d wouldn’t be so bad if that sort of thing was the norm.
Regarding dressing in public, I used to fly a lot and I hated seeing people board the plane dressed for the gym or the beach. You’re going to be packed in with other people, please cover your skin, m’kay? I don’t want your hairy armpits in my face when you reach for your overhead luggage, or bump up against your bare shoulders and knees in my seat. YES! No shorts or bare shoulders!
But that’s just me.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if movie theaters didn’t have paper tickets anymore - right before the pandemic, the Mets planned to go to digital-only tickets. So when people started to be able to attend games, it was digital tickets and cashless payments - and season ticket holders got bonus credits that could only be spent with the phone app. There must be some way to access tickets without a smart phone - but effectively, you kind of have to have the phone with you and turned on for the entire game.
A very, very dear uncle of mine passed away many years ago. If you had asked me, do you care if people pull over or stop and remove their hats when the funeral procession passes, I would have said no. In reality, it was an immense and unexpected comfort to see people stop in place in parking lots and remove their hats. This was a small town and a larger response to a funeral procession than I had seen before. It was a kind consideration.
Gonna stir up some shit here–on the subway (NYC) I hate hearing people shout (over the train noise, which is considerable) an entire conversation, typically chit-chat, (“HOW YA BEEN?” 'GREAT, EXCEPT TWO WEEKS AGO I HAD A COLD" “TOO BAD, I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS” “OH YEAH RUNNY NOSE AND EVERYTHING”) for forty-five straight minutes. I’ve been told “Hey, it’s not a library” but some people do want to read or rest or think.
I favor…
A sporting event should be a venue for EVERYONE to show sportsmanship (sportspersonship?). Specifically: If someone from the visiting team makes a fantastic play, it should be applauded by the spectators.
Golf and tennis seem to be some of the few remaining venues for courtesy from spectators. Other sports have become an exercise in over the top tribalism.
I was wondering where, in a small town, enough people could be collected together to make a ten-minute procession.
I remember an angry woman at work who I called “ma’am” in an attempt to defuse things. She took it like a slap in the face. “Ma’am? I’m way younger than you”, to which I replied, “don’t flatter yourself”.
So much for defusing.
I remember the very first time I saw a woman wearing flannel pajama pants in public. I assumed she was destitute and/or mentally ill. A week later it seemed the norm.
Pittsburghers into tattooing might remember my friend Moose, an old school tattoo artist who was a true character. He lived not far from where I do now, a very small town. His shop was in Delmont, also a small town.
His death drew folks from all over, literally thousands of people. He never charged a cop for tattoo work, and they showed up en masse, lining the 10 mile route from the funeral home to the cemetery, all in dress uniform. I was in one of the lead cars and could never see the end of the cortege. RIP Robert “Moose” Rutter.
I’d like to see a return of the ancient Greek and Roman custom of Reclining & Dining. I want to gorge myself silly on Denny’s Grand Slam® breakfast, purge my guts in their vomitorium, then start all over again.
[of course, purging in ancient vomitoriums is a myth]
I never really thought about it before either. But when my grandmother passed away, and I was riding in the funeral procession, seeing a guy on his riding mower stop as the procession went by actually did mean something to me.
I wouldn’t have even thought to have been offended if he had not, but I found myself appreciating that he did.
Perhaps that is the important part. The ability to appreciate courtesy.