The First Episode is Live!!!

Blair, Derek and I talk about Queue and Gas Station Etiquette, and then talk about how to treat people on an Elevator so you don't get everyone down (yuk. yuk.).

Hold the door? Don't hold the door? Who gets off first? Do I care?

So many questions... so little time.

Send us your feedback and questions, and look for episode 2 in the very near future.

Trent
trent@mannerscast.com

Be "Ice" to Your Neighbor

I'm wondering who is it that doesn't have time in their day to fill up an ice tray after they take cubes out. Is it selfishness or just a momentary lapse of reason?

Thinking:

I have to get back to solitaire and couldn't possibly take the 20 sec. to refill this ice tray. Plus, although I am not above taking ice from the commoners' tray, I certainly am far above doing such a common job as putting water in twelve small holes.

I am glad that someone finally invented automatic ice makers, but a skill like refilling the ice tray should be taught to everyone who has opposeable thumbs and the aptitude for turning on a faucet. It's kind of like buying more milk when the milk runs out. While that takes WAY longer to do, I'm still thinking it's the sentiment that counts. Putting others before you or at the very least even with you.

Trent
trent@mannerscast.com

Move Along...

There is a time when one is walking throught the Wal-Mart parking lot that one needs to realize there are others who might be interested in driving in the parking lot. That realization could speed up the process of people getting in and out of the parking lot and everyone would be happier.

Walking in the middle of the driving lane, especially with small children, is not the only selfish thing to practice in any parking lot... but it could be in the top three.

1) Sitting in your car and not backing out so someone can have your space.

2) Waiting for a space close to the front while blocking a long line of cars whose drivers don't really mind the walk. (Really. Is the parking lot that big? Do you not know that you don't actually have to carry your groceries to the car? Isn't that what we invented the wheel and the cart for?)

3) Walking in the middle of the driving lane. (Yep! There it is! Number 3!)

The Only Manners Podcast is Coming!

Well, this has been a few months in the making, but the Manners Eti-Cast (a play on Etiquette) is nearing its first podcast.

The Manners Eti-Cast is going to be a place where we take a lighthearted look at the current state of people's manners and what you can do to improve your own. We are not here to talk about where the salad spoon goes and which fork to use first... only to try and get back to the roots of what manners are for in the first place. In my own opinion, manners are not simply how you act in public, but the basis for your view of the world.

Manners are, at their root, a way of showing someone else that they are more important than you... making that person feel good about his or her self. That, in turn, builds your own self esteem and everyone benefits.

I'm Trent, and I'll be joined by Blair and Derek for at least the first Manners Eti-Cast. You can be expecting the podcast in a week or so so just check itunes, etc. and search "manners".

That's all for now!
Trent
mannercast@gmail.com

Smile for Pete's Sake!

Get a picture in your mind of the days of the frontier and toting your worldly belongings through uncharted American territory. Do you think that if two people came within 10 feet of each other they wouldn't even acknowledge one another? Don't you think they would stop and chat and even have a big party around a camp fire because neither of them had seen a living soul for the last 25 days?

It seems that we are always too busy to stop and chat with someone on the street or in the hallway at work, but could we at least offer a friendly smile? A "howdy-doo"? Walking right by someone without acknowledging them is bad for them and you. It might make them feel like they don't mean quite as much to the world as they thought they did, and it might make you think you are more important than them for narrowly avoiding the eye contact and rushing past.

"Whew," you might think. "Good thing I didn't get stuck talking to that guy." Okay, so don't stop and chat if you're that busy, but at the very least offer up a genuine smile that can help someone else's day go a little better.

Trent