Episode 490 - Impossible Perfection
Your Awesome Etiquette podcast episode for the week, bonus question, Monday joke and a etiquette extra on the nature of etiquette advice.
On today’s show, we take your questions on addressing noise at the library, what to do with a wedding announcement, whether or not to tell someone you exchanged their gift, and how to get out of being called dear. Our bonus question for Awesome Etiquette Community Members is about making plans with friends. Plus, your most excellent feedback, etiquette salute, and a postscript on the essential nature of etiquette advice.
Bonus Question Bonus
A BONUS: we’re sharing this week’s Community Member bonus question with all our listeners! A Community Member asks about making plans with friends, and as you will hear when you listen, the advice made a significant impact on Dan’s life. Very significant.
Want more? This bonus question, along with an ads-free version of the podcast, is a regular feature of the Monday post for Community Member subscribers. If you’d like more audio content and fewer ads, sign up today for a paid subscription - you’ll also be able to comment on any post!
Etiquette Extra - On Oysters
If there is anyone who loves oysters more than Lizzie Post, it might be her father, Peter, or his father, Bill (or her cousin Dan). Oysters were a regular part of the Post family holiday gatherings, and Bill (Poppy to our family) would teach oyster shucking to us grandchildren at Christmas parties. Maybe he was passing down a legacy skill, or perhaps he was looking for help with the task of opening these delicious delicacies. Either way, fresh, raw oysters, properly presented and heartily enjoyed, were often a part of the celebration.
When we saw an etiquette news alert for an article on Martha Stewart's Etiquette Tip For Dealing With Empty Oyster Shells, we couldn’t resist. Well, it turned out Martha’s tip was to flip shells over when you put them down after eating a raw oyster. Good advice, but only the beginning (down the rabbit hole we went). That article led us to another by Brett Llenos Smith for the Tasting Table: Common Mistakes Everyone Makes With Oysters, which takes a deeper dive into the topic. Follow the link for some great advice on thoroughly enjoying this delicious delicacy. (Is it Dollar Oyster Hour yet?!)
SIGNED COPIES of Emily Post Etiquette - The Centennial Edition can be purchased through our independent bookstore partner, Bridgeside Books. Get yours today; they make for excellent gifts!
Thank you for spending some of your time with us today. As always, this Monday post has a comment thread that is open to all for you to post your etiquette questions for the podcast, feedback, and salutes for good behavior you’re seeing out in the world.
Next up this week is the Thursday Throwback. Until then, take care.
All the best,
Dan and Lizzie
Happy-Monday Joke
Q: "Why can’t you trust an atom?"
A: "Because they make up everything.”
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