What Do the Experts Say About Modern Manners?
I’ve been sitting for over an hour on the runway at O’Hare International Airport. Next to me sits a man conversing on his cell phone, firing expletives to the person on the other end. This could be an episode of The Jerry Springer Show called “How I Dumped my Ex,” one that would be filled with the sound of beep, beep, beep. If it were a TV show, at least I could change the channel. Here, I’m a captive audience on a nearly full plane. I make up my mind to investigate cell phone protocol. According to Letitia Baldrige, former Chief of Staff for Jacqueline Kennedy and author of over 20 books on manners and etiquette (www.BaldrigeLewris.com), “You don’t answer the phone ever in front of anybody. You don’t turn your cell phone on if you go to a party, play. . . . You never answer it in a restaurant. You never make a call in a restaurant. Excuse yourself to make a call, and if you must answer a call, excuse yourself again. Leave the table so others don’t have to stop and listen to you.” As I
