To ring in the New Year, Etiquetteer returns to the Old, Anno Domini MMIX, and some signs of varying Perfect Propriety. First we have a couple signs from a flea market in Newfane, Vermont:
This should be everyone's guiding maxim every day, but for behavior, not spelling.
Etiquetteer doesn't know how many places you have been to where a "Post No Weapons" sign has been in evidence. For Etiquetteer the last time might have been 1981, at a Detroit cinema for a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Then this gem turned up at a cemetery in Vermont:
Etiquetteer could not agree more. Nothing brings down the tone of one's grief more than faded, cracked, and flaking plastic flowers.
Anno Domini MMIX also saw the rise of swine flu, also known as the Bad Piggies, H1N1, or Heinie Flu. This led to all sorts of extravagant signage, such as this:
Seen at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, Michigan.
Issues of public hygiene then lead Etiquetteer to these two notices from a Boston church bathroom:
These notices were certainly a surprise to Etiquetteer! But it turns out that the church in question ministers a great deal to the homeless and indigent, for whom such instruction is sometimes necessary.
Then we come to the issue of tipping:
Seen at a restaurant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, one in which you have to order your food at a counter and then have it brought to you. A healthy debate ensued over whether or not the waiters and waitresses had to work as hard as those who take orders tableside as well.
Finally, two signs from businesses in Greater Boston who seek more Perfect Propriety from their customers:
Rosie's Bakery, Inman Square
Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
Etiquetteer could certainly not agree more with this brisk sentiment!
And with that, Etiquetteer bids you a hearty Happy New Year! Your future etiquette queries are eagerly welcomed at queries_at_etiquetteer_dot_com.