I was sharing this story with a good friend of mine and thought you'd enjoy the humor behind it......
I know not everyone is exposed to "the finer" things of life, but I am amazed at how food-"ignorant" people can be. At one of hubby's CHristmas dinners, we sat at a table of a bunch of women he worked with and it was "amusing" to me, to say the least!
They complained how the chocolate pudding was too runny. I said, "It's not chocolate pudding ... it's mousse and it's SUPPOSE to be that consistency."
They complained because the green beans weren't cooked. I said, "They are steamed to a 'crisp' consistency .... they are not suppose to be mushy."
They complained about not enough salad dressing and made the waiter go get them another container and oh my god they created salad SOUP with that dressing! One of
them made fun of how little dressing I had on my salad. OK .... SHE brought it up, so I said, 'Dressing is suppose to enhance the taste of the salad, not cover up the taste of the vegetables. You're not suppose to have a pool of dressing at the bottom of your salad bowl when you're done." Oh, that was no problem to one of them .... she tipped that bowl up and DRANK the leftover dressing!!!!!!
I'm sure Miss Manners would have reprimanded me for my comments, but trust me, these are just the hi-lights!
It also irritates me when I see people holding their dinner fork like a pitchfork..... like they are poised and ready to shovel everything on their plate into their mouth in one swipe, as soon as someone says "GO!"
When my kids were little, I was ALWAYS on them about chewing with their mouth closed. My mom-reward came when my adult daughter reprimanded her little sister about it, saying, "I hated it when mom would get on me for doing that, but when you see adults doing it, you'll appreciate being taught proper!"
I was shocked when a co-worker, a man who had over 35 years with the company and was someone I admired thru the roof..... we had dinner together after a day at convention in a very expensive hotel steakhouse. This elegant, regal, well-versed man who I admired, chewed his steak with his mouth open the entire time! I was personally devistated that someone I admired that much wouldn't have the simplest table manner.
What's yours?
My grandmother is a very proper lady. She could give Miss Manners lessons. Thats why the first time I ever paid attention to her eating pancakes I about fell out of my chair. She had just finished eating 'everything on her plate' when she picked it up and licked the syrup off of it. 
I'm thinking to myself 'this is the lady that won't go to the grocery store without makeup?' 
I'm with you Debi. I hate, hate, hate it when people chew with their mouth open. Excuse me!!!!! but I do not need to see what your meal looks like when it has been chewed. My MIL and FIL unfortunately think it is perfectly okay to chew with your mouth open and also to talk when you have a mouth full of food!! Whenever, we have a meal together, I try to make sure I am not sitting opposite them at the table. I have drummed it in to my 3 children that they should chew with their mouths closed and do not talk with a mouthful of food.
Also, people who slurp their soups really gets on my nerves!!!
I am amazed at how many people don't know what manners are! I grew up with a Miss Manners mom. My DM was an only child and raised with impecable manners and a silver spoon. My list of do's and don'ts were to say the least the size of a novel. Consequently I turned into my DM and passed the novel to my children, who have passed the novel to their children. I can honestly say that I was irritated as a child, but oh so grateful now. Manners come from home, if the parents did not get this great training, then everyone down the line will suffer. How hard is it to teach proper manners? It isn't. It should be a way of life. Debi, I too find the fork thing and the mouth open to chew disgusting, reminds me of the movie Miss Congeniality when she was eating her steak!
I was always on my kids when they were younger. As I knew good manners were a must. The turning point for me, where good manners became critical, was the first week I spent with DH at a very fancy business convention. With very expensive dinners each night. I was so appalled and disgusted by most of these "professionals" manners. Mouths open while eating, the pitch fork style of eating and one of my all time biggest pet peeves...sliding the food off the plate into the mouth ( which requires the face down at the plate )
I explained to my kids...you can't buy good manners, they are learned and practiced. And let me tell you they got their share of practice. 
I will say that they also earned the privilege of going out with us to nice restaurants.
Two of our three children are grown now, the last one is 10. When we are out and see young couples with well behaved children in restaurants, we will stop by and compliment them on their children's behavior, as we know that it did not just happen.
I am constantly getting on my son for chewing with his mouth open, I think it's disgusting. I always tell him "We don't want to see what you are eating..", my husband even chews with his mouth open occasionally and it bugs the heck out of me.
Also, if you have to chew with your mouth open - because the bite of food you took was too hot, or you can't breathe through your nose because it's so stuffed up- cover your mouth with a napkin, or your hand. I've had to do that on occasion.
I remember when my son was little and he could barely talk I would have him say please and thank you. My MIL thought that he was too young for it and why bother, that he didn't need to learn it until he was older. I (and my hubby) told her that we were going to teach them to him no matter what because you have to start young. Imagine my 'amazement' when a year or two later my MIL was complimenting us on how 'polite' my son was.
My son's first grade teacher told us last year that even though he would interrupt her sometimes a little too much asking questions, she was pleased that he would at least say "Excuse me.." everytime he interrupted her.
My son's first grade teacher told us last year that even though he would interrupt her sometimes a little too much asking questions, she was pleased that he would at least say "Excuse me.." everytime he interrupted her.
My son's the same way...he will interrupt me 50 times every time I get on the phone, but at least he says "Excuse me, mom, excuse me...this is important!" Of course, what's important to a 5 yr old is not always important enough to interrupt!
Back on topic...
I have a TERRIBLE time getting my kids to use their utensils...they drive me nuts! I spend every meal saying over and over "use your fork, not your fingers..." You'd think at least my 8 year old would have caught on by now, but as soon as I look away, they dig in with their hands. Disgusting! I'm still working on them, though, I can't bear the thought of sending them out in the world with poor table manners! 
shelburn, we always have to remind our 5 yr old granddaughter "use your napkin, not your shirt!" 
Sidetracking a little bit, do you remember some of the life-lessons in the manners column that you learned and when?
I was in my 20's and working for a large insurance company. We had exec's from corporate in the office and about 10 of us went to lunch with them plus our supervisor. As they served the salads, we all dug in. I noticed my supv just sitting there, not eating her salad. One of the execs hadn't ordered a salad, so he was sitting there waiting for his entre. What I learned that day is you don't start eating until everyone is served..... a concept that I'd never been exposed to before.
I learned a lot more than just work procedures from that supv over the years.
Got another peev. It's half manners and half personal grooming thing. My MIL has false teeth. No biggy there but she NEVER wears them. If by some chance she wears them to go out to eat she will take them out at the table, wrap them in a napkin and set them by her plate . Gross!!!
I had to insist that she wear them to my DS's graduation for pictures. Thank God DH backed me up.
Got another peev. It's half manners and half personal grooming thing. My MIL has false teeth. No biggy there but she NEVER wears them. If by some chance she wears them to go out to eat she will take them out at the table, wrap them in a napkin and set them by her plate
. Gross!!!I had to insist that she wear them to my DS's graduation for pictures. Thank God DH backed me up.
OMG!!! I just have to wonder how her mind works that she thinks that is ok! Just because they are wrapped in a napkin doesnt' do it! Ewwww!
I'm always teasing my kids that "it's a mom's job to embarass their kids at every opportunity" but this one is too far out even for ME!
I can sooooo relate to the false teeth thing, Dueter. A lady in my office is missing several of her top teeth, but not all together. Think jack o' lantern here. She was too cheap to go back to her dentist to get her plate that had all 3 teeth, so she just kept fixodenting her teeth in. She would take them out and put them in her napkin, and it is so gross on Fridays when we have lunch together and she has teeth missing and is gnawing away at a tough peice of broccoli or something. Once, she left them in her top drawer while she was eating at her desk, and my boss stole them from her, and put them in the bottom of a glass of diet coke, which he gave to me to drink. And I drank some of it! Eew. A couple of yrs. ago she went on vaca, was hit by a "tidal wave" and lost them in the ocean. And she worked, met with clients and everything, for 3 days until her plate was ready!
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