Katherine, why can't you repeat what you said to an elderly lady on an airplane? If you said it there, why can't you say it here? Didn't your mother ever teach you to respect people older than yourself?

Obviously Miss Manners you like to see people insulted. I dont.

A colleague of mine was in town with her two year old daughter who was grizzling. She said wearily, "Oh do cheer up misery". A sweet tourist, she thinks probably Spanish smiled and said, "Misery, what a pretty name."<BR>I suppose it is if you think about it.

In Salzburg, my husband and I watched as a large American women (in the requisite shorts and sneakers), stood at the counter of a Christmas ornament shop with a large amount of purchases. The clerk already looked put-upon, even before the woman asked how much her purchase would cost "in REAL money, so I will know how much my Visa will be charged".)

If you don't like to see people insulted, Katherine, what did you say to the old lady? Or do you only like to be the one insulting?

I think Miss Manners is the one with the problem. Katherine, great story. I have been on planes where other passengers can be quite annoying. They say things to incite a response. By the way, I think those women were also on my flight back from Italy.

We were visiting the Alamo and heard an American man behind us asking his companion, "Now, who was it that died here?"

We were. At least on this trip. I have told this story once before on a thread that quickly died (I didn't start it). Anyway, it was in 1995 and we were in France near Cahors (I may have said Italy before) . As is our practice, we had a rented car and about two weeks into the trip, we were looking pretty tacky (the car). It was lunch time and we had stopped in a small village to pick up fixins for a picnic. As we left the little market, we spotted a car wash on the side of the hill above the main road. We took the little road up to the car wash and positioned the car for the wash. I got out and examined the coin mechanism and it seemed pretty straightforward. So, I inserted the coins and quickly got back into the car and waited for the wash process to begin. We waited and nothing happened. I got out and examined the coin mechanism again. Didn't seem like there was anything exotic, so I deposited coins again (the first coins must not have fallen correctly) and jumped back into the car again. Nothing! I got out and examined everything several times, but could not get the mechanism to work. "Damned machine; why can't they make them work the way we do?" All of a sudden I looked up on the side of the hill above the car wash. There sat two elderly gentleman on a hillside bench, caps jauntily atop their heads, sweaters tightly buttoned and they were laughing uproarously; I mean knee slapping, belly giggling, head wagging laughter. It suddenly dawned on me why. I quickly jumped back into the car, put it in gear and pulled up under the apparatus overhead. The spray immediately came on and we got our car washed. As we left the car wash, we looked over and waved at the two gentlemen and they returned our wave still laughing, although subdued by now. What a story they had to tell their cronies that day. "There were these two Americans..."

I don't gert it-if someone says something rude-it is ok to be ruder?<BR>To mock people and then brag about it?<BR>I have heard this about the French,the Greeks, New Yorkers, every country has their group who is supposed to be so rude and obnoxius...Are Katherine and Ron from one of these places? Does that explain their need to not only BE rude but to be PRoud of it? Or does every city .unfortunately,have a katherine or a ron?

You are assuming you know what I said. You dont. So drop it. At least I dont post anonymously.

Katherine, you are the bore, maybe you should post anon. You are as bad as the ones you mock.

Interesting stories here.I think Katherine's story has some merit. I think she was perfectly right to react to that lady. I was in a store not too long ago (in Ohio) and there was a customer berating a sales clerk. The sales clerk was trying to help and the customer was very out of line. I stepped in and told the customer that he was being rude. I think people should be called on their behavior. Too many times I think people just stand around and do nothing. What has happened to our society? For those of you who are attacking Katherine perhaps you should take a look in the mirror. Katherine, don't mind the "thought police" they are all over this board.

Joe, I loved your story. You are so right - the funniest tourists are ourselves. <BR><BR>One hot June day we sought a certain landmark in a German wine , but failed to find it. Hot and thirsty, we decided to give up, but not before my husband took a quick photo of me.<BR><BR>Back home, after the photo was developed, what should we see directly behind me? Yup, the landmark we'd tried so hard to find.<BR><BR>And they tease the Japanese for only seeing Europe after they get home.

oops, that should be, "German wine TOWN." Hmmn, maybe that's why we couldn't find the landmark....

The older lady displayed ignorance in her statement and I see nothing wrong in telling her that. But to call her names and mock her is only bringing yourself down to her level. Helping someone to grow should always be our main objective.

I was at a bar in Amsterdam with Canadian aquaintance I had just met. It was her and her husband's first time travelling and we had gone to a bar with them to while away the time before our connecting flight. I had to hold in my laughter when they tried to order Molsen Canadian and then question the bartender when he said he didn't have it. In they end they had to settle for a Heiniken.

Yes the funniest tourist was my husband. Back when tourists just started carrying video cameras, I had been chiding him for not moving around more when he was being taped, as they were supposed to be "moving pictures". <BR>When we were in the park by Napoleone's tomb and I was taping from a high vantage point, he started running in little circles with his arms flapping like he was flying. This was funny as I was getting "what I wanted on tape", but even funnier when an elderly man whom we hadn't seen before rose from his bench, shook his head sadly and shrugged in hopelessness. He hadn't seen me at all, and thought my husband was alone.

Can you imagine if every time someone listened in on a conversation nearby and didn't like the tone someone used and butted in and "called" a person on their behavior???? I ,for one- cannot imagine how people would react! If someone is rude to me, it is up to me to ignore them or to react.Not- Miss -Manners has a point-if you hear someone being rude, does that make it ok for you to be more rude? And if Katherine said something to the woman that made other people laugh = sounds rude to me! We don't need "thought" police, we just need manners! and that does not mean that I am Miss Manners either-I use my own name.

Reba-THAT is funny~

Sylvia-are all the housewives in Ohio so nosy ? Mind your own business you old bag?