How Rude!

Today while I was stitching on the train, an old man sat with me, and he was drinking a cup of coffee! I suppose there are those caffiene addicts who will think he had some sort of inherent right to drink his coffee on the train, but I just think it's rude to eat and drink on the train. And it's not like it was first thing in the morning when coffee might be mandatory. This was an optional afternoon cup of joe. As we swayed along, I could just picture him losing his grip on the cup and coffee flying all over the project I was working on, so I put it into its plastic baggie and sealed it. I pictured a horrifying hour of being trapped there next to him unable to stitch. Fortunately, he alit pretty quickly taking his coffee with him. And the stitching came back out and entertained me on the trip out to Exton.

I had a hairdresser who used to use the expression, "how rude!" for everything, even when what she meant was "how disgusting!" or "how appalling!" or, best of all, "how unethical!" It reminded me of my students who would use the term "uncalled for behavior" in the strangest ways: homosexuality was "uncalled for behavior" as was Hitler's invasion of Poland. Apparently that phrase signified to them the worst of human behavior, rather than mere rudeness. Watching the language change is so difficult for us Dr. Johnsons...