A Useful and Timely Book for New Graduates. . .

Written by noted style author David Coggins, who has penned articles for The New York Times among others..

Well, I feel somewhat vindicated this morning. It seems that I am not a complete crank, and I am not the only one who has noticed the problem. This book just hit the market Monday this week, and it strikes me that it might be just the thing for those young men everywhere, who have either just graduated from, or are about to leave behind, high school and college for something that kind of, sort of resembles adulthood.

You know. Since we cannot depend on many (most?) parents to teach their children much in the way of basic decency and civility anymore from what I observe on campus daily between late August and early May each year, to say nothing of airports, restaurants, and other public spaces. We might hear a mumbled "please" and/or "thank you" if we're lucky, but God knows few parents seem even to think about passing on skills like table manners or impressing upon their spawn the idea that you do not hiccup out loud or pass gas in a room full of people.

However, these social gaffs are not the sole preserve of the millennial generation. PLenty of baby boomers in their 70s as well as Gen X'ers are just as guilty of being inconsiderate and downright gross at times. Sadly, being socially awkward and proud of it seem not only to transcend generational lines, but also to be de rigueur. But let's return to the focus of this particular post and the related publication.

If you are a concerned grandparent, aunt, uncle, other relative, or close family friend who is silently appalled and dismayed by the generally crass nature of society in 2018, this particular title might be an eye-opening (and very handy) graduation present for the young, highly entitled, but no less rough around the edges Master Conner, Finnegan, Tyler, or just plain, old Ralph. It is precisely what he NEEDS to read as he finally begins the process of standing on his own two feet, at 18 or 22, to toddle away from Mommy and Daddy toward a marginally independent way of life.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Comments

Up North Style. . .

Bad Dad makes a friend. YMP and Bad Dad on the shores of Lake Michigan. Or was that Crystal Lake? The Grand Duchess takes a selfie in her kayak. How NOT to impress the girls sunning themselves along the river. YMP and Bad Dad kayaking on the Platte River headed toward Loon Lake. J ust back from a week in Northern Michigan in a charming and spacious house on the banks of the Betsie River outside of Thompsonville. A largely pleasant seven days despite some challenging episodes with the Young Master, who has picked up some very questionable habits and language from his friends in the 8th Grade during the school year just ended. But otherwise, we enjoyed ourselves and contemplated remaining for a few days longer since the house was available. In the end, we decided to return home as planned originally since neither my wife, nor I wanted to spend the remaining days chained to our computers in Zoom meetings from our vacation destination. I actually managed to leave the laptop and ip

Mid-June Thursday Style. . .

A nother pretty typical variation on the theme for late spring, summer, and very early fall. I'm a huge fan of Madras and have several such shirts in the seasonal rotation. Lightweight, exceedingly comfortable, and even dressy when pressed and tucked in, which is the usual way of things here at Totleigh in the Wold. Now, if I had my druthers, I'd still rather be skiing the trails in the upper half of "The Mitten" (of Michigan), in the Upper Peninsula, or Ontario. But summers ain't so bad either, and I'd look pretty funny walking around in cross-country ski attire during June. -- Heinz-Ulrich

A Lazy Saturday at the End of June. . .

A sleepy first half of the weekend here at Totleigh. Warmer and quite humid ahead of an approaching cool front here in Mid-Michigan. Perfect for yet another pair of chino shorts an a seersucker shirt -- tucked in of course -- with the usual leather deck shoes and ribbon belt. Otherwise, not much accomplished beyond a page or so of writing and monkeying around with audio settings for an upcoming podcast episode. However, I was not completely useless yesterday! I made a huge fruit salad for dinner, which the Grand Duchess and I enjoyed a short while later at the table on the back porch. The Young Master, as is his wont on Saturday evenings, took his dinner on a tray in the TV room upstairs where he whiled away a couple of hours on Flight Simulator, flying some sort of commercial airliner to some destination across the Atlantic or Pacific. I would have loved that sort of technology at about nine or 10 way back during the late 1970s, aka The Stone Age. As it is, my sister and

Classic Style

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