Apropos of Nothing. . .

 

A charming illustration from decades gone by.  I wonder if this young man and his fetching companion cared a whit about making lasting good impressions with those they met and knew?

For the love of Pete!  It always surprises me the sheer number of people crossing your path daily, who exhibit difficulty with this stuff.  But I was reminded again this morning about the importance of making not only a good first impression, but maintaining that favorable impression over time.  

Too many, in the self-centered view of "being themselves," quickly fall back into the annoying, irritating, and the uncouth when it comes to personal hygiene, habits, and manners once they begin to feel comfortable with new acquaintances.  

Use you imaginations here, but this can range from not picking up after oneself, bad breath and/or body odor, barnyard-like behavior at mealtimes around the table, loudly snorting to clear one's sinuses, or clipping one's nails in public, to even less than pleasant personal habits.  And then there are those more unsavory behaviors that people think they disguise by suddenly striking matches.  

Jeeze Louise!  Who in the hell does this kind of stuff around others?  Most people it seems in 2021.  All the world has become one giant public restroom in a bus station somewhere.  Or you might think so judging by the behavior that surrounds you every time you are fool enough to venture out.  

Oh, shame on me!  There I go again.  Being judgmental, snobby, and exclusionary.  Puh-leeze. 

Gentlemen, I'll say this once again.  Pleasant behavior ain't rocket science, and it isn't hard.  Neither does it cost anything more than your awareness.  Behaving nicely is something all can aspire to and attain regardless of their socioeconomic situation.  

All one must do is make polite personal behavior a habit.  Something you do not simply to impress people outside the home on meeting for the first few times, but rather something you also do in the longer term.  That is to say at home with the front door closed and within the confines of family. . .  In whatever form that takes of course.  

As my late grandmother and mother used to say to my sister and me when we were still quite small, "Manners begin in the home.  Your family members are every bit as deserving of common courtesy as the people you pass on the street.  Now, go back upstairs, wash your face, and brush your hair."

-- Heinz-Ulrich