Etiquette: Like Berries on the Vine

First etiquette… Do unto others quote.
Your dog is cute, but dogs do not shop.
And they are not welcomed everywhere.
Please do not announce deaths in a text.
Say ‘excuse me’, when you bump into any
human being. Learn to write and spell
correctly in English. Use your turn signal
more often than your mouth or middle finger.
Your phone is not a vital organ. You can live
without it.  Try an hour a day.

What is etiquette?  My simply definition is. . . etiquette is not something you do, it is who you are.

Etiquette is like berries on the vine.  If you don’t do anything about it, it fails and falls to the ground.

I hear so many express that etiquette is dead. Or, where is etiquette?   I do admit that it has two faces.  One,  the example is not intently set  and it has not been taught.  Etiquette is paramount  in our everyday lives. I hesitate to demote it to a lost art, but it is an endangered institution.  However, segments of  our society uses it very well. . . separating the wheat from the grass.  Meaning blatantly that even though you may be overqualified for that job or promotion, you are not a ‘fit’ for the success of the mission.

Where is all of this going?  How do you explain a society that is declining before your very eyes? What is the answer?  What pieces of the puzzle is missing?  I am saddened by the lack of common  manners as I go about my day.   Recently, on the evening news, an unbelievable disturbance occurred.  Because of their discomfort with the matter, passengers started deplaning as the pilot spoke.   People with drones and guns, endanger other citizens every minute of the day, due to their lack of competence  and respect. Additionally, we bump into people of other cultures, disabilities and dismiss the courtesies due.

Al Jarreau died this week at age 76, and I just loved that song “We’re In This Love Together”.  He was a marvelous entertainer. You know the words . .’cause, we’eere in this love together’.  As I started writing this article and groovin’ to Al Jarreau’s chords on the internet, the  two loves just merged into so many thoughts.   The love for ourselves and our society is  ‘something we never want to lose’.  The love for God’s magnificent creatures  is something we do not want  to lose.  ‘Like berries on the vine. . we need to get sweeter. . . not deeper in mayhem.   The sheer fact is whatever it is . . . we are all in this “love” together.

Thanks, Al Jarreau for the memories.

Ester Davis can be reached at esterday.com
Join us @ROPP for Girls, Concord Baptist Church,
Feb. 25, with Women of Wisdom(WOW).  Thanks
Dr. Hollie-Theodeaux for “Marriage Forever Couples”
held at the Dallas City Hall Flag Room.