Customs, Etiquette and Manners

February 6, 2020

You Seriously Want Me to Go Out With Her?

My stepdaughter is in a polyamorous relationship with a married woman. My husband and I are saddened by her choice; we see no happy ending for […]
October 31, 2019

Welcome Home! I Did a Little Redecorating

Returning home from a trip during which my in-laws stayed with our kids, I discovered my mother-in-law had replaced our kitchen chairs with a set she […]
October 24, 2019

Let’s Double Date. But Maybe Your Wife Could Stay Home?

My husband has become close friends with a man he met through work. He and his wife live nearby, and we’ve gone out with them as […]
October 3, 2019

My Mom Obsesses Over Her Love Life. She Couldn’t Care Less About Mine.

My father died two years ago. Since then, my mother began online dating. But she hasn’t dated in 40 years, and she’s reverted to acting like […]
February 1, 2018

Social Q’s: If You Love Me, Why Won’t You GoFundMe?

Advertisement I am heartbroken! Please help me understand why friends have kept silent, not donated or even acknowledged my GoFundMe plea. I am recovering from breast […]
January 25, 2018

Social Q’s: When Hollywood Ageism Hits Close to Home

Advertisement For years, a college friend (in her 50s) has forbidden me from telling anyone we went to school together. Since moving to Hollywood, she deducted […]
January 18, 2018

Social Q’s: Mom, I Love You, but I Can’t Keep Going to Church

Advertisement I am 17. Since I was a baby, my mother has taken me to church with her on Sunday mornings. Recently, I’ve felt less religious […]
December 7, 2017

Social Q’s: Will Y‘All Please Stop Yammering About Resilience?

Advertisement This summer, I lost a great job, and my boyfriend dumped me. These events weren’t linked, though the job loss may have hurried my boyfriend […]
November 23, 2017

Social Q’s: Correcting a Co-Worker’s Grammar: Helpful or Hurtful?

Advertisement I recently switched jobs and have been training to use a complicated new computer system. The young woman helping me is terrific: kind, innovative and […]
November 16, 2017

Social Q’s: Thanksgiving, Solved! How to Deal With This Dreadful Holiday

Social Q’s By PHILIP GALANES My wife and I have been married for two years and dated for three before that. That’s five horrendous Thanksgivings with […]