DEAR MISS MANNERS: My wife and I were at an informal outdoor party for a child’s birthday. Right when we arrived, the hosts offered cold bottles of good beer.
If I’m drinking good beer, I like to let it breathe in a glass or even a plastic cup. I accepted a beer from the host, and then — thinking there might be cups available that I just didn’t see — asked for a cup or glass.
The host said sure, walked about 10 feet into his kitchen and returned with a glass. The beer tasted wonderful.
But when we got home, my wife told me I was dreadfully rude, and that I should have overlooked my preference for a beer that breathed in consideration of the host. I disagreed, pointing out that if the situation were reversed, I would gladly get a cup or glass for my guests. Who’s right?
GENTLE READER: There you go, ruining it for the rest of us.
Had you asked that the birthday cake be served on a gold plate, your wife would have had a point: It is impolite to make unreasonable requests of one’s host. Miss Manners does not consider a glass unreasonable — a point that would have been easier to make had you kept to yourself the part about it making the beer taste better.
Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
