Saturday, July 26, 2008

"May I please be excused?"

Dear Miss Manners: When one wishes to get up from the table to go to the restroom, I think it rude to just get up and depart. So I announce, "Excuse me, I'm going to the restroom." My friends seem to vanish from the table with no explanation, and I suppose they think no explanation is necessary. What to do or say or not say? Gentle Reader: Does it have to be everything or nothing? Leaving without a word is rude, but explaining where you are going is unpleasantly vivid for those who are eating. Miss Manners hopes you can content yourself with a mere "Excuse me," trusting that your destination is not much of a mystery. This letter to Miss Manners made me think of something. When I was a child my parents really tried to instill in me good manners. It worked for awhile and I'm not sure when I fell off the Good Manners Wagon (maybe after a drunken night of debauchery in New Orleans?) but every now and then I do slip back into good manners mode. You see...
We could never leave the dinner table without saying, "May I please be excused?" And we couldn't leave the dinner table until Joe or Helen (my parents) said, "Yes."
When I have been at dinner with friends, business associates, etc. I do find myself saying, "Excuse me for a moment." or "I need to excuse myself from the table." I don't ask for permission but I do let it be known that I am leaving and will be back or if I'm not coming back I also let that be known.
I have been at dinner tables when someone gets up and leaves without saying a word and to me it is a bit odd. It leaves me wondering what is going on. Were they offended by something that was said? Are they leaving and not coming back? Are they stalking somebody?
So I'm just wondering, is it common to verbally excuse yourself from the table? Just askin'.
And speaking of that, why do women go in pairs to the bathroom?

Changing the subject completely...
I'm sure I will see many of you at Quadra tonight. This is a birthday party that four guys put on for themselves. It is always fun because people come of out of the woodwork. Last year I ran into someone that I had not seen in forever and this is one of the first people that I met when I moved to Houston 16 years ago.
It is also fun because it isn't a fundraiser AND we don't have to bring presents! The party is at Status which is across the street from The Cha Cha Palace (the scene of Kaye Sedilla's Last Salsa.) I've never been to Status (just like I've never been to me) so exploring something new is always a delight.
Stay cool today. It's gonna hit the ΓΌber high 90s here in The Bayou City!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

While we're on the subject- why do we called it a "rest" room? We don't go in there to rest. In Europe it's no better, where it is called literally "the toilet", which to me is really disgusting. If you ask a Brit where the rest room is, they will look at you strangely. If you ask an American where the toilet is, he will tell you "in the restroom, dumbass!" Miss Ginger finds herself saying "I'll be right back", which also seems to state the obvious, but I guess it better than saying "I'm going to relieve myself!"

A Girl From Texas said...

The word toilet actually comes from the French word "Toilette" which was a cloth one used while shaving or bathing. I would assume that this is where we came up with the word Towel. I remember my mother having a bottle of fragrance while I was a child that was called "toilet water". I would assume it was to be used to freshen up while doing "toilette" activities.

The restroom in Europe is actually referred to as a Water Closet. Sometimes it's abbreviated to WC. I don't know how the English came to calling it a Loo.

Timmy said...

One night I was at Uncle Julio's sitting at the bar drinking Margarita/Sangria frozen swirls and the friend that was with me said, "I need to go see a man about a horse."

I had no idea what he was talking about and he got up and left. I watched him as he walked through the restaurant (waiting for him to go and talk to somebody) and then he went into the restroom.

LOL I had no idea.

SunWolf said...

I too usually just say "Excuse me. I'll be right back."

Seeing a man about a horse brings back memories about my dad. He always said that.

Personally, I'd like to say "To da loo!" (yuk yuk...I know it's bad, but there it is.)