Etiquette Tips & Quips Juanita Ecker’s Blog

By Juanita Ecker My husband and I have recently become good friends with a couple whom we met through Joe’s golf outings. The four of us enjoy going out to dinner, but at first I struggled with one issue: fragrance. The first time we all went out, the wife wore perfume. I noticed it right [...]

By Juanita Ecker A few weeks ago I attended the Color the Arts Festival in downtown Columbia, SC, a fundraiser for the arts in the local communities. It was a lovely event held in an outdoor courtyard. Local artists could feature artwork for sale and there was a silent auction to raise money for the [...]

By Juanita Ecker My girlfriend shared with me an incident that happened to her recently. She was running some errands and stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond in Albany, NY. It was a cold, blustery day and the wind was strong. When my friend opened her car door to go into the store, the wind [...]

By Juanita Ecker I used to love going to the movies. Now, I feel like I’m lucky to get through the opening credits without a cellphone going off or having the back of my seat kicked. And then there are those people who decide to talk over the movie, explaining plot lines to each other [...]

By Juanita Ecker “Here you go, hon!” “Have a great weekend, sweetie!” These sentences may not be unusual coming from a close friend or loved one. But a business associate or total stranger? Now that’s a little close for comfort. Coming from the South, I’m used to hearing these homespun terms of endearment—sweetie, darling, etc.—from [...]

My next door neighbor, Patricia, recently died of melanoma cancer. My husband and I, as well as other friends, have tried to be there for her husband to help him through the grieving process. However, it can be difficult to know what is appropriate in this time of need. On the one hand, you want [...]