Dear Miss Manners: I am a fan of a sports team whose fans are known to wear a cheese wedge-shaped headgear. I am lucky to attend one game a year, where I am far from the only fan to wear this outfit, or similar equipment.
This year, the woman sitting behind me immediately complained, loudly and insultingly, that I was blocking her sight. She insisted that I was not allowed to wear the offending hat, and when I politely refused to take it off, she threatened to call security to have me deported for disruptive behavior.
I solved the problem by offering to change seats with her. Her friends who were sitting next to her thanked me and apologized for her behavior. I remember the classic rule for women to take off their hats when they are in a theater, but wouldn’t a sporting event where the team encourages practice have a different sensitivity?
Where, oh where, Do you wear a cheese hat if not at a sporting event in Wisconsin?
Miss Manners suggests that the problem here, as you have discovered, is not a question of etiquette, but is more practical: that all paying viewers have a reasonable chance of seeing the event they are attending. Obviously, this is the offense the woman objected to, albeit crudely. A quick scan of the lines of sight before sitting would apparently solve the problem. Or maybe Wisconsin fans should consider wearing a Swiss headgear or a nice spread, so other customers can see it more easily.
Dear Miss Manners: My husband and I are expecting our first child, and we have received tons of gifts from friends and family. Some of these articles are excellent and we are grateful to them.
However, many family members seem to think that they can just use us as a dumping ground for old, dirty, broken or dangerous items they no longer want. We received a broken playpen, a moldy booster seat, a torn baby carrier from the 1970s and old, rough towels.
We accepted everything with thanks and smiles, but now it’s up to us to sort the garbage and get rid of it. At a time when we are already overwhelmed, it is incredibly frustrating.
While it is not worthwhile to start a discussion with our family members, I hope you will consider publishing this as a public service announcement to donors. If you would like to pass on baby items, please A) Make sure they are in good working order and safe; and B) Check with parents to ask if it is something they still need. (We also have multiples of many items.)
Consider the announcement fact. Miss Manners is sensitive to your situation and congratulates you on having endured it. It humbly reminds you, however, that what you consider an old worn and smelly blanket can be a precious memory for others, which they now pass on to you with love.
New Miss Manners columns are published Monday through Saturday on washingtonpost.com/advice. You can send questions to Miss Manners on her website, missmanners.com.