DEAR ABBY: My wife and I shop in an upscale shoe store. On the past two visits there, a middle-aged salesman kissed my wife's hand when we left. I was surprised but not offended, considering it to be nothing more than an old-fashioned expression of courtesy. The man is knowledgeable, helpful and honest. My wife, however, disagrees. She says his gesture is forward and inappropriate and that I should resent it. Who's right? -- T.R. IN HOUSTON
DEAR T.R.: You are. The kiss-on-the-hand routine may be part of the man's sales technique. If he has done it before and your wife had no objection, then it's not surprising he did it a second time. What would she like you to do -- challenge him to a duel? If she felt the gesture was inappropriate, then she shouldn't have offered her hand to him a second time.