DEAR MISS MANNERS: During our adventure of driving up Pikes Peak in Colorado, my girlfriend and I stopped to admire the view, and she wandered up the road to take some pictures.
I joined her, and as we returned to our vehicle, there was a steep 1/4-mile drop on one side. The other side was the road, where there wasn't a great deal of traffic. I considered the drop-off to be the greater hazard, so I walked on that side.
Was that the correct, gallant decision?
GENTLE READER: Indeed. Just as a gallant gentleman precedes a lady down a staircase, so that if she trips she will have something soft on which to land, a gentleman should walk on the side of the cliff.