DEAR ABBY: Many times I read letters in your column from people complaining about what some "insensitive" person said to them in the market, etc., about their adoption, their disability, hair, size, color, cars, or anything else noticeable. Most recently, it was about the number of children (too many) a woman had.
You know what that is called? MAKING CONVERSATION.
When people are standing next to each other in a long line, they often feel like reaching out to make a connection, like in the old days when people looked one another in the eye when they passed on the street.
How are you supposed to start a conversation when you don't know anything about the other person? You look for signs to latch onto. Read any book about starting conversations, and you'll find that's how they get started.
Why not take the opportunity to welcome their reaching out, and if there is a real problem, gently correct them? Most individuals do not start conversations with the intention of being rude or insulting. The reality is you do have more kids or longer hair, or are taller than average or whatever else it is they are "insulting" you about. Their pointing it out is not what made it so.
Remember, you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. If you respond with something positive, and guide the conversation from there, "doing time" in line can become a few moments of pleasant connection with a fellow human being. Who among us have lives so full we don't have room for a brief dialogue with someone we don't already know? -- TEFLON TINA IN HAMBURG, PA.
DEAR TEFLON TINA: Your viewpoint deserves consideration. More friendships and (romances) have begun in line than on-line.