DEAR ABBY: I attend a number of women's events, and a pet peeve of mine is when one or more of the women immediately pull out pictures of their grandchildren, their children's weddings or their pets and proceed to show them to everyone.
I know these women are proud, but they should realize that not everyone wants to look at these photos. There are times when I itch to say something, but I'm afraid they would reply with something like, "Oh, you're just jealous because you don't have grandchildren."
One woman dominated the entire conversation at one luncheon. No one knew her daughter and son-in-law or their relatives, and I imagine they were looking at the pictures just to be polite, as was I. I resented her standing behind me while delivering her lengthy description of each one to the person sitting next to me.
What should I do when I find myself in this situation again -- as I know I will? -- BORED BY THE PICTURES, BIRMINGHAM, ALA.
DEAR BORED: It would not be rude to suddenly have an "urgent call of nature" and excuse yourself to go to the restroom. I'll bet if you do, others at the table will join you. And should you see a friend on the way back, it also isn't rude to stop and chat for a moment. When you get back to the table, raise another topic of conversation.