DEAR ABBY: My wife says it's impolite to point at a person or thing when drawing attention to it. We argue about this small matter all the time. Am I wrong in insisting it's OK? Thanks for your response. -- CHARLES IN MISSOURI
DEAR CHARLES: It is considered bad manners to point at a person because to do so conveys the message that he -- or she -- is being talked about and possibly made fun of. Pointing at objects is a lazy way of communicating something you should be able to put into words, but it's nothing to argue about. On a scale of 10, it's a zero.