DEAR ABBY: I am a semi-retired professional man. My wife and I have an ongoing disagreement and would like the benefit or your wisdom. I was raised that when a man enters a house or a place of business, especially a restaurant, he should remove his hat. It annoys me to see young men sit in a restaurant wearing baseball caps, cowboys hats or even stocking caps.
My wife says times have changed -- recent generations were not raised the same way and I should just get over it. I say there is no right or wrong age for common etiquette. I can overlook this behavior in a fast-food restaurant, but I also see it happening in nice establishments. I believe that restaurant managers should ask men to remove their hats. If they refuse, at least they will have been told it is unacceptable behavior. Should I follow my wife's advice, or do I have a valid gripe? -- TONY IN FLORIDA
DEAR TONY: Some restaurants still insist that their patrons adhere to a strict dress code -- but fewer of them do than in decades ago. In recent years the rigid rules regarding the wearing of hats have relaxed -- in part, I suspect because of aging baby boomers who use baseball caps to camouflage their bald spots.
However, according to Emily Post, you do have a valid gripe. She says there are times when wearing a hat is appropriate, and times when it isn't. According to her, a man should remove his hat (and this includes baseball caps) upon entering a home, when indoors at work (especially in an office), at mealtime at the table, in restaurants and coffee shops (the italics are mine), at a movie or indoor performance, when the National Anthem is played and when the American flag passes by as in a parade.