DEAR ABBY: My wife and I disagree about when and where it is acceptable to yawn. I believe a public yawn during dinner or conversation is not appropriate. She sees no reason why a natural human trait such as yawning should be stifled.
Again, my assertion is that yawning denotes boredom or lack of interest in what people are conversing about or doing. What are your thoughts? -- NOT A YAWNER IN FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ.
DEAR NOT A YAWNER: My thoughts are similar to an observation made by English writer G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), who said, "A yawn is a silent shout." I have never seen anyone who is intensely interested in something yawn, and to do it in the presence of others implies that the yawner is tired, bored or otherwise not fully engaged.