DEAR ABBY: I was at my eye doctor's yesterday, sitting in a small waiting room waiting for my eyes to dilate. There were five of us in there, quietly thumbing through magazines or listening to a TV on a low volume.
A woman in her 20s walked in and joined us. No sooner did she sit down than her cellphone rang. For the next half-hour she proceeded to talk loudly. I was so annoyed and distracted it was all I could do not to grab that phone out of her hand. Other people looked her way, but no one said anything.
There was no sign requesting people to turn off their phones. Abby, what can be done about cellphone rudeness? -- MIFFED IN MASSACHUSETTS
DEAR MIFFED: Someone should have gotten up, complained to the office manager that the extended phone call was intrusive and disturbing everyone, and suggested that a sign be posted telling patients that cellphones are to be used only in emergencies.