DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I are both retired and normally get along great.
When we have no dinner planned, we both eat leftovers, sometimes at different times. This evening, I sat down for a leftover pork chop, noodles and a glass of merlot. My husband joined me to converse, but was not hungry yet. Then he started talking about his day’s activities.
As background, there’s been a used prophylactic on the street in front of our house for weeks that the street sweeper somehow keeps missing. As I was trying to enjoy my dinner, my husband went into a long discourse about how he removed it from the street
I promptly left the table, stowed my leftovers and ran into our guest room, locking myself in. The only thing I castigate myself about is that I hurled invectives while escaping.
Was I wrong, or was he completely out of line with his chosen subject of dinnertime conversation?
GENTLE READER: It should not require fleeing and swearing to convince someone that when one is eating -- or even when not -- graphic details on unsavory activities are offensive. So is foul language, with or without food.
Miss Manners suggests that after you apologize for your drama, you remind your husband that dinnertime manners and conversation are still required, even if only one party is actually eating.