DEAR MISS MANNERS: I received a call from a man who had gotten my phone number from my niece. She did not ask me first if it was OK for him to have it.
Is it all right for her to have done this? She thinks I’m overreacting.
GENTLE READER: Perhaps she would change her mind if you reversed the situation. Miss Manners does not necessarily recommend putting this into practice -- she is not in the business of exacting revenge. But the mere suggestion that you know lots and lots of eligible people her age who would just love to chat with her, constantly and without warning, might be enough to make your point.
(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)