Miss Manners: She came to my house sniffling, and I had little sympathy

DEAR MISS MANNERS A group of six longtime friends planned a get-together at my house including snacks and games Related Articles Miss Manners I came out of the stall and was confronted by a scowling woman Miss Manners I offer my cheek but she swoops for my lips Miss Manners I was mortified to hear what my friends planned for my baby shower Miss Manners Wouldn t I know if I had developed a Ukrainian accent Miss Manners How do I save face after I blew up at this man One friend presented up very clearly ill with a red runny nose and a pack of tissues saying It s just a cold I feel fine Maybe I should have been more sympathetic but I instead mentioned that I didn t want to get sick because I had a vacation coming up I got hand sanitizer and wipes for people to use and kept my distance I did ask this person if they had gotten tested for COVID and they declared no now that the tests aren t free they are truly quite expensive but they assured me they d had COVID before and that it didn t feel like this Two questions Do you agree that the common cold should be something that keeps people from socializing and how can I handle this should it happen again GENTLE READER Yes By being more sympathetic Miss Manners suggests saying firmly You re very brave to come out like this but we won t let you sacrifice yourself for us You need to go home and go to bed until you are well Do you need someone to take you On their way out you can add Please let us know how you re doing We look forward to seeing you when you are over this DEAR MISS MANNERS I have a friend who constantly talks about the prices of food drinks and restaurants I wished to go downtown to a festival and the first thing she reported was that the beers are going to be each When I ask her about a new restaurant she tells me the prices of everything and the cheapest way to have dinner there at happy hour No mention of the food itself A lot of her conversations seem to center around how much things cost It drives all of her conversations I guess I was brought up not to talk about the cost of things Am I wrong to let this bother me GENTLE READER If you were brought up never to talk about the cost of anything Miss Manners hopes it came with a sizable inheritance If your friend keeps asking you how much you paid for your shoes you would be justified in being annoyed But being concerned about prices at restaurants or other commercial transactions under consideration seems reasonable Related Articles Dear Abby He s a magnet for these aggressively dancing women Jill On Money Life insurance the vegetable of your financial diet Asking Eric I ve seen my boyfriend fondling all these women He says I m crazy Harriette Cole I m ready to live like a grown-up but my best friend isn t Miss Manners I came out of the stall and was confronted by a scowling woman DEAR MISS MANNERS I have inevitably sent thank-you notes without fail My predicament is that now people contact me via text message to see if I have received the gift they sent me And since that answer is almost reliably yes I feel I must not only acknowledge the gift but also thank them at that time So now I either have to thank them with a short text instead of the lovely cards I purchased to write sincere notes of gratitude or thank them twice which of syllabus is not awful but seems awkward I need specific guidance please GENTLE READER Prompt responses will solve this issue Then you can truthfully say Yes thank you I ve already written you Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website www missmanners com to her email gentlereader missmanners com or through postal mail to Miss Manners Andrews McMeel Syndication Walnut St Kansas City MO