News Flash! Party Appetizers will KILL YOU!

[senoritafish]

I only read Miss Manners on Sundays, which is the only day we get the paper. This is probably a good thing, as I usually feel fairly chatised after I read her column. One of her advice comments struck me as funny though (and it's quite typical that I finally get to reading some of the Sunday paper on Tuesday):

Dear Miss Manners: When finger food and/or other appetizers are served at a social gathering, what is the proper way to eat them?

I usually take a small napkin and grab the item. What I see is 99 percent of the guests simply grabbing ithe item with the hand, one after the other. It's disgusting. Is it me, or do I need to relax and enjoy the food?

I found her her rather cynical reply amusing.

Gentle Reader: It's you. You missed something.

Take a deep breath, but before you relax, take a look at the term you used to describe those appetizers: finger food. Does this contain a clue about the proper way to eat it?

You may not choose to do so. Miss Manners has no objection to fastidiousness. What she does find objectionable is showing others that you find their unexceptional manners disgusting and the merest hint of their touch lethal. Your method heavily suggests that, so you may want to bypass the appetizers, especially if you reflect on what human contact may have gone into their preparation.

I think the idea is grabbing one piece with the fingers, so the others remain untouched. I suppose there is a fair amount of overlap, but I think your immune system can probably handle it. It needs exercise anyway. If you trust your host to invite people with decent hygiene, you probably don't have much to worry about.

This person sounds like a woman at work who will not touch a doorknob with her bare hands. She goes around all day with a pocketful of Kleenex. And yet she smokes like a chimney. (shaking head) I just don't see the point.

Comments

[vwsrmylife.livejournal.com]

bwaaaaaaaah hahahahaha! holy mackerel! that is hilarious. i see people like that at work all the time. smoking like a chimney and the kind of person who pulls her paper towel first turns on the water, washes her hands, dries her hands, and turns off the faucet with the same paper towel. heeeeeeee!!!! oh man that was funny. finger food duh!!!

[senoritafish.livejournal.com]

Heh, glad I could pass on a laugh to you, gracie!