Miss Conduct on Fathers' Day
I wish my own father of blessed memory were here to help me write columns tonight. I can just imagine his responses to some of the ones I’m working on now:
“Son, everyone has to work with someone like that. I could tell you about this one guy in Chicago … but life’s too short. Do your job and ignore him.”
“That seems reasonable to me, but I’m not your wife. Take her out to her favorite restaurant and give her a nice bottle of perfume and ask her.”
“Oh, sure, you’re within your RIGHTS to do that. But no one will ever invite you back for a drink after the game, and if there’s ever a disputed call, they won’t resolve it in your favor.”
“Lady, he’s just a little kid. In six months he won’t even remember this.”
“This you consider a problem at work? This is no problem. This is just work.”
“If everyone knows perfectly well that you’re lying, it isn’t lying anymore. Then it’s just being polite.”
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Who is Miss Conduct?
Robin Abrahams writes the weekly "Miss Conduct" column for The Boston Globe Magazine. Robin, who has a PhD in psychology from Boston University, has worked as a theater publicist, organizational-change communications manager, editor, stand-up comedian, and professor of psychology and English. She lives in Cambridge with her husband, Marc Abrahams, founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes, which are given annually for achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.
