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Kindle Notes & Highlights
Manners are now, and have always been, about making society run more smoothly.
The world may seem crazy, but that’s all the more reason to be the patient, well-dressed man on the plane who doesn’t throw elbows trying to get to the overhead bin.
Gentlemen: It starts with each of us. Let’s ask more of ourselves as men. Let’s live our lives fully; let’s show respect; let’s drink a martini, possibly at lunch. Let’s keep our perspective, take the long view and remember that how we treat others ultimately defines ourselves. Above all, act with dignity and a smile.
It says a lot about human nature that what made little sense to me as a teenager is eminently logical to me as an adult.
Generally I try to meet in a place where I can read or write or drink, so waiting is not bad. In fact, a friend who is a well-known writer always waits for me when I arrive. I’d come early and he would be there. I’d come radically early and he would calmly be sitting there. I found out later that he liked writing in that time when he felt the peculiar anticipation when he never knew how long he had. Good advice.
(While we’re at it: A true martini is made with gin, not too dry, stirred impossibly cold in a small glass and served with a twist of lemon.
My dad taught me, ‘Outside the house, a man should never show his toes unless there’s a swimmable body of water nearby.’”
The writer Jim Harrison said that curiosity was the key to friendship—that’s what fuels our interest in others. That’s what makes us continue to meet people as we get older.
“We all had a lot to drink” is usually said by the drunkest person in the room. And is not a good excuse for bad behavior.
It’s good to have an unpredictable interest.
If you must wear a baseball hat, wear your home team and never backward.
No reason to lie to your tailor, fishing guide, doctor, caddy or your mother. They’ll find out the truth soon enough.
You’ll never regret being a regular.
You’re not ready for a night out without any cash.
Don’t exalt Patrick Bateman, even ironically.
Rent and salary are private matters.
In a crowded bar don’t save a seat for somebody who hasn’t arrived.
If you can’t make a dinner reservation, call and tell them. Even if it’s only half an hour before.
The human mind has evolved over thousands of years to make use of nonverbal behaviors, scent, tone of voice, touch and a host of other cues that are removed when people communicate through their phones.
