Did you know . . .

. . . that today is Elbows Off the Table Day? In 1952, The
Complete Book of Etiquette was published. Remember what your mother always told you: Keep your elbows off the table! Or at least try.

And what else do you remember you mother telling you?

"Don't chew with your mouth open."

"May I be excused?" (before leaving the dinner table)

"Never return a dish empty."

What made Amy an expert on etiquette? When she was 16, Vanderbilt became a part-time reporter for the Staten Island Advance. She studied in Switzerland, at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, and at New York University. Vanderbilt later worked at an advertising agency and a public relations firm. After five years of research, she published Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette in 1952. A blockbuster best seller, it was later retitled Amy Vanderbilt's Etiquette. From 1954 to 1960 she hosted the TV show It's in Good Taste. For the next two years Vanderbilt hosted a radio show, The Right Thing To Do. Vanderbilt also wrote books on cooking and served as a consultant to various organizations, including the State Department.

I'm afraid manners and proper etiquette have been have been lost on this generation. But some things are still a good idea . . . and useful in more ways than one.

" Keep your legs together."