Dear Mrs. McVeigh,
I have a random etiquette question for you. The other day I was walking for exercise on the sidewalk, and three ladies were walking side-by-side, one with a stroller, and I was coming towards them. They did not let me pass, and I was forced to walk into the street. I am elderly, so I especially thought that was disrespectful. Is there some kind of official rule for this situation?
Sincerely,
Good Mannered Elderly Lady
Dear Good Mannered Elderly Lady,
In general people need to be more aware of their surroundings and actions. The ladies who did not have the stroller should have hopped off the sidewalk, allowing the lady with the stroller to move over to your left, and let you continue walking. You then could have moved over to your right so you both could fit on the sidewalk at the same time. The other option is everyone could have walked single file, and then you could have passed easily.
In general people need to be aware of what is going on around them, to make sure they are respectful of others. An example is last week I was out to dinner and one of my sons patiently waited over five minutes to sit down. There was a table of around twenty people next to our table. A couple at one end of the table got up and walked down to the other end of their table to talk to someone. They stood in the aisle between their table and ours, which blocked my son’s chair, so he could not sit down. Finally I told my son to politely get their attention hoping they would understand that he could not pull out his chair and sit. Noticing those around you is good manners, so you can make sure that your everyday actions do not affect other people in an inconvenient way.