Multicultural Manners

Older family members reminisce. One asks, "What ever happened to Sam Goldstein?" Another answers, "Goldstein, alev ha-shalom? He passed away." Another says, "Do you remember Bessie Solomon, alev ha-shalom? Her daughter has been appointed as a judge." "How wonderful," exclaims another. "And Hymie Weisman, alev ha-shalom? His son is running for Congress."

We love the Voices page with views of people from every walk of life. But the Nov. 14 Multicultural Manners, "Shoeless Salesman Lands on His Feet," about not jumping to conclusions about everyone whose ancestors came from a certain continental area like Asia, really struck me. What everyone should rely on is their own sense of fairness, consideration of others' feelings and compassion for the situation of others--in short, plain good manners, not...

Regarding the April 10 Multicultural Manners column "The Risk of Judging on Looks," Norine Dresser remarks upon Americans' assumption that one is foreign-born if that person appears, essentially, non-Aryan. The problem, I suggest, is not one of callousness; rather, one of linguistic ignorance. When I meet someone who appears to have come from a different country, my query is, "What is your heritage?" Not everyone is aware of how to state such a question. HILARY A. CEJKA Lomita

Regarding the Multicultural Manners column on nudity habits ("Barely Polite," Nov. 23,) Norine Dresser said that in the Czech Republic children up to 5 years old generally go naked while bathing at a river or a seashore. Maybe at a river, but there are no seashores in or near the Czech Republic and therefore nobody goes naked to the seashore. So long as Poland and Germany are there, that'll probably be the case. NORMAN GREEN Los Angeles [by phone]

A new Chinese supermarket hires Penny Parsons to design the interior. Parsons orders a large candid photo of Asians to adorn one wall. The supplier fills the request, and the decorator is pleased with the photograph of a young mother pushing a shopping cart filled with groceries and a child assumed to be her daughter. Once on display in the market, the staff becomes agitated, removes and returns the photo to Parsons, requesting a replacement. What went wrong?

On a Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn, Fay drives to a nearby hardware store to buy batteries. Gleefully, she finds a parking space on the crowded street. Because it is Sunday, she ignores the posted parking signs and meters and spends 30 minutes in the store. When she returns to her car, she discovers a ticket on her windshield saying, "Parking Meter Expired." What went wrong?

Melanie attends a New York college and rooms with Heng, a Chinese girl from Malaysia. When Melanie returns from the library one day at exam time, she opens the refrigerator to get a soft drink and notices a glass of cloudy water. "Ooh, Heng," she says. "You have moldy water in here." Embarrassed, Heng says nothing. What did it mean?