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It really bothers me to see someone walking around with their shirt tag hanging out. I can’t help but wonder how long they’ve been unaware of their now obvious size and washing instructions marker. I’m willing to bet most of the day, because no one would go out on a limb and let them know.
It’s not just clothing tags that go unmentioned by people, some who are our own family members and friends. It’s almost as if we are somehow afraid to let others know for fear they’ll never speak to us again if we mentioned it.
I watched a lady walk around for 10 minutes with toilet paper dragging from her shoe, and not one other person said a thing to her about it. I decided to let her know by pointing to the tag-along paper trail hooked to her right heel, and she was very grateful.
She had been on her way to a job interview at the time. She could have been turned down for the position as some employers find a thing like that to be off-putting as it demonstrates a lack of task follow through.
It’s a bit awkward to let someone know that their zipper is on the low down, but the proper thing to do is to let the person know anyway. Perhaps they’ll wonder why you were even looking in that direction. Maybe a simple statement like, “Oops, my zipper’s down,” will cause them to then check their own, and you’ll never have to say another word about it. It may even prevent a criminal charge of indecent exposure and a court date, depending on state law on the subject.
Once my Uncle Vinny let my aunt walk around with part of her dress tucked into her pantyhose. He said it was because he didn’t want to embarrass her by mentioning it. Good Lord, never mind the embarrassment that came from her knowing that 600 church members and the pastor were all staring at her that Sunday morning in church.
He’s such a dope. (Not the pastor, Uncle Vinny.)
I’ve seen people with their shirt on backward, food in their teeth and unaware that something was hanging from their nose as if it peeked out to see the sunshine. Sometimes folks have it all going on all at once.
Perhaps these things happen because we fail to look in that mirror one last time before going out.
Even if we forget, there are plenty of opportunities to look at ourselves in store and restaurant window reflections. It may look as though we’re being vain or staring at folks while they eat, but I think it’s being “dress-smart.”
I once saw a lady in New Orleans around New Year’s wearing a bra over her shirt. I wanted to say something to her, but changed my mind as she had a crowd of people around her, so I’m pretty sure one of them let her know. Perhaps they all pointed it out, which made me feel better about not doing it.
I did, however, leave a sign that someone put on my Uncle Vinny’s back that read: “I’m an idiot, KICK ME!” I didn’t tell him because I got pleasure watching folks kick him – so sometimes it is good to just keep your snackhole shut.
For the most part, friends, don’t let friends walk around with a peek-a-boo in their nose.
Anngee Quinones-Belian of Murphy is a staff correspondent for the Cherokee Scout. Her humor column runs every other week. Email her at anngeeq@gmail.com.