Keeping up with the Caballeros

An anthropological disquisition on how gentlemen in Spain go about handling what might otherwise be a sticky social situation. Olé!

Spain, as any Spaniard will tell you, is the last remaining nation with a modicum of good manners. To initiate a telephone call is supreme bad manners. In Spain it may yet be declared a criminal offense. If one rings somebody at his home, chances are the man is napping, or has just dipped into a warm bath out of which he must now-drip. The telephone is a merciless contraption. Shrill with self-importance, it shows no consideration for anybody. People who telephone you are almost invariably those with whom you have no desire to speak.

PC

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Peter Crumpet

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An anthropological disquisition on how gentlemen in Spain go about handling what might otherwise be a sticky social situation. Olé!

Spain, as any Spaniard will tell you, is the last remaining nation with a modicum of good manners. To initiate a telephone call is supreme bad manners. In Spain it may yet be declared a criminal offense. If one rings somebody at his home, chances are the man is napping, or has just dipped into a warm bath out of which he must now-drip. The telephone is a merciless contraption. Shrill with self-importance, it shows no consideration for anybody. People who telephone you are almost invariably those with whom you have no desire to speak.