JUST KILL ME IF I'VE BECOME A PRUDE

`````Unfortunately, I had to leave a condolence note today and in doing so, I saw that there is information given as to proper etiquette at viewings and funerals. I started to think "who would need to be told", when I flashed back onto something that took place a few years ago. I was attending a funeral service, and the daughter of the woman who had died was wearing a tank top (coral or pink, if I recall), which made her tattoos visible. As she was sitting in the front pew, it was impossible to miss.

`````Times have changed; there used to be rules about not wearing black to weddings, but that has long gone out the window. I see fashion magazines displaying a colour they call "winter white" all the time, whereas it was once taboo to sport that shade after Labour Day. Part of me, however, still thinks that there are certain times that Miss Manners needs to be consulted. Funerals might just be one of those moments.

`````I am absolutely not a prude. I was gawked at for my punk attire when I was younger. Yet, even though I was thin back then, I never opted to flaunt skin and a funeral would certainly not be a place where I would have decided to start. I embrace those who are capable of expressing their individuality and standing apart from the herd. Some can do it with finesse and style and still be appropriate (like some of Diane Keaton's outfits). Dressing like a pole dancer doesn't make the cut.

`````It seems that people, in general, have lost some degree of common sense when it comes to how they should conduct themselves. They talk loudly on cell phones in movie theatres. They'll dress like slobs when they go out for dinner in nice restaurants and then spend the evening texting a third party instead of talking to their partner. It's sort of odd that clothing for little girls seems trampy and too old for them, whereas women in their 40's are sometimes dressing like teenagers. Then there are the guys who are dressed forever like some hood-rat. It's not appealing.

`````What happened to those black and white movies with guys in suits that look like Montgomery Clift and women who had class like Audrey Hepburn? Since when did we aspire to behave like Snooki? When we no longer have the decency to dress properly for the dead, it's gotten out of hand. So, I guess we do need a page explaining the etiquette of funerals.