Miss Manners to speak as part of Civility Week

Pick up a copy of the Shiny Sheet today and you are repeatedly reminded that this is Civility Week in Palm Beach. It starts out with this article on front page that announces that Judith Martin, Miss Manners, will be the keynote speaker at the annual luncheon of the Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews. It's at the Beach Club and costs $75 if you want to go. Click title for link.

This is how the article starts out:

The subject of civility — or lack thereof — has always been an issue around the country, but the polite, genteel Palm Beach community always seemed to evade its influence.
That is, until recently.
A lack of civility in campaigning became a hot-button topic during this year’s town elections.

The timing for this I am sure is intentional as this is the week leading up to the vote March 25th on the PUD-5 ordinance. Many on the island think issue, and the debate surrounding it, has been a breeding ground for all this incivility. It used to be said that you could get away with a lot in Palm Beach, if you were just polite and minded your manners. Apparently, some think people need a refresher course. This is only one of the events during Civility Week. Here are all the list of them:

Civility Week, March 17-24
Volunteers will distribute white carnations at various locations this week — an activity that had previously been done during Fellowship Week.
Wednesday: Historian Jim Ponce will speak at 2 p.m. in the Paramount Building, 139 N. County Road, on the topic of “Palm Beach: Historically an Exemplary Civil Town.”
Friday: Town clergy will speak about civility at their respective houses of worship during the weekend of March 21-23.
March 24: Annual luncheon with guest speaker Judith Martin, whose topic is “The Civility Wars.” Begins at noon at the Beach Club, 755 N. County Road. Tickets are $75 each; reservations are needed. For information or reservations, call 833-6150 or visit palmbeachfellowship.net.

And if you didn't get the message, the Shiny Sheet has an editorial about how this schooling is "sorely needed." Get this:

Miss Manners is visiting because several people in town want to stop the startling degradation of decorum on an island once defined by its gentility and low-key affluence.
She is visiting because the mayor felt compelled to proclaim “Civility Week” in a town that, since its founding, has prided itself on civility, courtesy and decorum.

They go on to say that the "timing is fortuitous" in that the date was set for her visit at least a month before the date was set for the special election, which happens to be the day after.

Oh, and Mr. Waples was a no show at my door for our video roundtable today at 1 p.m. I am still available.