LONG STAY
Dear Dr. Lovemonkey,
My partner and I recently met another couple through mutual friends. We invited them over for dinner after work on a recent Thursday evening. They arrived at 7, as expected, but then they stayed, and stayed, and stayed. Despite the fact that we had been cleaning up after the dinner, at around 11 pm, our guests showed no signs of leaving. We began yawning, and at a certain point (around 11:30-11:40), actually stopped participating in the conversation. It wasn't until around 12:30 am that they finally said, "Well, I guess we better be heading on home." The fact is that our days start early (we're up before 5:30 am). Do you have any suggestions on how to flush out house guests once they've overstayed their welcome, without appearing rude?
A Tired Couple
Dear A Tired,
Dr. Lovemonkey does not think there is anything rude about announcing to dinner guests who don't appear to be moving on that you are early risers. You had a wonderful time, but bedtime arrived and you had a pressing appointment with the Sandman. Some people are a little tone deaf to the fact that their hosts are dropping off to sleep, so they may require a little nudge at times. Mentioning that you arise early and need to get to bed is far less rude than, say, putting on your pajamas, taking a pillow out of your bedroom, and sacking out on the living room floor as they jabber on.
WONDERFUL LIFE, INDEED
Dear Dr. Lovemonkey,
I recently was in a discussion with several coworkers about the film It's a Wonderful Life. We were talking about favorite Christmas films, and a number of the folks at work mentioned this as a favorite. The conversation abruptly ended when one of the younger co-workers (she's about 24) took umbrage at the fact that I had "ruined the film for her" by revealing the ending. Do you think that I a serious faux pas here? I mean, the film has been out since 1946. At no time during the conversation did she announce that she had not seen it and wanted the experience to be a big surprise. Most of our other co-workers told me that they also thought she was a little off-base in suggesting that I was a killjoy. Do you agree or disagree?
Dazed and Confused
Dear Dazed,
Under no circumstances should you mention to your young friend that the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007. Let it be a big surprise when she finds out while doing research in Cooperstown. Dr. Lovemonkey believes there's a statute of limitations on revealing the end of movies. For instance, if the film has been out for more than a year, is available on DVD, and has played on cable television, revealing the ending is no longer a mean way of ruining someone else's fun. Due to some bumbling bookkeeping business, the holders of the copyright for It's a Wonderful Life ended up losing the rights to the film, and it fell into the public domain a number of years ago. As a result, for more than a decade, it ended up being repeatedly aired on broadcast television. Almost all citizens over the age of 35 have seen this film many, many times. While your 24-year-old friend may not have shared the experience, she is surrounded by people who know the ending. She might need psychiatric help.
Send questions and romantic quandaries to tillie27@verizon.net.
