Editor's note: Roy tells me that he wrote this after getting upset about beer bottles in a mall parking lot.

Good manners never go out of style. Etiquette books are perennial best sellers. Newspaper columns give advice on how to behave, and on-line etiquette courses are available on the internet. Even in the age of Trump, many people still aspire to act in a proper manner in social situations.

Unfortunately, in teaching the details of what spoon to use or what to do with the cork after the wine is decanted, our social mentors have overlooked some important areas. Here are a few rules to help you get through life that you may not find in the usual guide to proper etiquette.

1. Do not set your empty beer bottles in the intersection while waiting for the light to change. Smashing them on the sidewalk or standing them in the mall parking lot is also considered unacceptable among the well-bred.

2. Talking to a friend in a normal tone of voice during a movie is impolite. It is permitted, however, in front of your television. The way you can spot the difference is that the movie theater generally has more seats, and people will be there who you probably don't know.

3. During freeway driving, when you are behind a slower moving vehicle, passing on the left side is preferable over closing to within two and one-half feet and flashing the lights. Honking the horn or running the other vehicle off the road are also frowned upon.

4. It is a common misconception that the rule against writing one's name on bus seats, park benches, warehouse walls, or other public surfaces does not apply to people between the ages of eight and twenty. That rule has no exceptions. Children in that age bracket may be permitted to write their names or the names of their gangs on the inside walls of their own homes, but they should check with their parents first.

5. Parking one's car in the driveway so that it extends over the sidewalk is considered rude by people on wheelchairs or using walkers. On the other hand, it is permissible for people using walkers or wheelchairs to key the cars that extend onto the sidewalk.

6. Yelling "hey babe" or cat-calling women is acceptable in some cultures. None of those cultures are located in the United States.

7. Unless by some strange circumstance you have survived nuclear war and are the last person on earth, you should not ride your bike or skateboard on the sidewalk.

8. The etiquette of self-serve gas stations is still developing, but there is general agreement on some points. When you pump your gas and a line of cars is waiting behind you, you should move your car before you thoroughly clean your windshield or go into the market to buy a Slim Jim. On the other hand, if you are in the line behind someone who ignores the windshield or Slim Jim rule, you are not allowed to ram his or her car. You are permitted to yell, "Move your goddam car, you dickhead."

9. Putting a bumper sticker on your car telling the world how your particular occupational group "does it" is generally considered to be in poor taste.

10. Don't shoot people, even if you know them.

I believe you will find these rules relatively easy to follow. And remember, the big spoon is for the soup.

~ Roy Christman