A biography for Letitia Baldrigehasn’t been written yet.
“If you really screw up, send roses.”
“I don't ever knock anybody; that's bad manners.”
“We ought to be vigilantes for kindness and consideration.”
“The custom of going to a party only when we have been invited is a necessary, attractive, decent way for a party to evolve.”
“Everybody forgets names and faces, and it's just inconsiderate to expect someone who isn't your boss or your sister-in-law to know exactly who you are.”
“Going to a party uninvited always has been a negative action. It never has been acceptable. At the very least, it upsets kitchen preparations, parking arrangements, and even details such as space for hanging coats and depositing dripping umbrellas.”
“Most people don't know how to take compliments. That's the biggest problem in America - we're hesitant to give compliments and embarrassed at getting them.”
“If somebody is disrespecting somebody, we should step in - even at the risk of getting slugged over the head.”
“When somebody throws something out the car window, honk at them, but don't give them the finger. We've got to temper our negative feelings about people who desecrate the environment.”
“Crashing could not be more inconsiderate to a host. It is a negative act because hosts likely have a particular plan for the event, an intention to move guests' attitudes in a certain direction.”
“Look at all those unattractive people talking about depraved things all day long on TV talk shows. People can talk about themselves, yet the art of conversation, which has to do with sharing, is disappearing. I feel as though I am chasing a runaway locomotive.”
“I'm all for Hillary Clinton. I want her to avoid the barbs of women who hate women who work. But I'm known as a Republican in Washington. I'm probably the last person she'd call.”
“When writing a thank-you if you've had lunch with someone downtown, send an e-mail. If somebody is giving you a dinner party in his or her home and all the work that takes, that person deserves a written thank-you.”
“We're a nation of latchkey children. Manners start at home, and no one is at home teaching manners so that children have respect for others.”
“Chivalry isn't dead. It's just no longer gender-based.”
“Manners make the world work. They're not only based on kindness but also efficiency. When people know what to do, the world is smoother. When no one knows what to do, it's chaos.”
“You don't want to work so hard that you can't enjoy your guests.”
“It's very important with these young people who are graduating and getting married to write thank-you notes.”
“One cannot reject an entire nation because of the politics of its leader.”
“A real thank you does not come by e-mail. They come in the mail in an envelope. And what comes out of an envelope is a beautiful thing to touch and to handle and to pass around for everyone to read.”