Etiquette Santa Fe

09/14/2026

This week's column: An apology should happen the moment you learn your actions have negatively impacted someone...like ripping a Band-Aid off. You have to go for it, knowing that it may sting. Delaying an apology is often worse than the offense itself.

My mother recently reopened her shop after a brief retirement. When the building and business didn’t sell, she felt an obligation to reopen rather than leave a vacant storefront in

09/02/2026

This week's column: “My earliest childhood memory is of meeting her. I was 3 or 4 years old, and my daddy took me backstage at one of her shows. She leaned down, introduced herself and asked my name. I couldn’t speak — a mix of shyness and pure star-struck wonder. There’s no memory anchored to a photo — it’s the actual, lived encounter, which is part of why it still feels so real.” https://www.santafenewmexican.com/life/family/shine-where-you-are-dolly-parton-the-poster-angel-for-etiquette/article_edcced6b-3c53-4ab6-bd44-ae187516516e.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawUFd51wZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAGJyaWQRMUJjYTZOVUszRVhZOEdoa0NzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeMPixukMjIjXOgOGUJBNSSNLNF8SoixDtRs9Woh3dFuvDeHsJdfbqC3ClLVI_aem_iQEQTC1oyuReI7USKW_lWg

When I arrived at my mother’s house for a visit Tuesday morning, the monthly PBS guide was front and center on the table, and there was Dolly Parton on the

09/02/2026

World Letter Writing Day and what a joy for these words in air to find us from around the globe this week. Thank you for thinking of us on your travels and adventures. We LOVE snail mail. When did you last post your greetings? 💌📫📝

08/17/2026

This week's column: Looking after your friend's home.

A travel headache recently turned into an unexpected lesson in houseguest etiquette.

08/10/2026

08/05/2026

This week's column: We have a responsibility to learn the customs and etiquette of a place we’re visiting when it comes to wardrobe and tipping, for example. But I’d go further: I think a responsible traveler also takes the time to catch up on the local news of the destinations we love, to get into the deeper layers of a community we’re drawn to. It informs how we show up as travelers, how to be a good guest and where we choose to spend our dollars while we’re there.

The first thing my son said the morning after we got back from vacation was, “I want to go fishing,” with a nostalgic, longing tone, like he already missed it

07/30/2026

Canada isn’t all maple syrup and doughnuts, but overall, it’s pretty great. I've got the stats to prove it.

Twelve years ago, I wrote a column titled “Want the American Dream? Move to über happy Canada.” It’s about my summers spent north of the border with my Canadian side

07/30/2026

At 250, America could use a reminder that civility was never meant to be performative. It was meant to be the outward expression of an inward commitment: to see the people in front of us, to treat them as present and worthy of respect.

George Washington's book on etiquette is a reminder that even the founders' manners were borrowed from the European traditions.

07/30/2026

There is something eternal about the road trip: station wagons, no seat belts, bickering siblings and the unspoken family rule that whoever controlled the window controlled the world.

Etiquette is about making others feel comfortable, and if ever there was a place where this is relevant, it is the car.