European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Miss manners Judith Martin dear miss manners my co worker commented on my haircut saying of look. Theresa Cut her hair. It looks really  i did not have a new style my hair was just considerably Shorter. As i was not comfortable with my new look i found her comment unnerving and questioned her sincerity. Should one announce that another has Cut her hair or is it better to remain silent and pretend not to notice any difference if one does comment what is the most appropriate thing to say gentle Reader it looks really  mind you miss manners is not endorsing the idea of announcing physical changes in other people. The workplace especially is plagued by those who go around monitoring personal appearances Are you putting on weight another new outfit gee you look terrible. What s the matter you be dyed your hair and so on. Even compliments can be disastrous As has to be explained to Many a male worker who imagines the female workforce is delighted to be told How Well it fills out its sweaters or to anyone who has assumed that weight loss is always a matter for congratulations without considering that it can be a frightening symptom of serious disease % v r so Why is miss manners hot taking up the Cudgel on your behalf Why in t she quivering with Indig nation against your co worker and alarm at your being unnerved Well because it was such an offhand innocuous obviously Well meant comment. It May even have been prompted by the desire not to allow you to think that silence about the change meant that your haircut was so awful that the less said about it the belter. It is wrong to. Scrutinize people for changes they might prefer to let pass but miss manners is afraid it is even More wrong to examine their trivial re Marks for lurking insults r dear miss manners recently it seems a trend with waiters of pick up the Check and Money i be left on the table in Payne Cut and then ask me if i want any change. Sometimes it might be a $50 Bill for a $30 Tab a rather generous tip in my Book. Gentle Reader miss manners would riot take the obvious route available and condone withholding the tip. If service is poor one should complain to management just As one should if the food or any Purchase is not  less drastic Way is simply to look extremely sur prised at the question and reply yes of course dear miss manners my sister plans to make up a family tree for our parents wedding anniversary but she wants to omit All Steps and list Only biologic als and she wants to change her part by omit Ting the Date and place she and her second husband married a ,.  a Nephew had an operation so he would t have children but married a Gal who was pregnant not by him and put his name As father on the birth certificate my brother married a Gal with six children and they had two together. He wants to include those two along with two of hers that he helped raise. One sister does t want to name either of her Hus bands because they did t contribute child support. Another sister wants to omit her second husband no children but include her fourth husband no Chil Dren. Needless to say All this has created quite a rift in the family get along ability. I am All for accepting anybody who wants to be put Down As i believe families have been adding and eliminating at whim throughout the Ages. It just rubs me the wrong Way for someone to say of Don t in clude him in the picture he s not  gentle Reader what Pray does your sister have in mind by drawing up a tree of this family binding everyone closer together ensuring that next year s anniversary party May be held in a very Small place miss manners knows of no genealogical society however strict that counts Only biological ties. Marriage and adoption Are undisputed ways of joining a family and even your relatives have not exhausted All the newer possibilities. The currently popular idea that truth requires hurting people s feelings is bad enough miss Man ners agrees with you that declarations of who is in the family and who is not Are never kindly intended and that the results Are always disastrous for the future of the family. What your sister wants is to paint a false picture one of her own choosing. This is a really terrible idea and your parents will hardly be Likely to appreciate her setting off family feuds. The nicest present she could give them  aban Don the project and get them a rubber Plant instead but if she insists miss manners Hopes that the family will agree that the Only Way to figure  is in and who out is to ask each Branch of the family to submit its own list.  United feature Syndicate feeling incorrect address your etiquette questions in Black or Blue Black Ink on White writing paper to miss manners. . Box 91428, Cleveland Ohio 44101-3428. The Quill shortage prevents miss Man ners from answering questions except through this column. Reisinger Zagreb Croatia. � 1994, cartoonists. S writers Syndicate Betty if anyone asks for me i la be Back in 2-4 years big problems on the Way and that a no tall tale Erma Bombeck All right Ann Landers and dear Abby Billy Crystal Liz Taylor Donna Shalala Redford and Newman and All the other Short people of the world stand up an applaud the newest findings of an article in . News and world report. Of you Are standing. Well sit Down and listen to this. The Bottom line is that humans Are growing too tall for their own Good. It is predicted by a san Diego researcher Thomas Samaras that if Ameri cans keep growing at the rate they have for the past 75 years they will devastate the environment. He says excess height will increase Energy needs by 50 percent require an additional 180 million acres for food production and pump 3 billion extra tons of Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Each year our population seems to get taller and taller. Unless it s a Blind Date and the men Are Al ways Shorter than the women it brings to mind the commercial by Shaw o Neal in a futuristic bit where he is telling a Young Audi ence about How basketball has changed since he played the game. The Basket kept getting higher and higher to accommodate the height of the players but now it was really Tough because the hoop rotated. I am 5-2.1 use Little oxygen and Little space. Yet my feet Don t touch the floor when i sit in an airline seat. I can t reach the top of grocery shelves when my foot reaches the Gas pedal there is an indentation of the steering wheel in my stomach. I use a / child s drinking Fountain. Now it seems Short people Are destined to save the planet. It s weird to imagine but these findings May change the images we have always projected. Well be telling our sons put Down that twinkle do you want to grow up to be 6 feet tall Ike your father. Or Well warn our daughters get off the dime or All the Short Guys will be gone for prom.". Samaras recommends an average height of 5 feet and a weight of 110 pounds. It s hard to imagine a planet full of gymnasts and not one 7-foot counter. Universal press Syndicate no kidding Many marriages few children 1 Betty Mutton 7 marriages one child 2. Clark Gable 5 marriages one child 3. Tommy Manville 13 marriages no children 4. Marilyn Monroe 3 marriages no children 5. Joan Crawford 4 marriages no children this does t include children adopted. World features Syndicate durations of 7 famous trials Charles Manson trial 278 Days 2. Patty Hearst trial 46 Days 3. Sirhan Sirhan trial 102 Days 4. Manuel Noriega trial 217 Days 5. Chicago seven trial so Days 6. Aaron Burr trial. 30 Days 7. Oliver North trial 95 Days great american trials by Edward Knappman visible Ink Pross 1, Page 10 sunday. October 23, 1994