I always knew that nicotine addiction was very powerful, but I never knew that it made people choose smoking over eating! Do smokers there keep one lit during the meal, or just when they are sitting around the table before and after eating? What does the lunch crowd do at noon now instead of eating at the diner? Pack a sandwich? I’m sorry, but that’s just too hard to believe.

All of us have had restaurant meals spoiled by other diners’ obnoxious behavior: cellphone users, loud talkers, screaming kids… and tobacco smoke. The waitstaff and managers are afraid to offend anyone, so I think it’s up to other customers (i.e. the rest of us) to enforce common courtesy, and not just in restaurants. Haven’t you ever told a loud person in a restaurant to hold the noise down? If you haven’t, what are you complaining about?

I’m especially hard on people who smoke in elevators. No one has broken my nose yet.

The Webmaster and I seem to have come to an agreement that what we need is more courtesy all around. Maybe we could do with a little less insistence on our “rights,” and more consideration of those around us.

Eggberts - Owasso added to the list.

I found interesting the info regarding restaurants in Idabel and suspect a similar scenario may be playing out around other rural areas of the state.

Regarding the ‘child ban’, I understand where you are coming from. Being the father of five and grandfather of six I’ve had some experience with the issue and for the most part when the kids were little we confined our dining out to drive-thru or hired a babysitter so that mom and pop could dine out together on special occasions.

On the topic of ‘bans’, there are several that one could logically suggest in addition to a ban on small children.

Off the top of my head there could be bans on:

people with coughs and colds that spread germs all over the place, loud talkers that insist on being heard throughout the restaurant, cell phone users - especially those that insist on basically yelling into the cell phone to be heard over the loud talkers, the ‘waitress flirts’ that insist on hitting on the waitress repeatedly delaying everyone’s service and the various and sundry ‘burpers’ and other types of obnoxious people.

Ban all of these and one’s dining experience would likely be a lot more enjoyable, albeit in a practically empty restaurant that has to charge $100 per-plate just to stay in business…

When considered the same as other things, it’s really very similar. Consider that it is those who pay too much attention to a conversation and too little attention to the road that have caused so many wrecks and resulted in cell phone bans in many locations. It is those who have driven drunk that result in “dry” areas, including this hole in the southeast corner of the state where I live. It is those who are violent parents who cause all of those who are not to look over their shoulder if they ever spank their child.

Life is full of restrictions that have resulted from the inconsiderate, rude, and just pure hostile actions of others. Sadly, that is now, and will always be, the case.

I will agree with stadiums being nonsmoking, I must say. The proximity there is too close. You don’t know if you are sitting right next to someone with emphysema, and your smoke could harm them. Sadly it’s not really possible to equate for everyone else you may encounter, so therefore it’s always best, I believe, to err on the side of caution and avoid taking the chance with someone who happens to cross your path or who (as is the case with stadiums and similar venues) have no choice but to be close to you.

Common courtesy goes a long way….sadly, it seems to be in short supply.