Half Wits Holiday

In his youth, Mr. Bowen watched many short films featuring The Three Stooges.  His favorite one is titled, Half Wits Holiday.  In case you aren't familiar with this one, the story line has been recycled several times by Hollywood.  Two gentlemen bet they can turn a person or in this case Three Stooges of questionable character into a gentleman.

In watching the film short, Mr. Bowen paid careful attention to the lessons being given to The Three Stooges.  The butler served them from the right side.  There were other mistakes as well.  My point in bringing this up is that Mr. Bowen is not convinced that knowledge relating to table etiquette was ever ubiquitous or well known throughout society.  If this knowledge was ever widespread, you would have thought that would be the case during the "silver age" of fine home dining from the 1940s to the 1960s.  Half Wits Holiday was filmed in 1947.

At least a handful of times during the year, Mr. Bowen attends luncheons at the finest private clubs in the very large city an hours drive or so from the seaside hamlet in which he resides.  The service and the food are always excellent at these establishments.  What is surprising to Mr. Bowen is the lack of continuity in the place setting.area.  The coffee cup does not belong placed above the dessert fork and spoon.  In addition, the napkin does not belong on the bread plate.

At the county fair near where Mr. Bowen resides, there is a Tablesetting contest.  'Tablesetting" contest is a  misnomer.  It really is a table decorating contest.  Mr. Bowen enters this contest to display his holloware collection.  The judges always place a commentary on the table after judging.  Mr. Bowen was very amused by the most recent installment by the judges.  The judges took off points because there was a bread plate, but bread was not mentioned on the menu.  Sitting right next to the menu was a bread tray.  They also took off points for having "four glasses on the table but only mentioning coffee on the menu".  One of the "glasses" was clearly a sterling water goblet.  As respects the three glasses that actually existed, Mr. Bowen listed the wine for each of the courses on the menu under each course.  Mr. Bowen gives the judges the same award as he received-Honorable Mention.