What do you do when you’re an 84-year-old tennis player and tennis is not enough? You look for a co-author from your tennis team and you write a book on etiquette.
At least that’s what you do when you are Carrie Johnson Parker-Warren and Jenny Dearinger, 62, who have just published the book, “Miss Carrie’s Etiquette 101.”
Between tennis games, the two Gainesville women talked about doing the book. Dearinger, a former teacher and an author and illustrator of a dozen children’s books, credits Parker-Warren, better known as “Miss Carrie,” with the idea for the book. And then the idea became reality.
“It’s just something that I always thought about that,” Parker-Warren said. “You need to know how to behave properly. I went to a lot of meetings when I was younger. I can tell where you have been by how you act at the table.” She emphasized courtesy and politeness during her years working as a teacher and school administrator, as well as her long-time involvement with the community.
Their tennis team got behind them and threw them a party on Sept. 17 at one of the players’ homes to celebrate the book.
“A tea party. Where better to launch a book on manners,” Dearinger said.
The ladies dressed up for the occasion in what Miss Carrie described as “country club chic.” The refreshments were yummy but also reflected a taste of propriety.
The book is meant for people of all ages – from children and teens to adults. Much of what the two women write about in their book is just common sense. One section on Etiquette for the Men in a Woman’s Life emphasizes “four very important phrases that all men must practice: please, thank you, I am sorry, excuse me.”
It includes pointers on making introductions, communications, table manners, how to behave at social events, and what the two women call universal protocols like “no cursing ever” or refraining from chewing gum in public.
“Our tips are just what are book title says,” said Parker-Warren. “It is 101, simply good common sense. You could have dinner with the queen with the skills you will get from this book. There is a leader at the table, and the leader is the hostess. She will know what to do.”
Dearinger emphasized the hands-on approach of the book, with simple activities to practice what’s been learned and know how to act politely always, even something as simple as movie theater etiquette.
Have you ever thought about how to act when you go to see a movie with a group of friends? How should you behave? What should you do when one of your friends talks through the movie?
“It’s an interactive book about building your skills. We are giving you directions. And we talked a lot about manners, Dearinger said. “No matter who you are, you are going to be in a situation where you are going to be a fish out of water. Prove to other people you have enough confidence in yourself to master any situation.”
There are a lot of quick tips for how to act and what to do, even something as simple as accidentally stepping on someone’s toes. You apologize.
Nor should you forget how far a smile can take you. “One of the biggest things in human nature is to smile,” Dearinger said. “Smiling is a way to break down barriers, and that is universal.”