People Will Always Talk

In addition to reminding me of a Seinfeld episode, a question at Miss Manners also helped me appreciate personal growth in an area that used to cause me unnecessary worry.The writer is a nail salon customer who can't seem to shake the feeling that she is being talked about in the native language of the staff, and asks what to do. The nut of Judith Martin's reply is:[Y]ou could simply acknowledge that people can talk among themselves, without eavesdroppers assuming ill will.And even if they were gossiping about her, who cares, so long as it isn't so obvious as to be rude. It's just a business transaction.When I was young, a similar issue came up for me right after college, and a friendly acquaintance accidentally helped me see I was making a mountain out of a molehill. We were talking about something else entirely, when he shrugged off something silly someone had said about him, saying People talk about other people all the time.That may sound like stating the obvious, but it was a…