UMBRELLA ETIQUETTE

Syndi Seid's Advanced Etiquette in San Francisco has a Web site full of excellent etiquette tips at www. advancedetiquette.com.

Here's the international etiquette training and consulting firm's take on umbrella use, somewhat abridged.

Size matters: Carry an umbrella that is appropriate for your size as well as situation.

Think twice about grabbing your golf umbrella for a walk down a busy street. Numerous travel umbrellas are available for a low profile and compact storage.

Learn the dance of umbrellas: When you encounter another person using an umbrella, the taller person raises his umbrella so the shorter person may pass by without colliding.

If you are the shorter person, lower your umbrella closer to your head. The end result is a well choreographed "dance of umbrellas" down the street.

Avoid umbrella rage: When you see another person approaching, tip your umbrella away from her to avoid colliding umbrellas.

Be sensitive to how the metal or plastic points sticking out at every fold may poke someone in the body or, worse, in the eye.

Just enjoy windy days: When the wind is so strong that your umbrella is in jeopardy of being turned inside out, simply forget it.

Tilting your umbrella into the wind only obstructs your vision and, more times than not, doesn't help much. Rather, brave the elements in a good rain coat with a hood.

Keep it closed and dry indoors: It is customary to close your umbrella before entering a building. Remove any excess water by gently tapping the tip of the umbrella a couple of times.

To avoid dripping inside, use the carrying case that came with your umbrella or the disposable plastic bags that many office buildings and stores provide to cover your wet umbrella while indoors.

Park umbrellas with care: Be mindful of where you place your umbrella. If no umbrella stand is provided, set your umbrella upright with the tip on the floor beside you.

In trains, planes, and automobiles, lay it on the floor near your feet, not on an empty seat where other people may sit on it or the puddle it leaves behind.

Look both ways before you open: Be mindful of people standing nearby when opening your umbrella.

Carry cautiously: When you're not using it, always hold your umbrella vertically, with the pointed end down.

Do not tuck it under your arm horizontally with the ends sticking out ready to stab someone.