Wandering though life, I often encounter the occasional person who seems to have missed an etiquette class. Or several. In particular, I have noticed that a very large number of gaffes occur at the dinner table. So as a gift, I provide the following guide to using your cellphone when sharing dinner with family, friends, and friendly companions:

Rule #1: Don't.

Rule #2: See Rule #1

If your phone rings, vibrates or plays an obnoxious ringtone (all ringtones are obnoxious) there is only one polite action: Turn it off or mute it, while apologizing: "I'm sorry, I forgot to turn my phone off. Fixed!" Slip it back in your pocket and deal with it later.

In an upcoming post, I will cover cellphone use during conversation with another person. I'm sure you all look forward to that.