‘Lady’ abhors the act of shaking hands with people

Dear Annie: A man who extends his hand demanding a handshake is presumptuous and arrogant. Handshaking is unsanitary and disgusting. Any gentleman with any intelligence should know how abhorrent it is to most ladies. Especially repulsive are workmen who have dirty hands or workers in a position of servitude. They seem to have the opinion that they are offering a gesture of friendliness.

To express my displeasure, I withdraw away from the ignoramus and will not do business with him. Being a lady, I’m a devout hater of handshakes! Handshake Hater

Dear Handshake Hater: Lady, the one with poor manners is you. I can’t for the life of me understand why you’d show such scorn for a gesture that is meant to show friendliness. If you’re that afraid of the germs, wash your hands more often or keep some hand sanitizer handy.

Dear Annie: I am part of a group of lady golfers. It’s the tournament chair’s job to make the pairings, contact the pro shop about those pairings, collect voluntary bets for the week and do the payouts.

Our current chair, “Meg,” is a stickler for the rules. Some women who have played with us once have not returned because Meg made them feel intimidated or embarrassed about their lack of knowledge. She has also been sending weekly emails about the previous week’s play. Those whom she doesn’t like are left off the emails, and they feel alienated. She makes cutting remarks if someone doesn’t want to be in the betting.

Meg lost her husband a few years ago. Prior to that, she and her husband kept to themselves. This group is all she seems to have. Problem is, ladies don’t want to come and play with the group because of her meanness.

What should we as a group do to maintain our once-fun group?

Perplexed and Sad Golfer

Dear Perplexed and Sad Golfer: Perhaps you could recommend switching up the format altogether. Rather than have one person serve as chair, you could have everyone take a turn on a rotating basis. That would give everyone the privilege and responsibility of leading — one bonus benefit being that people might be more inclined to pitch in and help future chairs.