¿Qué Onda, Phil?

It was not too long ago that I took the family to see "Disney on Ice" at the American Bank Center. It was a great show and everybody seemed to have a good time. Still, I was a little annoyed at a situation that came up that night on more than one occasion.

This situation has happened before and will likely happen again. I must confess, I have also been on the giving end of this situation and when I was the guilty party, I was a little confused as to how to approach it without offending the receiving party.

As many of you know, seating in arenas can be pretty tight and if you are seated in the middle of the aisle, it can become quite the predicament when you decide to go to the snack bar or, even worse, nature calls.

What is the proper etiquette for passing in front of people to get down the aisle? Do you pass with your butt facing those in the same aisle or do you face your neighbors in the crotch-first position?

I posted the question on Facebook and the answers came back about 50- 50. One response was "it depends on the situation," saying that as long as gas was not being passed, butt-to-face was the standard.

There were 14 responses, seven men and seven women. The women said butt-to-face while the men said crotch-to-face; why does that not surprise me?

I emailed Robin Thompson, from Etiquette-Network Inc. (etiqutte-network.com) about this, and she was very prompt with her response. She advised that we should face away from the seated people, but not completely.

According to Thompson, we should turn to the front at about a 45-degree angle, toward the row in front of you. She said passing at this angle prevents the seated person from making eye contact with your backside.

According to Thompson, at this angle, if you lose your balance, you can always grab the seat in front of you rather than fall face first (or crotch first) on top of the person you are passing. Of course, remember to be courteous and say excuse me to your neighbors as you pass.

This is sound advice from a professional, but it brings up another question: with Corpus Christi being the "fattest city," how do we enforce the 45-degre-angle rule when, at that angle, the jelly roll is rubbing across your tub of popcorn?