Keep your cool in embarrassing situations

One summer evening, I was chatting with people at a well-attended reception.

After I talked with a number of men and women, a friend, looking concerned, approached me.

"I thought I should tell you," she whispered. "If it were me, I would want to be told."

What on earth was my problem? A wardrobe malfunction? A social blunder?

"Tell me," I said.

"You have lipstick on your teeth," she replied.

While it's unseemly to have your pearly whites smeared with red, I was relieved that the embarrassing moment wasn't of greater magnitude. I've known worse.

I remember the day when I was a shy, 17-year-old college freshman, showering in the girls' gym after swimming class.

At that time, men, including male students, were not allowed near the girls' gym. Suddenly, I heard men's voices a couple of feet beyond the wall of my shower stall. I was horrified.

But, soon, I realized they were plumbers, authorized to do a repair in an area nearby. I never saw anyone, and no one saw me, but unnerved and embarrassed by the proximity of two workmen, I dressed quickly, dashed out the door, rushed past the other shower cubicles, and hurried to my dormitory.

Apparently, other people have also felt chagrin in some unexpected circumstance.

Mobile native, award winning journalist, and University of South Alabama's writer-in-residence Frye Gaillard recalls embarrassing incidents when he has momentarily forgotten people's names. As author of 19 books, he remembers public appearances and book signings where, among the crowd, were valued acquaintances he had not seen for a while.

"In the cheerful, hectic confusion, I sometimes blank on peoples' names, almost always those that I'm delighted to see and under other circumstances, would recall right away," he says.

When they ask to have a book signed, he tries to cover the gaffe by asking to whom they want it signed. If the answer doesn't bring forth a reminder, he explains the momentary forgetfulness....