What’s the proper etiquette when a celebrity’s standing next to you in the fish market? When Harry Belafonte asks for half a pound of sea scallops, is it okay to protest? I stood pondering that question the other day, dying to say, “Get the bay scallops instead. Nantucket’s had the best season anyone can remember, and the little scallops are so sweet and tender you can eat them raw. Sea scallops are available all year, but bay scallops have a short season, and it soon will end.” But the Great Man was carrying a cane, and it looked as if the soft cast on his foot might be paining him. He seemed grumpy. I held my tongue.
Everybody else in the store did too, although a little thrill went down the line as we stood behind him, waiting to pay. And when the woman in front of me dropped her purse and Mr. Belafonte gallantly bent to retrieve it my cashier whispered, “He’s always so nice!”
I was sorry I hadn’t said something about the scallops.
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