Stand your ground

[madhusudan]

while I agree with this, it is equally ill mannered to be intrusive and nosy.

True, but one can encounter ill manners without descending to the same level.

It's a matter of desire, maturity, commitment and practice. And even then we make more mistakes than we dare to count. So, the way I see it is, without impugning the young man's character, there is room for improvement in his response, at least in the way the story was related.

Since we all have room for improvement, he is a member of an illustrious club.