Pierre Paquin <[log in to unmask]> writes:

>As for you out there who sits near a cougher, tell them simply and very
>softly: "Will YOU shut the f...  up, for godsakes!" It works each and
>every time, believe me, and will eliminate future senseless coughing from
>that source.

Coughing cannot always be stifled, but other noises can, such as taking
10 minutes to unwrap a cough drop, talking, etc.  A composer I know, when
attending concerts, comes prepared with cough drops for three reasons.

1. If he needs one, he can have one.
2. If someone near him needs one, he can offer one.
3. If someone is talking several rows away and can't be shushed,
cough drops make excellent projectiles.

Jocelyn Wang
Culver Chamber Music Series