You wrote "And I must jump in and tell you that New Yorkers are not rude." My initial comment was "Mind you, I have never visited New York. <<8-)"

That smiley at the end means it's a joke. I have two good friends, one with a daughter who works for Canada's Foreign Affairs dept. and was stationed for years at the UN, including on 9/11. They have visited NY many times and love it.

It sure is easy to misinterpret behavior, although most people know rudeness when they see it. Not sure about "Canadians sometimes equate aloof behaviour as being polite." In my experience people everywhere are sometimes prone to equating shyness with being aloof. And e-mail is notorious for being misinterpreted (since we cannot tell a person's tone of voice or facial expression), hence the advent of smilies.

Cheers, Pat (moving on now....)