I always eat alone. I always have either a stack of work, a book or a week's worth of newspapers. I always pick the very most remote seat because I want a bit of peace...and, frankly, I'd rather not see happy families and loving couples when I'm alone. (Nothing wrong with either, per se, but I'm widowed and traveling alone perpetually.)

So why - in an utterly empty restaurant with 100 tables - do noisy families always come sit by me? Not one-table-away: next table. (I'm speaking mainly of places where people choose their own seats, but sometimes a maitre'd or host will seat families in the same fashion.)

In my current locale (in the U.S.), this has happened virtually without exception. And here, the families are big. I could ask to be re-seated (hassle); sometimes I ask the waiter/tress to wrap it "to go".

Am I missing a clue here? Should I be leaving a copy of some child-unsuitable magazine open on my table?