or even "Doctor Letti" most of the time back home, but now i'm a "ma'am".
However, that's the polite Southern way, and I am afraid I must had offended a bunch of people when I first got to Texas by not calling them "ma'am" or "sir" (only because it's not the Asian way, which by the way, calling someone "Auntie" might even be worse....) but do I look like a Ma'am to you!?!?
On the other hand, when i have children, i'd probably insist they called everyone a ma'am or a sir.
11 comments:
I call everyone (well almost) ma'am or sir, even my kids. It's just a southern polite thing. :)
In the south, manners still count. We call everyone sir, ma'am, miss or mister.
Yes girl, it is unfortunately one of those stupid southern things. I never called my parents maam or sir but you bet I make all these kids say it. It is torture to them. haha.
Hi
I find Ma'am quite generalized.
Back here in Singapore, the maids (aged 40 & above) are calling my girlfirends (aged btwn 25 to 30) "MOM" *eek* Now tat is such an "insult" !!!! LOL!!!!!!!
Rgds
Agnes, Singapore
http://www.xanga.com/krazy_gal
PS: I "found" u via blog clicker ;)
Ashley : I find myself calling people maam and sir now too!
Clint: So you're a surfer dude? :)
Stephanie: when we were young, our parents made us call people "uncle" and "auntie" instead of Sir and Maam..it's just the asian way, i think/
Wickedly Perfect: Ooo..i sooo know what you mean by the word "maam" aging me by at least 20 years.
Agnes: Ooo..Indonesian maids call people "ibu", i think..which means mom...is that what you meant? I tried to paste a comment on your site, but i am not xanga member..*sigh*
Ma'am is just a way of life...it's a sign of respect in the South, something that is lost in other areas of the country.
I hate being called ma'am, as well.
hello. i just found your blog. My nickname is mrhaney. I am a 58 year old male married to a wonderful woman. We have 4 grown children . We have been married 39 years. I like good honest and caring people. I like to talk with people. I also like old music and old cars. My wife and I live in Atlanta, ga. I met her in 1965 when I was stationed at north island naval air station in san diego. We met at a dance and I proposed to her 2 weeks after. We got married on may 1, 1965. I got out of the navy in 1967 and we went to my home state of Massachusetts for a couple of years. We now live here in Atlanta and we have four grown children who are on their own. We have no pets although I would really like to have a dog, maybe some day. We are both retired now and we do a lot of remodeling on the house we are in now. drop by my site and visit.
Count your blessings.
Maam is better than Auntie. Just like Sir is better than Uncle :)
Yes ma'am! So Southern. I find it funny though.
JANO
http://daghtus.chattablogs.com/
I didn't like hearing "Ma'am" when I first started getting addressed that way, but now I confess that I always appreciate the nod of respect. It's far less about whether it's "Miss" or "Ma'am"; if either appellation is directed to me, I feel good about my fellow human being's use of good manners, particularly if this comes from the mouth of a child.
Naturally, I prefer "Your Highness", but that just hasn't caught on for some reason.
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