"Leader DeLay"??? What's up with that?

[Beverly Flanigan]

I knew I'd get a rise out of this one!  My students think "Ma'am" is
terribly old-fashioned and actually do laugh when I bring it up.  But we on
the list ARE older, and yes, I use it in stores too and then feel, well,
old.  I'm also aware that it's more common in the South, where polite
children, black and white, say "yes, ma'am" and "no, sir" regularly.

At 08:57 PM 5/15/2005 -0400, you wrote:
>----- Original Message -----
>>
>>LOL! I not only hear it, I say it! (I also say "Sir" - both of them often
>>in the courtroom).
>
>I've been thinking about that. I always use "ma'am" with respect. And I
>often use "sir" with respect. But sometimes I use "sir" as a means of
>providing distance or separation.
>
>As a lad I had a friend who grew up in a Virginia family. He called his
>father "Sir".
>
>D