Don't Call me Ma'am

Don’t call me ma’am. Ma’am is my mother or the voice without a face on the other side of the phone, but it sure isn’t me. I’m all for politeness and courtesy, but I’m no ma’am or madam or Miss Norma for that matter. I know it’s a Southern thing and I’ve sort of accepted it because in most cases it makes parents of little ones feel as if they are teaching their children correctness, but inside it always makes me giggle and outwardly it makes me wince.

I saw a young girl on a TV interview wherein she was accused of a heinous act and yet she kept referring to the interviewer as “yes, ma’am”. The congruity of it all was more than off putting. Have we lost touch with what’s really important? We’re not teaching our children right from wrong or the importance of not wielding a weapon, but we sure are going to make certain they refer to their elders as ma’am or madam or Miss or Mister.

On a much lighter note, have you noticed how many of us have turned this proverbial corner of “seniorhood” ? Well, in case you haven’t noticed, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, Richard Gere, Pierce Bronson, Natalie Cole, Cher, Goldie Hawn, Kim Basinger, Madonna, Oprah, Bill Pullman, Christie Brinkley, Jacqueline Bisset, Dennis Quaid, Kurt Russell, Jane Seymour, Crystal Gayle, Richard Thomas, Dan Fogelberg, Pam Dawber, Victoria Principal, Morgan Fairchild, William Hurt, David Cassidy, Stevie Wonder, Jane Pauley, Susan Anton, Erik Estrada, Billy Joel, Jessica Lange, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Sissy Spacek, Bonnie Raitt, and Whoopi Goldberg are among us! And the group is growing...