>>The funny thing is, I along with everyone else (after 14 years here), when we hear children address an adult with anything other than Sir, Ma'am, or Miss or Mr..., everyone automatically assumes the child has no manners and no respect for elders!
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>My brother and I grew up in NYC. While stationed at Ft. Campbell KY he met and married a girl from a TN farming family. When I would visit them (and especially her extended family) it was interesting to note that girls would typically "Ma'am" their mothers but "Daddy" the fathers ("Martha, do this" -- "Yes Ma'am/Daddy") but boys were "Ma'am" and "Sir."
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>And now to restart the Civil War/War Between the States.......
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>We Yankees have a reputation for rudeness. IMO, that's pretty much undeserved. Indifference would be a better term and while the results might seem the same, the intent is very different.
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>Having lived for 12 years in FL and 3 years in TX, I found much more deliberate rudeness hiding behind the civility. It was best described to me as "A southern lady is one who would never insult someone unintentionally"

I grew up in San Francisco (fourth generation) and the Air Force sent me to places like Orlando, Florida, Biloxi, Mississippi, San Angelo, Texas, and Kansas City, Missouri.

I have to agree with your observations and can think of so many incidents of the nature you described.