"Where have all the manners gone, long time passing."
Social Codes. Look at the variety of ages, cultural and class expectations/experiences
in this thread alone.
I still do the knee jerk 'sir' thing, sometimes. (the respectful kind, not the passive-aggresive, snotty, 'sir')
My dad was an Officer in the Air Force.
I remember the constant effort of sitting up straight, I mean really straight -the elbow business- the proper fork - not interrupting the adults.
As a very young child, it would destroy my appetite. That amount of strictness
killed my taste for food. After I was sure mom and dad were asleep,
I would sneak down to the kitchen, open the refrigerator, and very very quietly,
wolf down some food - with my bare hands.
Please pass the salt. Excuse my reach.
When in Rome I guess. But there are so many Romes.
I remember the first time I lived in San Francisco. 1981
Two buses and a trolley it took, to arrive home.
It took a few whiles to get used to riding the 30 Stockton.
I let three buses go by before I figured out that that every body was elbowing
each other in the face to get on the bus.
How the heck was I going to push and shove this 4 foot 8, old chinese woman,
to get on the bus? It went against all of my earlier, 'training'.
Heh, that first time, I picked her up by the waist from behind and said "here,
we're both getting on the bus." She looked at me with momentary shock and then said:
"Hey, you crazy, you crazy good." Okay, I'm rambling...g'night.
