“Hi,” I said.  

When you do your grocery shopping at 7:00 in the morning, there are only a half-dozen other customers in the store.  I happened to pass one as I walked down an aisle.  

She jumped.  From her expression, I could read her mind:  “A weirdo?”  

Had she moved to South Carolina from New York?  Or perhaps California?

Finally, she relaxed baely enough to reply:  “Hi.”

Between the huge influx of people from up north and from California, you see more and more people who are used to looking somewhere else as they walk past.  Believe it or not, people there are like that.

Or could it be that some of the younger people were never taught courtesy by their parents?  

Courtesy is never passé.

Soon after I moved to South Carolina, I happened to be in a field picking strawberries.  I happened to pass a mother and young boy doing likewise.  Whatever it was she was telling him to do, he replied in a steady stream of “Yes’m,” and “No’m.”  

Here in the South, courtesy requires a reply of “Yes, ma’am,” “Yes, sir,” “No ma’am,” and “No sir” – no matter what your age and no matter what is the age of the person you are talking to.  Abbreviating them like that boy did is fine.

When walking past another person, the courteous thing to do is to look straight at them, smile, nod your head, and say, “Hi.”

Such a courtesy shows respect for another person.  Do you want to live in a world where courtesy, respect, and friendliness is the norm?  Or would you rather live in New York City?

Whether you grew up here or only wish you had, it is up to you to keep Southern courtesy alive and well.  When you do, sooner or later it will come back around.  When you least expect it, someone will follow your example, and you will have the enjoyment of being the on the receiving end.

You might even reach the point one day where a “Y’all” slips out.

Welcome home.

● ● ●