I'm so with you on the "ma'am" and "sir." I have personally SEEN women get all upset at being called "ma'am." When did it get to be a bad thing to show respect? Some of them have the idea that only old women are called "ma'am," so I've just told them they're old. No. Not old. Merely adult. What's wrong with suggesting that you're no longer a child, but an adult, and should be respected as one?

I was also raised to call people Mr. and Miss or Mrs. Then I started getting, "Mr. Jones is my father. Call me Bob." Sometimes they get REALLY offended at being called Mr. or Miss instead of by their first names. Why? Because I've just insinuated that they're stuffy and distant and overly formal, rather than being young and cool and hip.

Yes. Those rules change all the time, and it's hard to keep up.