Here you go, ma'am...

Was he just being polite in a southern way, or did he say that because I look so much older than he is? When you do you become a ma'am, anyway? One of my graduate assistant jobs is to help with exams and as the students were turning them in, one young man handed me his and said, "here you go, ma'am." I thought of this again today as the CMO of Motorola died today--he was only in his 50s, but told people he always felt like he was 17. I guess age is all perspective. In my blogging class, it is mostly undergrads, one masters student, and me. We were talking about middle age the other day, and I asked, "What is middle age, anyway?" One of the undergrads replied, "I think it is 30." She said "30" like it was ancient! I guess I'm past middle age--better brace for the worst or at least the other side of the hill!