June 3, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Miss. Ruth.

Here in Mississippi, everyone calls me Miss.Ruth. Everyone. The helpers call me Miss.Ruth, whether the helper is 25 or 70. And every workman calls me Miss.Ruth. On the phone today when speaking with the owner of the company providing us with our helpers, called me Mrs. Dickie I was shocked. But then I realized that she had never seen me. Even the children of our friends call me Miss.Ruth. The children in Mississippi are taught to be polite as are the Texas children, but in Texas the children are taught to call adults by their proper surname, so I am called Mrs.Dickie by the children of our friends. But not in Mississippi. I am called Miss.Ruth by the young and the old. Even in a store, once I have given my credit card to the clerk checking me out I will be called me Miss.Ruth. I have seen it time and time again. When the family were here for the graduation, David commented about the people and their interaction with him. They were friendly and polite. Now they live in Texas where people are very friendly but David observed a higher level of graciousness in the Mississippi folks. We have always said that our friends who were born and raised in Alabama are the most polite of any of our friends. All our friends are polite and friendly but our Alabama friends top the list. David liked the behavior he heard here in Mississippi. It is interesting to note the use of Miss.Ruth to me. The term is not formal and not familiar. It is just a friendly term and I quite like it.