Tuesday, March 13, 2012

An Awkward Moment

As a kid and young adult, it was disrespectful to address an older person without using Mr or Mrs. . As for family, you'd never dream of calling an aunt or uncle by their first name. I had an uncle "Tom". He was the one guy we could count on for giving us a nickel or a dime, sometimes a quarter. He was incredibly funny. To say we loved him would be an understatement. One day while riding the public bus, I saw him as he got on. My first instinct was to shout "Hey uncle Tom!", but I became sensitive as to how that could be embarrassing for him. I never thought about it before. Instead I said weakly, "Hi Tom". I can't explain the shame I felt for calling him by his first name. It was an awkward moment.

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