Thoughts on being addressed as "Sir"!

Today, I helped my Dad install an instant hot water heater under his kitchen sink. During the course of the work I had to go to the hardware store. "Where is your copper tubing?" I asked. "It's right down here, sir" "Ok, thank you - and don't call me sir" "Yes, sir! Oh - sorry, sir" On three different occasions, I was called "sir". I stopped at Carl's Jr. to get a drink. "Sir! You forgot your change!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was trying to get away before he could call me sir. Sir is what you call your sargeant or what you say to your dad when you're in big trouble. Sir! is how you get the waiter's attention. It is not how I am supposed to be addressed.

It bugs me a little that I have reached the age where young people feel that they need to use the prefix. What's next? "Hey! Old Man?" I once fired an employee who insisted on calling me sir. Of course, the truth of that situation was that he didn't seem to have the ability to pass the occasional random "tests" we had. Using that dreaded epithet had not been the reason I fired him, but that character trait did make the firing much more enjoyable (for me, that is). I much preferred it when I was addressed in a more Lincolnesque " Oh Captain! My Captain".

When I was at the gas station, the very young man at the counter asked "How is your day, sir?" I told him I was fine, but added "It's kind of scary that you called me Sir". He gave me a thoughtful answer. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to say the right thing. I just want to be able to keep my job in this hard economy". I guess I should be more careful and let them address me the way they want. I am now to the point in my life where I would hate someone to lose their job over it. As he gave me my change, he said "Thanks Bro". Now that's more like it.