"She Just Called You Honey": My Quandary at Waffle House

Academia.edu ^ | Brett Lunceford

[SamAdams76]

My wife and I arrived in Mobile four years ago. As we drove from Pennsylvania into the deep South, I began to notice the subtle changes that became increasingly less subtle...

[morphing libertarian]

How traumatic this must have been. I hope they didn’t put grits on his plate.

I go to the waffle house for two things: low prices and to hear the waitress standing 4 feet from the cook yell the order at him.

If you don’t understand waffle house, get on down the interstate.

[jjotto]

He imagines himself as some sort of well-traveled, modern day Herodotus

Every New Yorker who ventures anywhere besides California imagines himself 'well-traveled'.

[clamper1797]

I’ll be as politically correct as I can here. Anyone who objects to being called hon by a waitress is a RETARD or a stinking liberal looking for something to be offended by. But I repeat myself. Anyway, if you’re a liberal stay the hell out of Arizona. We don’t want you or your asinine imbecilic politics here

[Bob]

He seems to have been offended that a mere peon would dare address him with a term of endearment rather than the more formal “Sir” befitting his elevated station in life. Unbunch your panties, you pompous ass, and chill.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Wife and I stopped at an Arkansas Waffle House a while back. After taking our order, the waitress called out to the kitchen “Flip it, dip it, nip it and clip it.”

Must’ve been code...

[jstaff]

All that thinking for two over easy, hash browns, grits and a gravy biscuit. What must his world be like?

[Kanzan]

Bingo!

[JustTheTruth]

I don’t live in the south
east... Or south central or Texas... But I do feel mildly annoyed at being called “honey” by a waitress where I live. Makes me feel like I’m at a truck stop, for some reason. But, it is certainly not worth reacting to or being rude about; certainly no offense is intended or taken.

[TADSLOS]

Ping.

[Savage Beast]

It's not just the men. Waitresses at truck stops, fast food restaurants, etc. say "Honey" and "Sweety" to my wife too--"Sugar", "Hon", "Sweety Pie".

I have not encountered men saying such things. It would be considered inappropriate--although maybe if speaking to a child.

Actually, it's very nice and very endearing.

When my wife and I drove from California to the east coast, I stopped at a 7/11 in Oklahoma. The people were so friendly--it was like entering a wonderful world in which everyone was welcoming.

And this spirit is not superficial. I took a U-haul trailer into North Carolina and didn't know where to drop it off. I stopped in a small convenience store to ask directions. The woman behind the counter didn't know either, but she made 8 or 10 telephone calls in my behalf until she found out where to direct me.

[Flick Lives]

Put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up

[CatherineofAragon]

"I wish I could get through one thread at this site that doesn’t make an anti-Romney remark."

*Shrug* Romney is a diehard fan of queers and abortion. Personally I have no use for him.

[mjp]

when the waitress refers to me as honey

she is doing it because she hopes to get a better tip.

[The Working Man]

I had to laugh at this Jerk, even the Chinese waitress at the local Hong Kong Buffet calls me ‘Honey’ when she wants to know if I would like a refill on my ‘Sweet Tea’.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: Congratulations. Your candidate won. Romney didn’t ::

So...
you can tell all of FR
EXACTLY WHO my candidate was??
Really?

:: Aren’t you proud, honey? ::
Honey is sweet, you ain’t.
I can only say that my “pride” does not extend to knowing you are on FR with me.
I recommend that you unsubscribe.
YMMV.

[Romulus]

He’s not a retard. He’s just an academic (bless his heart) who needed to get an article under his name in a scholarly journal. It’s just business.

[Safetgiver]

I lime being called “honey.”....I have the nurse at my regular doctor always saying Hon or Honey and find this offensive as Hell. I finally told her if you knew me you wouldn’t humiliate so me much with your familiarity. I’m extremely violent.

[Ted Grant]

The young hipster waitress at Dos Toros calls me “sweetheart.” This doesn’t bother me because I am, in fact, a sweetheart.

[llevrok]

I like the South. Southern women are always so kind to this Yankee. It's too many to count the times, thinking of my well being (obviously), that a lovely Southern belle has, for no reason, offered to Bless my heart.

Now is that kindness or what??? :-)

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

"When the waitress refers to me as honey, she engages in alter casting, or defining a role for the other in an interaction. What remains unclear is the parameters of that role. How is she defining me? What is my identity in her eyes?"~Lunceford, Brett. ""She Just Called You Honey:" My Quandary At Waffle House."

Well Brett, as a Vermont Yankee I don't understand it any better than you, but I'll try to explain it as best I can. The waitress was a Southerner, and Southerners tend to be more friendly than is common in California and Pennsylvania. She doesn't really think you're a honey, in fact she's probably laughing at you behind her hand, because you're a dumbass.

Thats all.