Foot Pain

My feet hurt. It starts in my heels, and shoots up into my Achilles tendons. It's because I'm Working Hard, at a job that requires me to be on my feet most of the day. I am a very Large Woman. My feet are not used to supporting my weight all day long. Mrs. Cheryl tells me that I can buy heel inserts at Wal-Mart that will make a huge positive impact on the problem. I will do so this weekend.

(Line from the joke Twenty things you'll never hear a Southerner say: "I just couldn't find a thing I needed at Wal-Mart.")

One of the more charming customs I've found here in New Orleans (and maybe it's not just a Louisiana thing, but a Southern thing) is the addressing of familiar adults by a title, and their given names. The teachers at Small Son's school are Mrs. Cheryl, Mrs. Roz, Ms. Keisha, and Mrs. Daniels (whose either dislikes the custom, or whose given name is too difficult for small children, even small children with names like Mikayla, Mykonnen, and Jalashawn). Our next door neighbors are Mr. Joe and Miss Jan. Most women are honored with "Miss," even if they are married and in their 80's. I first became familiar with the custom when a guy I worked with kept calling me "Miss Ann."

I think it's a charming combination of familiarity and respect. I think it's not unlike the old Mormon custom of calling people "Sister Ann" and "Sister Lawanna," which contains not only the intimacy of family in both the use of "Sister" and the given name, but the formality of defining the relationship before God. Much better than the current LDS style of "Brother and Sister Porter," or using a freaking title for everybody.

So, Dave, is that enough Mormon content to keep my blog linked? I'm sweating bullets here, man...