We Say Grace and We Say Ma'am

We used to, at least.

Charlene Levering, a retired Dallas etiquette teacher, remembers when sir and ma'am were commonplace. Now, she said, they're so seldom used that they almost sound out of place.

"In my generation, it was so obvious if you didn't give a title to a person," she said. "It was as if a person didn't finish a sentence."