I had a flashback moment the other day to an incident from 1975. I was in a car- a Volvo station wagon (deep blue)- with a friend of mine, his younger sister and their parents (I had the hots for his dad-he was a doctor after all; but that's another matter).
My friend asked his mother a question and called her 'Mother'. He also called his father 'Father'. It wasn't a matter of them not being those things; it was the word. Other children didn't do that-at least not in New York City in the 70s. It was Mom, ma, food-maker, maid, mommy/mami, etc. and Dad. Da, Pop, Papa, Daddy, money-bags, etc. on the other side. Often times the name from their native land was used to refer to the parent.
What all did you call your parents? For the record, I have no recollection of what I called my father-I saw him rarely and he then died when I was in my early teens and we barely communicated when he was around. My mother, oddly enough eventually became 'Mother'.
My friend asked his mother a question and called her 'Mother'. He also called his father 'Father'. It wasn't a matter of them not being those things; it was the word. Other children didn't do that-at least not in New York City in the 70s. It was Mom, ma, food-maker, maid, mommy/mami, etc. and Dad. Da, Pop, Papa, Daddy, money-bags, etc. on the other side. Often times the name from their native land was used to refer to the parent.
What all did you call your parents? For the record, I have no recollection of what I called my father-I saw him rarely and he then died when I was in my early teens and we barely communicated when he was around. My mother, oddly enough eventually became 'Mother'.
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