“Would you like some soy sauce with your order?”

“Please.”

It’s my third week in Tampa, and just today I realized some things were different from West Virginia.

Like “Please.”

I guess my reaction’s similar to a friend of mine who visited NY (or was it Atlanta), and felt left out when everyone said “pop” instead of “soda.” I digress.

I’ve been in WV for close to five years, which were enough for me to drop a lot of my British English politedness. WV people are if anything, blunt — a lot of the time.

I’d been saying just “Yes” instead of “Please” well into my second week (this is my third) before I began to notice I was somewhat out of place.

I also seem to have picked up the habit of not ending sentences which is something I never used to do.

“You know I just wanted to leave because…” Sentence end.

People seem to understand what I had in mind, although I don’t understand how they do it.

Must be the weather.