Is age just a number??

How can I forget the first day at work..the place Los Angeles...! I was all scared and jumpy, nervous and shy..."Hi I am Julianne, and I am going to help you know your work..Keerthi, right?" I was just staring at that young thing who said she is gonna train me...hm..the first question I asked her was "how old are you?" "I am 18, Keerthi!" I am 40, i just blurted out..and she was like OK, does that change something? I was dumb stuck and had no words to say. The minute youngsters know if we are in 30s, even 20..in India the first word we get to hear is "Auntie"! So I told Julianne the same thing...she laughed loud and said don't even expect I would call you any such thing..but Keerthi...! From then on, we both not only jelled well in our work areas but became great friends! I don't know if its in our so called culture or upbringing, kids are taught to call any one and every one an Uncle /Aunty...! Doctor Uncle, Police Uncle, teacher aunty, nurse aunty( get a hindi movie dvd where there are kids mouthing heavy dialogues,and you get to hear all this) and what not! They don't even spare their profession but drag that in, while addressing! Sure they are giving respect, and that's great..but with their work titles? I once read in a news paper, a kid was holding a banner requesting the terrorists to go away from our country, and the banner said.."Terrorist Uncles", please go away from our country ! How can a terrorist who is killing our country men/women, right left be an uncle? In the west kids do face older folks and they do respect them, but they don't just call them Uncle/aunty, unless they are their family and relation wise they are their aunts or uncles! Fair enough!! Rest all whom ever they meet they call them Mr.so n so or Ms so n so..I don't think there is a better way to call anyone like this with their own name, but a respect tag attached to it..like Mr/Ms/Mam/Mrs! But Indian kids not only in India but even out side like west I have observed this,...the minute my kids introduce me to them, they start calling aunty( I sure correct them and tell them I prefer to be called like this!)..with their towering heights and matured look of PG students, cant they just cut that Aunty off? When my kids were little, I told them to ask our guests what they like to be addressed as! And trust me many of them were so glad and came out with their preferences,..what ever they were! I am not saying calling aunty/uncle is wrong..! Its perfect when friends of our kids who grew up with them from toddler days,call nothing else but uncle/aunty! As a Young bride meeting a whole load of youngsters in my new family, Didi, Bhabhi, aunty etc are some of the most common but special bonds I have made and continued keeping them intact, how ever little the age gap between us was! Some time soon, I want to be called as a gran mom by my grand children, nothing less! They have a right, and I have the privilege! But in public places like gym I am a gymmer just like the youngster standing next to me on a treadmill, and I want to be known with my identity! Same with professionals..if they are our doctors, or interior decorators,let them be just that and handle the contact with professional dignity! We were laughing when my cousin was called Uncle due to his small bald patch and little of salt pepper hair by a towering young adult! My cousin was not even married and thinks he is an eligible bachelor! I cant imagine me and mom sitting for a pedicure together in a spa, nor my brother discussing the party at his friends place with my dad! WE definitely had generation gap those days. Now me and my Daughter discuss the latest styles and designs of dresses and exchange our music Cd's, or local gossips. ! Our kids and us invested our interest, time and money together in cars , cell phones and computers, to say learnt how to handle these gadgets in the same era. So we are the lucky lot with out much of generation gap. I had most memorable fun vacations, one alone with my 23 year Old son to Malaysia, and my daughter and me bonded in cape cod..and all 3 of us freaked out in Miami recently, week long! Its not that all was sugar candy and there were no fire works.. But it was easy to understand them, or they getting my point Coz we all were sort of thinking in the same wave length! They just can not say "Mom you don't understand Coz of generation gap"! So its time to say Age is just a number all new gen people especially when we see Sharukhs and Salmans Romancing with their colleagues daughters! Or is it so difficult for us to come out of that mind set and waver, "is Age just a number"??