Alright, Darling?

Hi there

Here's a typical scenario -

I turn a corner and all but bang into a well-dressed woman in her thirties. We're both in a hurry.

"Sorry," we both say.

She takes on a concerned look.  She hovers an arm near my shoulder, one movement away from pat-style mode. "Are you alright, darling...?"

Oh goodness, she's one of those people.  Darling, dear, sweetheart, love;  I've heard them all before.  Lots of times.

As we age, and for some reason, complete strangers feel compelled to call us twee names.

I don't understand it.

If I were younger, this well-dressed woman and I would exchange a friendly smile, a "sorry", and that would be it.  We'd be on our way without a whiff of a 'darling' or 'dear'.

Hardly a day goes by when I don't get an endearment tossed to me by someone I don't know.  Shop assistants, bus drivers, baristas, government officials...

They're talking down to me, jollying me along, like I'm a five year old.  They want to prove to the gods-in-charge-of-old-people that they are caring and attentive.

It so annoys me.