Civility and Grammar

Peggy Noonan has a "favorite story this summer of cultural tensions and differences as navigated by two American women."

A Southern lady sees a vacationing society lady from the Northeast. The Southern lady is gregarious: 'Where y'all from?' Society lady is put off: 'I'm from a place where they don't end sentences with a preposition.' Southern lady smiles, nods her head: 'Beg your pardon. Where y'all from, bitch?'