I have pretty much taken the summer off of writing and am slowly getting back in the swing of things...
I'm sure you have been asked at some time for a small favor. Favors are no small thing in the South... I can hear you now, "Well, I only asked for that one teensy thing." That may be true, but favors have a snowball effect. It almost gets to the point where you are scared to ask someone for a favor, because there is no telling what they may ask for in the days to come. This isn't the case for everyone, but most of us know of at least one person who always asks for that favor. In social psychology this is called the "foot-in-the-door" approach. Once you are "in" with someone you are more likely to get under their skin and get what you want. This isn't so bad when it's a family member or a close friend, BUT when it's not it's very hard to stay pleasant!
My family has a phrase we use when asking for a favor. It's all about the Yankee Dime. A Yankee Dime is a peck on a cheek in exchange for the favor. For example, I could ask someone to do the dishes for me and give them a Yankee Dime for the work. As a child I was pretty sure that this meant I would get a dime for doing something. I learned pretty quickly when I never got any change that there had to be another meaning. :) While I'm sure other people use this saying and not just my family, it sure is a fun phrase to use... especially to fool the Yankee's!
So, next time someone asks, "What's it to you?" just say, "Why dahlin' just a Yankee Dime!"
