Uncle?

A seventeen-year-old called me "uncle" yesterday. I was terribly amused and wondering what that could mean.

I did not find that as an insult but immediately "retorted" jokingly, "Oh, for heaven's sake, please don't call me uncle; I am not that old!"

Later, I realized that he actually addressed everyone "uncle". It was nothing but his way to show respect to people elder than him.

The lesson learnt is that we should never take a word or phrase out of its context - always look at the bigger picture, the macro view. The world is not as complicated as we think...