Weird Q Did you ever know anyone who faked an accent in real life?

[madamesilverspurs]

63. Sort of.

Back in the '70s I was working in the bar of a large hotel in Virginia. I was walking through the dining room one evening and overheard one of my coworkers, who waited tables there, speaking with his customers. I chuckled, thinking he was sharing a joke with them. Then I heard him speaking the same way with people at another table. After the restaurant closed he came into the bar for a beer before heading home. We often chatted at that hour, so I asked what was up with the funny 'accent'. He gave a little laugh and said something like, "That's right, you're not from here." He then explained that, with many of the hotel customers, if he didn't use the 'accent' he was considered to be "uppity" and wouldn't get tipped. I about got sick. Here was a man with two graduate degrees, working three jobs to support his elderly parents, and he had to talk funny or not get paid.