“‘Hey!’ is for horses!” So would my very formal, European immigrant grandparents tsk-tsk at me when I was a child and I made the mistake of trying to get their attention by calling out, “Hey!”

Sure, I was a surly, American kid, born in the new country and adopting its rougher, new ways. It was the 70s, and things were oh-so-lax back then, let alone that I was a child and that was just the way kids talked.

So, fast forward 35-some-odd years, why is it that I now bristle whenever I get greeted with that same, offensive opener?

Hey!

Last week I found an interesting news story online, on the website of one of the big-three network television news channels (old media’s new media!), but in other words, a pretty mainstream site. This story was one I knew my husband would love to read, and so using the smart phone tools at my fingertips, I clicked the link to automatically email the story to him. Hi-tech sites being what they are these days, this big TV network would do the work of forwarding the page to my dear hubby. I plugged in his email address, (cc’d myself just to make sure it got delivered), and hit send. Easy and convenient, one-two-three, it was on its way.

Two seconds later, ding! my copy of the emailed story dropped into my email inbox. Just to double-check the site had forwarded the right one (still neurotically checking new technology) I opened the email, and was greeted with the following:

“Hey! Someone thought you’d like this story!”

I wondered which professional in the network’s IT department thought it was a good idea to program their site to begin their automatic forward emails with “Hey!”  What was it intended to convey?

Perhaps some algorithm figured that was the kind of ‘flirty’ way a wife should be forwarding a news story to her husband: Hey honey, I really thought this story would get you hot and bothered…

Maybe my husband would read my message with the sound of a nagging hausfrau ringing in his ears: Hey, you lard-ass, read this and then take out the garbage!  

Maybe they just wanted the email to have that Tony Soprano-esque swagger: Hey, youse! Read this story if youse know what’s good for ya!

Seems that emails of this sort are trending. I recently received an email plea to contribute to a presidential candidate’s campaign effort. It too greeted me with a resounding, “Hey!” Note to campaign chairs: that’s the fastest way to get me not to donate. (Hey, before you ask, “Which candidate?” I’ll say, “Not tellin’!”)

I recently interviewed two professionals for an article I wrote for another publication. I was writing a more serious, informational piece that concerned the law, finance and insurance. I was surprised to find that both individuals gave me quotes that began with the H-word. Perhaps it’s just becoming an everyday acceptable thing, in every field and arena.

So I’ll try to re-evaluate my reaction to the word ‘Hey,’ trying to remove the association of impolite youth that I’ve given to it in the past. I don’t know if I’ll be able to, but I’ll just keep trying. It’s sort of like what they say about falling off a horse, you just have to get right back on and try again. And you know what they say about horses and ‘hey.’