DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My one-year-old grandson was named for my father, William.

That is his name, and I can see his parents calling him Bill or Billy, Will, or even Willie, which I don’t love but can tolerate.

Instead of any of those normal names they are calling him “Bubba,” which is apparently a thing in my daughter-in-law’s family. They’re from Georgia, and she said it’s what her father and her older brother were called when they were little and what her brother calls his own son, only he’s “Bubba J.” and my grandson is “Bubba W.” when the family is together or conversing about one or the other of the children.

When I hear “Bubba” I think of rednecks and mountain people. Our son is a Boston University graduate, with a master’s in education and his wife is a nationally certified high school teacher.

How could people with so much education even consider calling their son “Bubba”? --- JUST DON’T GET IT

DEAR JUST DON’T GET IT: I’m not sure this is a case of your son and daughter-in-law turning their backs on their professional or academic accomplishments. They’re simply carrying on a tradition enjoyed by your daughter-in-law’s family.

Bear in mind the young couple did, after all, decide to honor your side of the family and your father by naming their baby for him.

When your grandson is older, he may choose to shed his earliest nickname, as many people do. But that will be up to him.

In the meantime, you don’t have to opt in for going along with the nickname his mother and father have chosen, but I don’t believe it would be wise to openly criticize them for their use of it either.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My grandparents came with their families from Lebanon to America back in the 1970s. Things were bad for them because of the civil war there. They were teenagers then, the same age as I and my brother are now.

When they and their families got here both of them started working as soon as they could. They helped support their families and never got to get a real education.

After they got married they opened a Lebanese restaurant in a Lebanese neighborhood surrounded by people like them.

They speak English really well, and they taught us some Lebanese when they would come to visit with us since when we were little.

I love my grandparents and am proud of their story and what they did with their lives. It’s just that now that they have sold their restaurant to my aunt and uncle and they moved to our town to be closer to us they are around our house most of the time.

They still do a lot of stuff the “old way” as they call it, and when I have friends over or they come to help out with the boosters at my school, they seem so weird and old compared to the other grandparents around.

I feel bad about being embarrassed by them, but I can’t help it. I want to ask them to stop coming to help out at booster events and hanging around the house when my friends are over, but I think that would really hurt them.

Instead should I say something to my friends and the kids on my team so they know my grandparents aren’t weird, just very old country? --- THEY’RE OUT OF STEP

DEAR THEY’RE OUT OF STEP: If your friends and teammates are unable or unwilling to cope with people who are a little different, they’ve got a lot to learn.

I think it’s terrific your grandparents want to be part of your world. The one they experienced when they were your age was, as you admit, very different.

I’m not sure why you feel the need to apologize for or explain them to anyone. They have nothing to be ashamed of, and if you’re as proud of them as you say you are, then you’ll let them continue helping out with the boosters and being around your house — even when your friends are over — without apologies or explanations from you.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I can’t stand when I’m in an American supermarket and overhear someone complain out loud about how there’s nothing on the shelves just because their favorite brand isn’t available, but the shelves are otherwise completely stocked with alternatives.

Then there’s when any kind of weather event is forecast that might mean people will be unable to get out to the grocery store for up to a whole day or two. It’s not just panic buying I see. Hoarding kicks in and you just know a lot of what gets panic-purchased is going to go bad and be chucked out in the trash.

In my time with the Red Cross I have been in many countries where there is NEVER enough food to feed the starving, clean water to drink, clothing to wear.

I know Americans can be generous and thoughtful, but they are as a whole ignorant of how much of the rest of the world struggles to survive. And a lot of us conveniently forget there’s raging poverty and need within our own borders.

If I had my way, instead of kids graduating high school and going straight off to college, every capable high school grad would put in at least one year living and working in a part of the country or somewhere in the world where life is not easy and doing without is the harsh reality even before disasters strike.

This may make me sound like a hard*ss, but if more people knew the hard facts of life outside their bubble, the world would be a better place. --- A DIFFERENT WORLDVIEW

DEAR A DIFFERENT WORLDVIEW: Sometimes it’s good to be reminded of what it’s too easy to forget when things are going smoothly overall and our basic needs and wants are readily met.

Thank you and all the men and women, of all ages, who step up to help those living with conditions most of us can’t readily imagine.

I like your idea of having young people venture out to live and serve in a larger, more struggling part of the country or abroad.

What they potentially gain in understanding and compassion could, in even a small way, change the world for the better.