a good, non-gender respect label?

[Guest guest]

Hey all, you're gonna laugh at this one. This afternoon my girls & I

were going to a huge church we'd not been to before and didn't know

where the meeting was being held. I see this woman -- shoulder-length

curly hair & small/moderate breasts -- sitting on the curb & I say,

" Excuse me, Ma'am, do you know where X meeting is? " Well, " she " looked

up and had a full beard, chiseled chin, the unibrow, etc, and I said,

" I'm sorry, sir... " She...er...he said he wasn't sure where the event

was, he was waiting on his wife & daughter, etc.

Well, after the meeting we crossed the street to a park & " he " and his

wife and daughte come to the same playground we're at and they sit

near me. He's obviously behaving as a he, but had a bra on...no, not

overweight, maybe 10-20 lbs. We had a nice talk, evidently their

daughter has possible autism, too.

I figured perhaps this person was transgendered, what ever, but it got

me thinking. What is a good non-genderizing term I could use in the

place of sir or ma'am? I can't help it, I was raised & live in the

South, I just always use those terms as a show of respect and cannot

think of any good word to use to prevent such a conflict again.

Any ideas? Just 86 any words referencing gender unless I know for sure?

Can't I have the funniest moments? Lol.