Rick & Cyndi wrote:
>
> "Gregory Morrow" > wrote in
> message ink.net...
> >
> > Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> >
> >> It's the SOUTH, Mike. My parents' families are both from Mississippi,
> >> but
> >> over the years have expanded to Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, :and the
> >> Carolinas. I, myself, only lived in the South for a couple of years, but
> >> have spent a lot of time visiting there. IME, Southerners are very
> >> relaxed, or should I say lax, about time. Perhaps a better description
> >> would be "casual" when it comes to time. It was never unusual for people
> >> to arrive a half hour, an hour, or more, late for some get-together.
> >> Many
> >> don't even seem concerned about arriving late for an appointment. It's
> > not
> >> a criticism, just my observation of a way of life.
> >
> >
> > The annoyingly *sloppy* habit of always arriving late for social or
> > business
> > engagements is why the South is so poor and backwards.

> Tsk. I'm afraid that the South is not the only region that does so.
>
> While I have a tendency to arrive exactly on time or within 5 minutes either
> way... (it happens)... I find it incredibly annoying when people are 15
> minutes (or more) and don't call to notify me that they're late (presuming
> that I'm hosting a meal/event). Of course, like all things, sometimes
> being late doesn't matter but if a meal is planned for ... say, 6:00 and you
> have begged to bring the appetizers and it's now 6:15...*that's annoying*!
> It's also the last time I'll allow you to bring the appetizers and/or I'll
> have others prepared 'just in case'. LOL

Sometimes being late is not the fault of the guest. For instance,
I can never plan on the traffic I will encounter. I leave plenty of
time, but there's an accident on the bridge at the same time every
single person in NY and NJ decide to swap states, I *will* be late.

Here's the thing, and I notice this with my parent's generation,
they say come at 2 and they have dinner on the table at 2. Hello,
give some leeway. Have cheese and crackers out, whatever, in case
it's not working out for the commute for some of us.

If it's bugging everyone that someone is late, just start dinner.
I for one would not be offended. Of course, this would especially
apply to people who are chronically late. I think that is just plain
rude.

What really frosts me is when you plan to meet at a restaurant and
people come strolling in 45 minutes late. I hate sitting in the
waiting area like a rube. I have a couple of dearly loved friends
who are casual about time like that, and I can't stand it. They
get there when they get there. I think it's incredibly rude and
they would be astonished if I showed I was annoyed. (laugh) Being
as I don't have a poker face to say the least, I think they caught
on once and have been much better since. Hmmm ... nancy used to
have brown eyes, now they're black. Want to hear something funny,
one time, on the way to meet them, my muffler fell off my car on
the parkway. Hello. What can I say. Limped the car to the nearest
gas station, got the remaining pipe thing off and arrived late to
the restaurant. They were annoyed with my tardiness.

I guess we all have faults that we don't see. I'm perfect. Luckily.

nancy