Nancy Young wrote:

> 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.

I had a friend who was a bit of a crotchety old guy who had zero tolerance for
late dinner guests, especially in-laws. If he planned dinner for 6 pm, dinner was
served at 6 pm. If they showed up while the food was still on the table. But he
had a habit of cleaning up promptly, so if they arrived after the others had eaten
they were not fed.


As for the chronically late, let's face facts, the people who are late are usually
the chronically late. In this day and age we all have telephones and many of us
have cell phones. If you are held up by some unforeseen situation you can always
call and let your hosts know that you will be late. If you are one of those who
is chronically late you had better start coming up with better excuses, and I
might suggest being particularly entertaining guest or bring great hostess gifts
to compensate for the chronic display of rudeness because some of us do not take
kindly to having entertainment plans undermined by the same people time after
time.

>
>
> 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.

You have options. Go ahead and eat. If the restaurant was not your choice, leave
and go to the place you would prefer. But for goodness sakes, if this is a
recurring problem you should reconsider dinner dates with those people.