Can someone, anyone, please tell me when it became not only socially acceptable, but normal to be late? When I was a kid growing up in the 1970’s and 1980’s (boy did I just date myself) being punctual was actually considered having good manners. In fact if my parents told me that dinner will be at five and I showed up late, one of two things would happen: either I would eat a cold dinner or I would have no dinner at all. I also remember quite distinctly my parents telling my fifteen year old sister that we would be leaving for the mall at three o’clock. When three o’clock rolled around, off we went. Unfortunately for my sister she was late and we left without her. Talk about an object lesson, my sister surely learned the importance of punctuality on that day.
When I joined the Air Force at the age of twenty four, my punctuality served me well. One of the clearest memories I have from basic training was my drill instructor telling us all “If you are early you are on time, if you are on time you are late, and if you are late you are in trouble”. How true that statement turned out to be as I have seen and heard a number of airman getting their backsides chewed out for being late.
Nowadays being punctual is unexpected. This is very frustrating for someone who has been raised and trained to be punctual. One example, my wife and I were invited to a Halloween party and were told it started at seven. My wife warned me that the invite may have been seven, but there won’t be anyone there if we show up on time. Being the punctual kind of guy that I am, I was on time. As usual my wife was correct and nobody was there. The host opened the door and with a shocked expression asked “what are you doing here?” So I responded “you said the party started at seven.” To my exasperation he replied “Yes, but we weren’t expecting anyone until eight or nine”. Is it just me? Am I the only one who invites someone over at the time I want them to come over?...
