Comments on: “You’re always late!”

By: jon-beverly

jon-beverly — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:38:58 +0000

True, Maggie, it is selfish to be late and inconvenience others. The problem is often that one person’s “late” is the other persons “on time.” There are people who make planes within 30 minutes, and hate to wait longer, and others who feel waiting for a plane for two hours is no problem. Yes, if both parties make a date to meet for lunch at 12 noon and one shows up at 12:15, this is rude. Culture also plays a part. In Mexico a friend said she learned never to show up on time for dinner because her hosts would not be ready. A half hour or more late is “being on time.” Thanks for your comment! Jon & Beverly

By: Maggie M

Maggie M — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:35:24 +0000

I am surprised you didn’t talk about how it’s totally selfish on the late partner’s side to be late. I don’t think it’s an internal clock I think it’s a learned behavior from growing up with parents who didn’t care if they were late or not. In my family, it was always stressed to be early or be right on time, depending on the situation. We all woke ourselves up with alarm clocks, which were given to us as soon as we hit kindergarten. In my husband’s family, their mother woke them up and sometimes, she didn’t get up on time for their school, so they were late! I think it is totally selfish and ignorant for folks to be late for everything.