Timeliness is Next to Respectfulness

I think a person's word is their bond. I'm a lil old school so I expect you to do what you say you are going to do. In the event that you cannot do what you say you are going to do, then there should be a way to communicate that such that I do not feel that you are not trustworthy. One thing is for certain, if you don't do what you say you are going to do, then I am going to begin to distrust you. The way that I process things are pretty simple. Yes or no. Today or tomorrow. I am or I am not.

I dislike when people are late. I strive to be on time. In the event that I am not going to make it at the agreed upon time (an infrequent occurrence) then I will extend to you a courtesy call to let you know what's going on and I'll be sure to include an updated ETA. To me, when you are late to something that you have agreed to attend at a predetermined time, then you are showing a lack of respect for the person or entity to whom you have committed. Some would argue that it's not that serious. I vehemently disagree. I cannot piecemill the areas with which I trust a person. I have to trust you implicitly or not trust you at all. I do not have room for a lot of gray areas.

Quick story. A few friends and I decided to go to King's Dominion last month. I told everyone to be at my place before 11 am so that we could leave. I call two of my people to see where they were. The response is, "I'm bout to leave my house in about 5 minutes." When people tell me things that do not make any sense to me I'm often left in a stunned silence as I try to make sense of what I've just heard. I'm thinking come again. How can you be about to leave your house in five minutes when the time is already 10:57? Your answer should have been something along the lines of, "I'm turning into your complex right now" or "I'm parking outside. I'll be up in 30 seconds." I told Ty (who was bringing Mike) to hurry up.

Fast forward to 11:30 am and still not Ty and Mike. I mean, who does that? Tonya and I left and headed on to the park. I sent a text to let them know that I had to roll out. I an apologetic text, a text saying have fun and then a phone call. I couldn't speak to Ty at the time because I was talking to someone about logistics for the park, but I did accept the call and say that we'd speak later. I guess I took too long to get back to him...(did anyone miss the part when I said I'm on the way to King's Dominion? Like I'm riding rides and stuff....I don't really have time to discuss your lack of respect or your tardiness)...I get an angry text asserting that I only left to impress Tonya and blah blah blah. Well, nothing could be further from the truth and the angry text isn't the subject of this post, neither is the assertion contained therein because people who know me well know how strongly I feel about people being prompt and timely. I mean, do what you say you are going to do. I manage to make it to places on time. It's not like I get helicoptered in. I plan ahead. Traffic? Leave 15 minutes earlier. You have to start from the time you are supposed to arrive at a place and plan backwards taking into account all of the tasks you must complete in order to arrive.

So here's the question. Do you agree that being late to an event that you have agreed to be on time to can be equated to a lack or respect?

Mind you I sent him a text around 9 am that morning and he assured me that he would be on time.

About the title...remember the saying that cleanliness is next to Godliness? Well, I'm throwing my own spin in the mix.