I hate people that don't value TIME

 

So.... I'm dating someone new. We've been out 4 times now, and on each date she's been at least 30 minutes late. I'm heading to the meet and I get a text about two minutes before the meet time, and it usually reads like this. “Hey... Gonna be late, be there in 30”

So sending the text before the meet time establishes that she knows how time works. But, a text 30 minutes earlier would have probably kept me off the road and not waiting holding my wang for 30 minutes until she arrived. Letting me know you're going to be late is only valuable if it provides me the opportunity to make a correction on my end. So is this the markings of a selfish person or just an inconsiderate one?

Time is abstract and subjective in and of itself, but some brilliant person a very long time ago created a measure of time that is objective. 15 minutes may seem a blink of an eye to a child, but can feel like an eternity to someone in crisis. So in that sense time is relative, but the fact that 15 minutes is exactly 15 minutes is not in question.

Is the devaluing of time generational? Meaning as our society changes, and evolves does the integers of time have less meaning? There was a time, not too long ago, when if you wanted to see your favorite television show you had to be in front on the TV when it was being broadcast. The very definition of appointment television. Now very few consume television that way. Teleworking, and flex time have devalued the 8 hour work day, as we rapidly segue into a world where 9 to 5 is a relic, and only significant as the title of a bad 80's movie. Am I the relic for still valuing time as much as I do? Is time just a unit? Are the feelings I ascribe to time antiquated? Is an appointment negotiatble? Is it fungible? Is it optional?

I'm 44. I date younger women, not as a choice... it just happens that way. What I've been noticing recently is I make plans, and I get a text (from my time respecting friends) the day of... asking “are we still on for today?” This bothers me because if I had a change of plans I would have sent a notification immediately, and I hope I would get that consideration in kind. Is this the BAIL generation I'm dealing with? Do people bail on plans that easily? Is every outing a face-off of competing events? Is this an unintended consequence of trafficking in millennials?

So... I like this girl. She's very attractive, and no-doubt she's been given a ton of latitude in life due to her beauty. I can even say that her tardiness doesn't bother me as much as it should, and I'm disappointed in myself on that point. I'm not dwelling in it, but I am logging it for later recall.

Can I be in a meaningful relationship with a time gypsy?Am I a time Nazi? Is there a healthy middle?

The pursuit sometimes clouds the specifics. I'm sure once she's been captured a few times, the tardiness will become exibit A in the case to deconstruct. I'm just wondering aloud to myself...will this be the standard going forward? Is time rigid or flexible? Am I a dinosaur or a standard bearer? I guess only TIME will tell !!!

 

 

 

I hate the end of the McLaughlin Group

Growing up in Washington DC is a unique experience. DC is the very definition of urban life, and so,  I was introduced to gangs at a very young age. Not street gangs, as it were, but political gangs. I knew about Republican, and Democrat gangs long before I knew what a Crips or Bloods was.

As a lad I loved newspapers. DC was a mecca of news in the 70's and 80's. Back then newspapers were more neutral. They didn't lean, and they rarely interpreted. They were skeletal and as a reader you were forced to draw conclusion yourself. You were responsible for adding the muscles, blood, and nervous system to the story. My family and friends didn't care as much about news topics as I did, and so I didn't have much opportunity to spar, and wrestle with these ideas. I was without a mentor. I had all this material and no lab to experiment.

So one day I'm flipping through the channels (back then we had 10), and I see this group of people arguing about the news of the week. I immediately stopped, and watched intently as these men spoke. I fell in love that day. The panel was so biting, so informed, so opinionated. The cadence of smart people talking was music to my ears, and has remained so to this day. From that time, I never missed an episode. The McLaughlin Group was my family now. I had a safe place to test my logic, my intuition, and my resourcefulness.

My favorite panelist was Jack Germond. A grumpy cantankerous writer for the Baltimore Sun at the time. He was a democrat but he had the demeanor of a republican. Today's democrats could learn a few lessons from him. He was thoughtful, and unapologetic.

Pat Buchanan was an inspiration. He knew so much. McLaughlin would often try to trip him up with obscure references, and left field questions. Buchanan knew them all... answered them all. I was in awe at his breadth of knowledge. He inspired me to be intellectually curious. I still don't know how that guy never became president.

I got to see the essence of “the Hedgehog and the Fox” play out every Sunday Morning.

John McLaughlin had created an American Original. He blazed the trail for Crossfire, Politically Incorrect, Realtime, The Daily Show, The O'reilly Factor, Morning Joe, Fox News, MSNBC. The idea of rivals going after each other in an intelligent thoughtful way was unheard of in 1982. When you look at ESPN, and see First Take know that it has the DNA of the McLaughlin Group.

 
John McLaughlin died last month. His show died with him. I'm still grieving. I miss it, at this moment, with 100 % metaphysical certitude.