A Brief History Of Timely
The latest on being late, by New York Times' Bob Morris:

So, like Einstein's notion of time itself, being on time has become relative.

Ten minutes late is the new on time. Twenty is the new 10. A cellphone call that someone is running 15 minutes late means you won't be seeing him for 30, at least. Our clocks might as well be dripping in a Salvador Dalí painting.

Jay McInerney, who is not exactly a nobody, was recently kept waiting five hours by Julian Casablancas, the lead singer of the Strokes, for a magazine interview.

The explanation? "I fell asleep," he was told by the rocker. "I'm a little bit sad."

Not as sad as all the people whom celebrities (excluding Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is famously punctual) have kept waiting recently. But then there are so many sad souls out there these days, mortified while waiting for dates at highly visible tables at highly visible restaurants.

To deal with all this, social time zones might be good to keep in mind. "At our church we have Church Time," said Jeanne Hamilton, a wedding planner in North Carolina who also runs www.EtiquetteHell.com. "But that only means starting 10 minutes late. What bothers me is when people keep me waiting a half hour and then they're so entitled that they think they shouldn't be hassled."

Mothers of clients, for instance. Not to mention a bride featured on "Bridezilla," a cable TV show, who was an hour late for her own wedding and miffed when her ceremony had to be shortened.

So what's to be done about all this? Tom Coughlin, the Giants coach, keeps players out of games if they're late for team meetings. Airlines (not known for punctuality themselves) are bumping more and more late-arriving passengers, and a Seattle newspaper reports that judges are tossing late defendants in jail.

At coming fashion shows, perhaps American designers should take a cue from the Italians. At the last Gucci show in Milan, wine was served to keep waiting guests happy. Roberto Cavalli served chocolates.

"Now, that's what I call managing a deficit," one guest said.

Or maybe it's just feeding a habit.