Island time is funny. It's similar to other kinds of time, usually ascribed to various ethnic or geographic minorities. There is Mexican time, CP time, island time; you name the place, and there's a time associated with it.

However, one must explore the relationship between island time and the time-honored RSVP. Respondez sil-vous-plait. What does it mean, kids? It means, literally, please respond. In the world of invitations and events, it means "tell me if you're coming so I don't buy too much food".

So, three people RSVP'd to the get-together I had planned, the First Annual "Girls Gone . . . Something" Debacle. Two were coming, one was not. A fourth person didn't RSVP.

So who shows up? The fourth person. Two and a half hours after the shindig was supposed to start. Hey, you other people who said they were coming and then didn't show up: the one who held a kid's birthday party showed up, and you FLAKED!

No phone call. Last Friday it was all enthusiastic "uh-huh-I'll-be-there"s. But, I was stood up. It's now three hours and 20 minutes since the thing was supposed to start, and not so much as a "by your leave".

And these are my friends. How uncharacteristic. Good thing I didn't invite anyone I didn't like.

Heh.