T - 48: My Mother Raised a Good Boy, So Why Am I So Rude?

Making that list yesterday got me thinking later. I really do have lots of letters and e-mails from people - from friends - that I never quite got around to answering.

Now I know my mother taught me to be polite. Hey, I thanked the doctor who checked me for colon cancer. Given what that lady did to me with that long snakey camera thing, that is as strong a sign as I know that I was raised to be polite no matter what.

And yet, there's this issue of all those letters and messages. Sitting there. Silently accusing me of being a rude boor. Making me feel guilty day after day.

I must have had some intention to answer them or I wouldn't have let them hang around like great roadsigns alerting everyone to my rudeness. And yet I haven't answered them. And now I feel guilt and, unfortunately, have a lot more work ahead of me.

First, there's the extra burden if I finally do get around to writing. Can't just say, "Great news! Keep up the good work!" when it's been a year and a half. No, now I have to write a long letter or risk looking like I'm just doing the e-mail equivalent of cleaning out the basement. Which would make me look even ruder than I already do.

And the even easier option has vanished like last month's sunshine. I can't just pick up the phone and say, "Hey, got your e-mail and thought I'd call." No, now I have to start such a call with "Hi, This is Don. Remember me?" and the long pauses can mean only one thing. Oh sure, they remember me, but they're so peeved at not getting a response to their message that they see an opportunity to officially forget me now that I've asked the question.

It would be easier to just make a mailing list and send the same letter to everybody I owe a response. But I'm pretty sure most of them would think that was even ruder than not answering.

So today I started answering those letters. Just one today. It took a long time.

Tomorrow I will try to write another one.

But I have to tell you, after all this effort I will be really pissed off if they don't bother to respond.