“Judge not that ye be not judged” says the Good Book.  That’s a hard one, at least it is for me.  It’s right up there with “patience is a virtue,” though that particular idiom didn’t come from the Bible.  On the Peninsula, I bump heads with those two thoughts on a regular basis.

Take a matter as simple as timeliness.  It doesn’t take newcomers long to run smack up against the concept of “Peninsula Time.”  Almost any event – a meeting, a funeral, an appointment, a theater experience – may start a bit late here.  Perhaps five or ten minutes after the appointed time.  Sometimes there is a formal announcement but, more often, just a murmur throughout the crowd… “we must be starting on Peninsula Time.” Old-timers don’t seem to mind.  More chance to do some serious visiting with someone you haven’t seen for a while.

Forty years ago, when I was new at this fulltime Peninsula living business, that proclivity for mooshy starting times irritated me to the max and I did not think kindly about whoever was in charge.  And never mind my thoughts about those who ambled in late, counting on a few minutes of grace before things got started.  It was all very irritating.

I think I’ve gotten over myself on those particular peculiarities of Peninsula living.  In fact, when I’ve been the one in charge, I’ve been known to make the announcement that we (for whatever reason) will be running on Peninsula Time for this event.  I’m sure that people have judged me unkindly in those instances.  Tit for tat, you might say.

But, I still haven’t gotten over my frustration with a close relative of the Peninsula Time syndrome – Callback Failure.  I absolutely cannot understand why local workmen do not return calls – not even to acknowledge that you want to hire them.  Not even to say, “I’ll need to put you on the list; it’ll probably be a few weeks before I get to you.”  I can’t believe that business is so good, ever, that people do not need to pay attention to customer good will.

Of course, I’m not absolutely sure that Callback Failure is peculiar to the Peninsula. But it seems to happen here on a continuing basis – perhaps understandable (kind of) in good times when there’s a plethora of work but, still shortsighted, by my reckoning.  I have long been a proponent of hiring locally.  It just makes sense to have someone who knows our weather conditions, is familiar with the local regulatory policies and procedures, and can network with nearby sources for equipment, materials or consultation.  Why would you hire someone from afar?  Why, indeed?

It’s not exactly happenstance that I am spending this rainy February morning thinking about these issues.  But, prudence suggests that I say no more.  Perhaps that other Peninsula anomaly will kick in: the All-of-a-Sudden-Before-You Know-It phenomenon!  We can but hope.