Common Curtis-y

My parents are great parents. And one of the many things for which I'm grateful is how they instilled in me a sense of decency. They made sure I had proper manners and knew how to treat people with kindness and respect. That's something that sticks with me to this day. Yet, the more places I travel and the more people I meet, I get the impression that other people's parents had other values. Or maybe they just didn't stick.
One thing I can't stand is being stood up or left hanging. If I say I'm going to be a certain place at a certain time, I'm there. And if something comes up or I'm going to be late, then I call and let whomever I'm meeting know the situation. Does that seem difficult to anyone else? Even a text message would be better than waiting around, expecting someone to arrive. Not only does that waste my time, it makes me feel like a loser.
Nearly as bad is when someone is ambivalent about hanging out. I'd rather hear, "No," than, "Maybe." That just makes me feel like the person might like to hang out with me, but won't commit in case something better comes along. Come on! Grow a pair and make a decision.
This is, by no means, refers to everyone or even a majority. But it's always the select few who rain on the parade.
Well, that's all starting to change. These situations have happened to me more than once by several people since I've gotten back from the desert; and I'm finally getting to the point where it doesn't bother me anymore. At first, I decided not to put any effort into my friendships that were coming up empty. But then I decided that wasn't a very Christian thing to do. I'm still not bothered by those that blow me off; but I won't quit. I will continue to call and invite and text and whatever else I need to do until someone tells me, "Please leave me alone." (And since I'm such a cool guy, I doubt that will ever happen.) I just think that the people that are the hardest to love are the ones that need love the most. I've put a lot of time and effort into my friendships, and I'm not going to toss it away. I refuse to give up.
Sorry if I sounded preachy there for a minute. But sometimes having a blog is very cathartic and it's good to get this stuff off my chest. Thanks for reading.