I really wanted to be there but...

So as you can probably surmise without a whole lot of thought, don't want to strain your brain, The Guitarman is in fact, a guitar player. He really likes being in front of people and entertaining them. He has come to realize, however, that he actually enjoys singing probably even more. Nothing stirs the cockles of his heart more than the fleeting praise of a slightly imbibed bar patron putting his/her arm around his shoulders and saying something like, "Dude." He would be lying if he told you that he doesn't take that to heart. And he really enjoys talking in the third person. If pro athletes can get away with it, dag-nam-it, so can he! But, alas, he has come to realize that maybe his time has come and gone.

It used to be, back in the good old days before facebook, and twitter, and myspace, and blogs, and chatrooms, and every other electronic means of substituting actual human interaction with www communication, people actually did what they said. It was hard, to look someone in the eye, and say "X", and then go out and do "Y". Even if you got that RSVP in the mail, if you replied yes, that meant you were actually going. The inviter had taken the time to buy the card, personally address you with calligraphy, spend the money on a stamp, and make the physical effort of trudging through blizzards and hurricanes to get it in the US mail. But in this world of instant communication, it is just way too easy to make an e-response, informing the sender of your good intentions, and then blow them off by hiding behind the veil of your computer screen.

Now I understand the whole "middle age" thing. I am right there with you. We have kids. We have responsibilities. We fall asleep a lot sooner than we used to. I get it. We aren't 20 anymore, and our bodies are telling us. I get it. But what I don't get, is the feeling that just because your invitation wasn't printed on $5 stationary and hand delivered to you, it's ok to tell someone you are going to do something and then not do it. You don't have to look the person in the eye and say, "I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! It wasn't my fault, I swear to god!"

So if responding to a request on line by saying "yes" when you actually mean "I am a solid maybe, but I reserve the right to put on my snuggie and watch movies on Lifetime instead", is it so horrendous to actually say, "To be honest, I have seen your band a few times and it was fun, but I just don't have the energy to stay out until 1am anymore. Break a leg." That would indeed be refreshing.