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    CP Time: Why Some People Are Always Late
    CP Time: Why Some People Are Always Late
    CP Time: Why Some People Are Always Late
    Ebook147 pages2 hours

    CP Time: Why Some People Are Always Late

    By JL King

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    About this ebook

    J.L. King examines how Black culture and Black lives are affected by the stereotyped CP time.

    Everyone has a story of being the victim of CP time, also known as colored people's time, a term that refers to the negative stereotype that Black and African Americans are always late. It's been responsible for the termination of jobs and relationships, and for delaying weddings and even funerals. CP Time is the first book to examine a behavior that crosses all social economic lines within the black community in a way that will bring smiles and groans of recognition to victims and culprits alike.

    In brisk, engaging chapters, J.L. King provides humorous examples and personal stories, voicing the opinions of those who view habitual lateness as just part of being black, and those who see it as a more serious problem. Recounting the reasons and excuses offered in CP time's defense, King provides a wry and often hilarious history of how and why the phenomenon began. Light-hearted yet enlightening, CP Time makes a perfect gift for the chronically tardy—and all those affected by them.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStrebor Books
    Release dateFeb 20, 2007
    ISBN9781416552680
    CP Time: Why Some People Are Always Late
    Author

    JL King

    J.L. King is a national bestselling author, philanthropist, publisher, and producer. He has appeared in publications such as Newsweek, Time, and The Washington Post and on programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Inside Edition. He has two adult children and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

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    • 1/5
      The term "CP Time" is a abbreviation for the term "colored people time" which is a term for the common belief that black people are known for not showing up or starting things on time. In the book "CP Time Why Some People Are Always Late," author J.L. King seeks to address the issue of why black people are habitually late to everything from funerals and work to weddings and social gatherings. While the book starts out with a great introduction explaining the purpose of the book as well as a brief history of time, which he states dates back to the caladerians and the use of sundials,after this the book falls apart.The major problem with the book is that there is no separation between King's words and the stories of CP time experiences from other people which makes it hard for the read to get through the book at times.If he would make a note as to what are his words and what stories have come from others,this would make the book flow better. The book is divided into twelve chapters which all seek to examine CP time in its many settings. While the book is somewhat entertaining, I felt like King was constantly repeating himself by saying almost all black people are late at one time or another and since everyone expects black people to be late, they continue the cycle of tardiness. After reading this book, it appears as though all of King's examining shows that the black people who are on CP time are selfish, lazy and have no regard for anyone but themselves. Although the book may be humorous to some people, for me, the book left a bad taste in my mouth. The only good things about the book was the use of several charts(one listed excuses used by black to explain why they were late) as well as the illustrations used to lead in each chapter. While many books are out there to lift up the black community and break stereotypes, I can't help but feel that this one is helping to reinforce black stereotypes. What King needs to make clear in the book is that although "CP Time" may apply to some black people, it doesn't apply to all black people.

    Book preview

    CP Time - JL King

    Chapter One

    What is CP Time?

    19

    IN THIS SECTION I WILL EXPLORE TIME,in the beginning, and the impact of God, or how a higher power in your life can make being late a lifesaver or life-changing event.

    When I began working on this book, I posed the questions to a very close friend, What is the meaning of time? Who came up with the word ‘time,’ and is time defined the same by everyone?

    To find answers I logged on to one of the web search engines and typed in the word time. I got hundreds of links, and had many ways to get as much information about time that my brain could conceive. You can find anything you want about time: What is the meaning of time? What is the concept of time? What is time management? Who invented time? What does the word time mean? How does time work? Universal time, time quotes, and does time really exist, were just a few of the search engines that I discovered about time.

    Timing is everything. It’s good to have a beautiful coat, hat and gloves, but not in the summer! The Bible speaks about seasons and knowing how to number your days! If you are always late for work or appointments, it sends a definite signal. Remember, tardiness is silent rebellion! BE ON TIME.

    (Taken from the book Words of Wisdom, Daily Affirmations of Faith by Rev Run. AMISTAD, an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers)

    In my research I discovered that the very first clock was a sundial, and that form of time keeping had been used for over five thousand years. The Chaldeans, and Sumerians, in Babylonia, used the first sundials (which was a part of the modern Iraq). That is some deep stuff.

    I wondered if the Chaldeans or Sumerians had any brothers or sisters who lived on CP Time. I can visualize it now: it is 500,000 B.C. and the earth is shifting; the glaciers are forming the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains; the chief of the Chaldeans put out a message that the tribe needed to move to higher land, and there is a brother who is always late. He oversleeps and misses the evacuation of the village to safer land. When he wakes up, he realizes that because of his always being late, he missed out, and now is about to have his ass frozen for future generations to look at as the well-preserved prehistoric caveman. The one that you heard was discovered in the Antarctic was probably a brother who was late, and ended up getting tracked and frozen. This gives you something to think about…?

    As I was doing my research I wondered if since the beginning of mankind, were there people who were always late? That really made writing this chapter really interesting. And I have to admit I learned a great amount of information, which aroused my curiosity further.

    But, this book is about CP Time and why some people are always late. However, I wanted to give you a little insight on time. As they say, you don’t know where you are going, if you don’t know where you’ve been…and of course knowledge is power. So, now you have been exposed a little about the history of time. Next time you are playing Jeopardy, you might get a couple of points if there is a category about time.

    What is CP Time?

    CP Time has been defined many different ways as I discovered while writing this book. In How to Be, A Guide to Contemporary Living for African Americans by Harriette Cole (Simon & Schuster, 2000) she writes: CP Time is defined as chronic lateness.

    Another book, by Geneva Smitherman, Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner (Mariner Books, 2000), states that CP Time was a reference to the African American concept of time, being in tune with human events, nature, the seasons, and natural rhythms as opposed to being a slave to the clock, which represents artificial, rather then natural, time.

    Donald McCullough, a white author who didn’t use the term CP Time, wrote in Say Please, Say Thank You (Perigee Books, 1999) that people who are late, may as well be guilty of stealing time. Time is something that cannot be wasted. This author also writes that people who are late have said, in effect that their time is more valuable then your time, and that what you are doing is not as important as what I am doing, and that you do not mind stealing fifteen minutes of my day to squander on your own purposes.

    Even the Ms. Emily Post, the etiquette queen of many books on how to live a life being proper, said that people who are late are out and out TACKY (she didn’t use that word, but that is what she wanted to say.)

    No matter how you define it, it is a behavior that has two sides, the good and the bad.

    22

    Late…again?!!!

    Chapter Two

    CP Time Social

    23

    ? What TIME DOES A PARTY/EVENT REALLY BEGIN, and why are people who live there on CP Time?

    ? Why IS IT THAT NO ONE WANTS TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO ARRIVE, which feeds into people being on CP Time?

    ? Who ARE THE WORST WHEN IT COMES TO ARRIVING TO SOCIAL GATHERINGS, men or women and why?

    All Eyes On Me

    I am ashamed to say my friends, and family members know me for being on "CPT." No matter how hard I try, I’m always late. When I do arrive on time, people think they’re late and question the time because they know how I am. However, I’ve made up a perfectly good reason for my lateness. I like to consider my CP Time fashionably late. I like to make an entrance. I like for all eyes to be on me when I walk in the room. I know I’m so self-absorbed, but I must admit I love it. Now grant it, they may just be talking about me wondering why I’m just getting there, but I like to think that they are more focused on how extravagant I look. It’s bad and every year I make my New Year’s resolution to work on my lateness. I can say it’s gotten better but it still happens more often than not.

    But to defend myself, sometimes there are things that go on that cause my lateness, which I have no control over. There is that unforeseen traffic jam; people being nosey because someone has gotten pulled over. There’s the weather, there’s that one day you had a wild night and have no idea where your keys are, let alone where your car is. There are a million and one excuses of unpreventable lateness.

    On the contrary, I make it a point to be on time for business and interviews. There’s no excuse for being late to those types of things. Now I can’t promise you that I’ll ever be early again but I try. So to wrap it all up, it’s an attention thing for me. What can I say? I’m one of seven, and I strive for the attention. So I blame my mother for my lateness. After all, she passed it down to

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