In November 1864, in the middle of the Civil War, Americans voted for president. On November 10, Abraham Lincoln spoke to a group of serenaders at the White House: “We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us.”
The State of the Union, Postponed
In January 2019, during a partial government shutdown, Speaker Nancy Pelosi rescinded her invitation to President Trump to deliver the State of the Union address on January 29. She cited security concerns, since Secret Service and Homeland Security staff were unpaid. After the shutdown ended, the speech was set for February 5. Pelosi wrote: “In our conversation today, we agreed on February 5th.”
Here the date itself became part of a political conflict.
Franksgiving
In August 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up by one week, to lengthen the Christmas shopping season. Football teams had already scheduled their big games for the old date. Calendar makers had already printed calendars for years to come.
Critics called the new holiday Franksgiving. Thirty-two states followed the change, and 16 refused, so for two years the country celebrated two Thanksgivings. On December 26, 1941, Roosevelt signed a law that fixed Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.
Scrubbed
NASA calls a launch attempt that is called off a scrub. “Scrubs are usually a last-minute decision triggered by bad weather or mechanical issues causing safety concerns.” Of NASA’s 135 Space Shuttle missions, only about 40 percent launched on time. In 2022 the launch of Artemis I was pushed back four times.
Postponed Weddings
According to The Knot, 47 percent of couples who planned to marry in 2020 postponed their weddings to 2021 or later. One couple described how they handled it: “We emailed our guests right away to let them know.”
The Super Bowl Moves a Week
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the NFL postponed the next week’s games to January. To keep the full playoffs, every playoff game, including the Super Bowl, moved one week later. The new Super Bowl date had already been booked by the National Automobile Dealers Association for its convention.
The dealers first thought, “No way.” They then agreed to move their convention, because “it was the right thing to do for America.” The NFL paid them $7.5 million and gave $500,000 to their fund for survivors of September 11.
Propose a New Time
In July 2018 Google added a feature to Google Calendar that lets a guest propose a new time for a meeting. The organizer can accept it with one click.
The scheduling company Reclaim.ai analyzed the calendars of more than 15,000 professionals from February 2020 to October 2021. One-on-one meetings were rescheduled 42.4 percent of the time and canceled 29.6 percent of the time.
How to Cancel Plans
Etiquette experts quoted by Reader’s Digest agree on how to cancel plans. Do it “as soon as possible,” because “the longer you wait to let the other person know, the more rude it becomes.” Then “make a plan to reschedule,” with “a sincere, detailed offer.”
There is a limit: “if you constantly cancel plans, you either need to rethink that relationship or your priorities.”
The No-Show Fee
The American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics addresses fees for “missed appointments or appointments not cancelled in advance in keeping with the published policy of the practice.” Physicians should base such fees on reasonable costs and “clearly notify patients in advance.”
The fee covers appointments missed or not canceled in advance.
Postponing Jury Duty
In New York State, a person called for jury duty can postpone service once, online or by phone, at least one week before the date of service. The person chooses a new date between two and six months from the date on the summons.