Rhyme Time

Good morning!

It's 7 a.m.

Or is it 8 a.m.?

Wait a moment while I consult the magic rhyme I've recited in my head
since the custom of keeping track of time started to matter to me.

"Spring forward ... Fall back."

I'm sure I have that correct. Spring back .... Fall forward sounds
like what happens at frat parties or comedy shows. Though I can admit,
my sense of time being of importance only began to mature between
adolescence (when I lettered in sleeping past noon) and undergrad
(when bar hopping was my preferred sport) and an 8 a.m. survey class
might be the only drawback.

But that was then and this is now: A few decades later when sleep is a
thing that happens after you sit down but before you are determined to
turn in. And when time doesn’t seem to have a clear direction. Some
might even feel its suspension.

For me, this time is also and marked by having the annual argument in
an attempt to convince the resident husband that an hour of sleep will
disappear into the wee hours of the morning, not to be seen again
until Fall.

It also means engaging in the semi-annual argument about leaving off
the extra S in Daylight Saving or whether we are returning to the
Standard Time. We could steer all usage to a simple directive: "It's
Time To Change Your Clock," and be done with it.

However, if we did that, would there be any room for the semi-annual
discussions of leaving the time as it is year-round?  Or would we end
forever all argument about whether this practice came about as an
ancient farming technique, or an energy-saving construct, or a simple
ruse to allow executives more time on the links after a long day at
the office?

Would we be able to wrap our heads around how time refuses to stand
still? Would you miss that crazy clock illustration, with its wings
and its spinning, confused face?

But the answer is yes ... even with this children's illustrated
explanation, we will argue forward can't mean "losing" and going back
has the opposite meaning of gaining - for perhaps the 18th in the
history of our history together.

And I will resort to scouring the house for an antiquated clock I can
manipulate to show that moving the hands of a clock forward
(especially when you've just turned 21) loses you a solid hour of
imbibing between midnight and four a.m.

"At midnight you go directly to 1 a.m. in Boston they'd start talking
about Last Call.

Of course, you’d forget to set your alarm clock. You’d miss a class in
the morning. Or you’d get to the car and have an existential crisis.
Am I late?

Eventually, even this argument will be one we have only for Old Time’s sake.

Eventually, it will reset as NatureTM intended ... which in modern
times means the Apple product that sleeps next to your bed, and which
(we can admit) is the first thing we greet in the morning upon
awakening, will have already made the transition for you.