So I started to think about our control by time and I have some incidences and experience to go along with my idea.
I come from a very rural background. I realize that an urban background has been tied to the clock for a long time. You can't go to work late.
I am old enough to predate electric clocks. We had one wind up clock in the house. Sometimes the clock stopped because somebody forgot to wind it. Horror of horrors. What shall we do? We couldn't get time from the radio as time was rarely given and the radio batteries were dead half the time. So we just phoned one of the neighbors to check the time.
Grandma had a very ancient wind up clock that didn't keep time very well at the best of times. Her clock sometimes didn't run for days. In fact, she didn't know it wasn't running. Her life carried on and nobody missed eating or getting their work done. Since Grandma and Grandpa spent much of their lives out doors they were automatically aware of the time from the sun.
I am retired. There is very little that requires me to be bound by clocks. I haven't worn a watch since the day I retired. I do use the clock in my car.
So I think we're just tied a little too closely to time. We are slaves to time.
Freedom is not knowing what time it is.
And oh yes, you will adjust to the change in time.
i'm grateful not to be commuting into dallas any longer. the dark evenings were rough! now, i amend my days to tie to the light - so today i'm feeding dogs and horses at the same 'sky light' hours as they were fed yesterday. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky to miss the traffic.
DeleteEnjoyed your interesting post!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteYou are so right, Red. We tend to allow ourselves to be controlled by time. I think farmers and others living in the country are more attuned to nature's "clock." Love the story of having to call the neighbors to see what time it was! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to throw the watch away when you are working. When I was teaching we were controlled by the bell.
DeleteWell Red I am not retired but after the battery in my watch quit two years ago I have not worn a watch I really don't miss it. I use the one in my car too. I like to think I control time not sure but I like to think that:) B
ReplyDeleteWell, you can be your own boss so you have a good shot at controlling time.
DeleteThere are many things I enjoy about being retired and not being tied to the clock is up there at the top of the list. The clocks changing made absolutely no difference to me this year!
ReplyDeleteNot being tied to the clock is a real freedom.
DeleteI have always liked knowing what time it is but it doesn't rule my life. I can be just as happy at midnight as noon.
ReplyDeleteIt is a consequence of spending so many years at sea and accurate time was very important in allowing me to know where I was.
You make a good point. the two things are very different.
DeleteI haven't adjusted yet, hoping it is soon. I get up around the same time every day and now it is 1 hour earlier.
ReplyDeleteThe change doesn't bother me but I do understand what it can do to others.
DeleteI confuses me every season again when the time changes for an hour. I never know if the clock has to turned forwards or backwords and we always have discussions about it. I feel a few days uncomfortable, with the feeling that the time is not right, but after a few days I get used tot it.
ReplyDeleteYou're not the only one to be confused when the time changes. I set my thermostat back two hours instead of one.
DeleteWe also had one clock in the house and one of those LOUD rings with it - it was in my parents bedroom so if you had to know the time, thats where you went I don't remember using it too much. We judged a lot by daylight, as my Dad also fished for a living. He got up every morning like he had an inner clock before the alarm went off and would turn it off. Mom knew by her inner clock when he was coming home. I guess I never really thought about it before but we never used clocks much, except I can remember being on time when Mom said you had to be home at a certain time we were always asking the Mrs or Mr what time it was. When Mom said you had to be home on time.....YOU WERE HOME. HA,HA
ReplyDeleteMy Dad some how or other came by an old train bell. When they wanted us they'd ring the bell. We really made tracks to get home on time. this bell could be heard almost a mile away.
DeleteGreat post! And how right you are; we are slaves to time. If you enjoy reading, you'll really like Mitch Albom's book 'The Time Keeper' (perhaps you've already read it). It really makes you think about how precious time is.
ReplyDeleteThis author sounds familiar. I'll have to look up the books he's written and see if I've read one.
DeleteI laughed when I read this, as I realized that every clock in the house changed automatically except the one on the microwave. And then computers and cell phones needed no prompting. I know I'll adjust... in time. :-)
ReplyDeleteHow should you be so lucky to have clocks change automatically? We have at least six time pieces that have to be set.
DeleteI don't think we are controlled by time. Mind you, we are driving 80+km into the city for healthcare appointments. We can pretty much assume that ours will be later than earlier. The time change doesn't faze me, though. Retirement, otherwise, has its bonuses!
ReplyDeleteRemember the bell in school for class changes? That was horrible.
DeleteI am tied to the clock somewhat, but also tied to the sun.
ReplyDeleteSo you're a fifty / fifty. I think some people are controlled by time and others not so much.
DeleteI used to wear a watch all the time. Now I never do! It took some getting used to at first but I soon embraced life with a naked wrist. It's easier for me because I work at home and don't have to be "at work" at a specific time like I used to, or catch a train. We sure are slaves to time!
ReplyDeleteTry putting your watch back on. It eels really weird.
DeleteI like your thought:
ReplyDeleteFreedom is not knowing what time it is.
Spending time with aboriginals on the land gave me a good idea of a different philosophy of time.
DeleteEvery year, the time changes mess up my inner clock - twice!! I wish they'd just leave it alone.
ReplyDeleteFor some people the time change is a big deal and I can understand that. That's what jet lag is all about.
DeleteHa! I love this! Being a cowgirl, I am not tied by the time. But rather the weather and " cow time". I usually know what time it is by the light in the sky and am not off by ten mins.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't like is it getting dark so early! There's still so much to do! I like that it is lighter in the morning though....
P.s. I don't wear a watch either. Never have.
Cheri
It's lucky you don't have 24 hour daylight or you'd never stop working.
DeleteI agree, and I would very much like to lose all these clocks in this house..the microwave, the stove, two on the wall, two by the bed (one electric, one wind up both in use for wake up alarms for dh), one in the car..on the cell phones...and it would be different if I wasn't always wondering what time it was! I do believe I need a "time" out! HA HA
ReplyDeleteHey, I like the time out thing!
DeleteBeing retired and not a TV watcher my life is also mainly semi regulated by the sun. Heck I don't often know or care what day it is.... well except for Church on Sundays...:)
ReplyDelete"I haven't worn a watch since the day I retired." I got a giggle out of that because so often, a watch is the definitive retirement gift.. and yet, that's when we least need to know the time.
ReplyDeleteI can remember a time when it was considered okay to phone the telephone operator to know the time.
I like the fact that being retired doesn't tie me to a clock. It really is freedom as you say.
ReplyDeleteI had to smile when I read you predated electric clocks. I never thought about it. We had wind up alarm clocks set to get up for school. Wound them every night. :)
I suppose that my life is, to quite an extent, run by time - meeting people for coffee and meals, appointments here and there and so on and I always watch the 6 o'clock news - but, like you, I stopped wearing a watch as a rule when I retired. So the other day when I went into hospital for a minor op and was doing things beforehand I wore one to make sure I didn't arrive late. Of course I left it at the hospital on the bedside table when I was discharged.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Hawaii now, I love not having to switch the clocks every spring and fall. I stopped wearing a watch once I retired too... Except when we go on a trip.
ReplyDeleteLike your blog. My hubby half the time never wears his watch. He has the car clock anyhow.
ReplyDeleteWe do watch the Five at 5 and then the news.