Saturday, November 03, 2012

Tonight I Get My Hour Back

When I was a member of the workforce, the end of Daylight Saving Time seemed like an annual blessing, an extra hour of sleep that helped to reset my circadian rhythm and straighten the off-kilter axis of my world. Now that I'm retired--meaning now that I can read late into the night and sleep as late as I want the next day--it doesn't seem nearly as important. At least to me.

Levi and Gimpy, who always eat supper around five-thirty, are going to listen to their body clocks and wonder--about four-thirty tomorrow--why I'm so slow about fixing their meals. And what about dairy cows? Will they have to wait an extra hour to be milked, or do farmers have to set their alarm clocks (and roosters) one hour earlier to keep the cows comfortable? And what about kids who have to walk home from school? Will any of them have to walk home in the dark now that the sun sets earlier?

So, I'm searching my mind and counting as I go. Is that it? Are there really only three groups of beings negatively affected by the end of daylight savings time? Or can you add to this list?
1) Pets and other captive animals used to being fed at a certain time;
2) Heavy-uddered dairy cows, for whom being fed on time is only a secondary concern;
3) Children (possibly mythical) who are still allowed to walk home after school. By themselves. In this day and age.

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This week's Saturday Song Selection is nothing if not timely, and it's one most of you will remember. Unless you're sleep deprived, but that'll be resolved by tomorrow.


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The song is "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce.
Thanks to KEN NIEVES for posting this song and its lyrics on YouTube.


2 comments:

  1. As an early riser, DST has never bothered me. But it is hard to explain it to the dog!

    I gradually try to shift her schedule over the course of the next week so that by feeding a few minutes later each day, she's back to the "normal" time.

    I am one of those that just wishes they would leave things alone...

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  2. Holly, I try to use the gradual-shift method, too, not only for DST changes, but also when I know a few days in advance that something is going to keep me away from the house at doggy mealtime.

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