October 23, 1992
Dear Everyone:
Well, you see that Pumpkin in the corner
[a reference to the "clip art" I used at the time] and you know
it can mean only one thing:
Once again,
Daylight "Savings" Time is ending and it's time (pun!) to find out
how many clocks you have around you. So
far, I've counted an even two dozen, not including my office.
There's four in the bedroom, plus the timer for the
lamp. The timer turns the lamp on
in the morning to help me wake up. This
time of year, I need all the help I can get.
Then there is the two in the second bedroom.
(Oops! Don't forget the VCR.)
One in the bathroom, so I'll know how late I am
when I get out of the tub. Three
in the kitchen, but whoever pays attention to the one in the top of the
stove? The only thing I actually
use it for is self-cleaning the oven.
One in the dining room.
A timer for the living room lamp,
to turn it on before I get home in the evening (and when I'm away on
trips). The other VCR.
Remember to change the clock that
displays when you turn the TV on.
Did you check the timer on the furnace/air
conditioner?
What about the "verbal" clock in the telephone
answering machine?
And five wristwatches, three of which actually
work.
(I know what you're thinking:
That's only 23.
I'm missing one somewhere.
I have no idea where.)
As for the wristwatches, I bought them last summer
in a moment of madness, when
Nordstrom was
having a sale. They were fanciful
and not very expensive and I felt in the mood for a change.
One stopped working as soon as I got it home.
So much for the warranty.
The question was whether or not
it was worth finding a box and mailing the watch to the manufacturer
with a check for $7.00, to cover "shipping and handling".
Not.
The next watch dropped its crystal the night that
my Sears® Die Hard battery, which was guaranteed for five years, decided
to take early retirement after two. It
was a case of adding insult to injury that night.
After that, I decided to get a nice, cheap,
dependable Timex®. It has an
easy-to-read face (even in the dark, when you're wondering how much
longer a movie is going to last), a non-metal band (that I won't get an
allergic reaction to), and a crystal that stays on even under 50 feet of
water, which I never intend to test. It
loses about 6 seconds per month, and I can live with that.
On Sunday, I'll reset all of my clocks and watches
and then go over to “Jeannie's” and reset hers.
We have a deal:
I fixed the time and leave the
clock sitting on the floor and she comes along behind me and re-hangs
them. I can set time, but I can't
hang those darned clocks back upon the nails.
I just remembered where the last clock is.
It's in the dashboard of my car.
Two dozen, even.
Love, as always,
Pete
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