Time Change Blues

Time Change Blues

Geese on the Sacramento River 10/29/08

I was down by the river the other day, thinking about the changing of the clocks. The geese don't care, the river doesn't care, the trees don't care, so I wondered,"Why do we change the clocks?"

I guess the first question should be; "Why do we all set our clocks the same?"
The answer was over my head.

Why we have standard time.
Bigger Hint...

Trains!
To keep trains on schedule,(and from running into each other), Standard time was established in London, 1840. When the whole country got their clocks together, it was 1847, and they called it Greenwich Mean Time. ( I suppose I would be mean too, if I were a green witch!).
Back on the Track

Tracks just before they go under Lake Blvd.
While I followed time, I followed the tracks that take the trains I hear from my apartment. On a warm summer evening, I can hear the trains from downtown Redding, and can follow their course across the river and through the gully, under Lake Blvd, to Oasis road and beyond to Lake Shasta.

Looking toward Lake Blvd from Oasis Rd.

Looking toward Lake Shasta from Oasis Rd.
You may wonder what sitting on my patio on a warm summers night, listening to the train, has to do with Daylight savings time... Well, it all began in 1784 with an idea that Ben Franklin had for an, "economical project", or it could also be attributed to William Willit, as he was riding one English morning in 1907, and noticed peoples houses still had their shutters closed. He thought that was wasted daylight that would be better used in the summer evenings.

A rose by any other name.... 10/29/08

It was the Germans and Austrians that implemented the first national "Daylight Savings Time", in 1916, to conserve fuel for electric power.
In America we called it, "War Time", during the 1940's.

Someone thought it would be good to change the days we start and end daylight savings in America this century, so we go back on the 1st Sunday in November. The thought was to have more daylight on voting day. Right! Then they thought it would be good for trick or treaters, but they forgot that kids don't go out until it's dark.
I sure hope Obama wins, and we get some smarter people in government positions.

Mushrooms by the stairwell 10/29/31

Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

Perfect Timing