TURN THOSE CLOCKS ON SATURDAY NIGHT!

“...behold, now is the accepted time; “  (from 2 Corinthians 6:2)

Yup.  It’s about that time again.  What time is that?  The time to change the time.  The switch to Daylight Saving Time will begin on Sunday in the “wee” hours of the morning.  I think legally and technically, the time actually goes from 1 to 3 a.m. on Sunday and just skips 2.  Most people are advised to turn their clocks ahead, (“Spring ahead”) on Saturday evening.  Some years, I’ve actually turned them on Saturday morning just to get used to “the new time”, although that can drive people crazy!

Benjamin Franklin “invented” Daylight Saving Time.  All it does is tinker with nature and I think it’s kind of stupid.  The number of weeks we are on Daylight Saving Time as opposed to Standard Time is now longer, and it will get even longer in 2007.  For many years we turned the clocks on the last Sunday of April and the first Sunday of October.  In 1987, the U.S.A. began turning the clocks on the FIRST Sunday of April and the last Sunday of October.  In 2007, the clock changes will be in mid-March and mid-November.  We can thank Congressman Ed Markey for that idea.  One problem with it is that so many of our electronic devices are automatically programmed for the current daylight saving changes and WILL NOT automatically switch over at the new times in 2007.

Hawaii does not go on Daylight Saving Time at all.  Neither does Arizona.  It used to be that part of Indiana also did not change.  This is because part of Indiana was on Central time and part of the state was on Eastern time.  WIth Daylight Saving time, they used to “tweak it” so that the Eastern time zone did not turn the clocks ahead and then the state was all on one time for the summer months.  As of 2006, however, the entire state of Indiana is on Eastern time.  I don’t know how they’re going to handle the time change now!

I’ve lived most of my life in the Eastern time zone.  I must confess that I like the Central time zone much better.  During the two years I was in Bible College in Missouri I loved the T.V. schedule.  I also love it when I’m visiting Missouri, which due to Amy being in college there, I tend to do a couple of times a year.  It’s great to have the evening news at 10 instead of 11, and even to have “late night” shows airing earlier.  Back in 2002, when Mary Ann and Idid an Alaska cruise, we spent part of the time on Pacific time and part of it on Alaska time.  There were T.V. sets (satellite) on the ship.  One late afternoon I was watching “Larry King Live”.  I assumed it was a rebroadcast of the previous night’s show.  Suddenly it hit me that I a was watching it at 5:15 in the afternoon but it was LIVE at 9:15 in Washington.  Having spent most of my life on the East coast, that seemed so weird.

I know the worst part of the time change can be setting the automobile clocks, clock radios, etc.  No, the WORST is setting the clock on “answering machine telephones”!  Well, this is the weekend.  Don’t forget and have fun!