Spring forward

This Spring forward deal with the clocks has really gotten to Ol’ Dutch. And even Miss Trixie seems to have been afflicted with the clock-altering event.

I had written previously about conspiracy theories and do believe that this event may also qualify for just such an award as neither Miss Trixie nor myself really have nothing to rise early for, yet, it seems to afflict us with tiredness.

Changing the clocks on the second Sunday in March at 2 a.m. dates back to 1918 as a way to create more daylight hours when the day is the warmest. I guess this would seemingly let people get more done during those hours, too. It's less and less popular every year and some states have even done away with it altogether. It appears that they have finally listened to the old Native American who said it was only the white man that thought he could cut the end off a blanket and sew it on the other end and think he had more blanket.

Other people have said that it helps the farmers, so they have more daylight hours to work during their busy season but again, Old Sol only hangs up in the sky during these months for so many hours a day no matter how you slice it and dice it.

And you have to wonder why it always changes in the middle of the night toward Sunday morning? Many believe it's a way to make people either late or early to church depending on if they are Springing forward or Falling back.

We had a couple who would inevitably show up late on the Sunday in the Spring and drag in two kids and all their diaper bags and accouterments to the front row only to hear my dad the preacher dismiss the crowd. To their credit they always laughed about it and took our teasing in good humor, so it became almost a yearly ritual to see them come in.

I guess they chose Sunday so that people would not be late for work but in all honesty, it would actually balance out as they would be early on the day in the fall when we all fall back.

We are funny people as we all talk about how we either gain an hour of sleep in the fall or lose an hour of sleep in the spring and once again we seem to be adjusting the length of that blanket like the old Native American suggested.

You don't actually lose anything as we all know. But I do know this, that extra hour we gain in the fall does not do us as much good as the damage the hour we lose in the spring does for sure.

Now Ol’ Dutch has a famous saying since retirement and that is “I don't have any place to be.” Which means at least as far as “having” to be somewhere has certainly taken on less importance than when I had three jobs.

But even though commitments to jobs have been eliminated, I still have a few things that I have promised other people I would do. And, sometimes, those commitments get me up far earlier than I like.

It seems that doctor appointments, babysitting and any government agency appointments are the leading reasons for getting up early as they always want to get a good start on the day and would hate for Ol’ Dutch to enjoy his morning coffee in his recliner comfortably at home.

My dad is a prime example of this phenomena and at 91 years old is always having to show up at such things at the butt crack of dawn. And this is in cold and snow and icy weather to boot. You would think that the people who want to see him would take that into account, but they power on regardless of their clients age and or conditions.

This may explain why people in the Northern regions live longer than those in the South as they are just forced to be tougher than nails to even survive their youth let alone old age.

So, Miss Trixie and I hope that you got sprung forward without much pain and hopefully were not late for church last Sunday.

Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is [email protected]. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com.