A few years ago, my wonderful Uncle Jim, (as opposed to my crazy Uncle Charlie), gave us an atomic clock for Christmas. Actually, Uncle Jim gave everyone atomic clocks for Christmas that year – round, wood trimmed, plate-sized mysterious atomic clocks. It’s hanging in the hall, doing its thing, and with no problems.
It’s fascinating really; changing from daylight saving time and back again effortlessly. We’ve never seen it change, you just wake up, and when you turn on the TV for the morning news and the correct time, you realize that Uncle Jim’s clock is the only accurate clock in the house.
Except for this morning. I caught a glimpse of this self-regulating clock before I hit the bathroom, kitchen, or living room and it had stopped at 3:47am or thereabouts, as its analog, not digital. (I hate digital clocks – I do not want, nor do I need to know, preciously when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night!)
But because I’ve seen Uncle Jim’s clock first and haven’t turned on the TV yet, and I completely forgot about the spring ahead-fall back rule last night, my mind veered of course – it went to the isle of jamais vu.
Don’t worry – you’ve been there too. It’s the opposite of déjà vu – that fleeting feeling you’ve been/seen/heard it before ??? Well, jamais vu is the feeling that you’ve never been/seen/heard it before, yet you know instinctively you have.
Now, I find myself frozen in front of this mesmerizing clock and my mind is racing through all the absurd reasons why it isn’t working ~ there’s been an electrical power surge, an atomic power surge, the world has stopped spinning, God has stopped thinking about us. Well, I said absurd.
When just as quickly, I return to reason, and remember that this atomic clock runs on batteries, not atoms in my house or in the air. It actually runs on radio waves – but since I still don’t understand microwaves, batteries are as close to the source as I’m going to get.
I let out a sigh of relief, continue on to the bathroom, not quite knowing the time but not worried about atoms, the axis of the earth, or God – at least not for Uncle Jim’s clock.
Kate's Window 
Hahaaa. I kinda forgot about the time change and I’ve been early for everything today. Maybe I shouldn’t change the clocks this year. 🙂
Amy and Leeuna – Thanks for stopping by. I know there’s probably a very good reason for DST – but if it’s Live w/Regis and Kelly – does that mean they’re saying good morning at midnight someplace in the world ????
We have one of those clocks that’s set at the factory with the time change for the next zillion or so years. Except that Congress changed the time for Daylight savings, so we have to change that clock twice every year at Daylight Savings Time instead of just once. I studied French in college back in the precomputerzoic era, but I don’t remember the term for “This makes me crazy!” Fun post!
No, there is no good reason for DST. It does not extend the daylight. As has been said, “Only the Government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”