DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME - WHY DO WE STILL HAVE IT?

Walking at 7:30 this morning.

Reflective wear I don before
walking.

I've already talked about the dangers of walking on our road in a previous post, but since it was dark this morning on our walk -- my husband put on his flashing tail light -- I thought I'd post pictures yet again of what we wear to avoid being smashed by a vehicle. I recommend this clothing for all cyclists, joggers and walkers.

Someone, whose name I will not allow my lips to speak, once commented that the United States is a "nation of whiners." True. I just hate it that the words were spoken by the unnameable one. Nevertheless, this quote is a nice segue into my latest "whine."

Daylight savings time. Really. Isn't it time we just stick on one time and quit switching the clock back and forth? No matter whether the clock is "falling back" an hour or "springing forth" one hour, it still takes us at least a week to adjust to the time change. We are either feeling rushed or too early.

Isn't life in the 21st century stressful enough without looking at whatever one looks at to check the time (cell phones, clocks, watches, etc.), without the (warning: old lady trying to be hip) POA (period of adjustment) our bodies go through each time the change takes place?

Think of young families with babies and toddlers who are (hopefully) on some kind of schedule. Even one hour can throw the whole day off. And farmers. While not true farmers in any sense of the word -- one could call us "farm piddlers" -- we have sheep and chickens whose tummies tell us to show up at a certain time of day, hang the darkness. I can't imagine what it is like for full fledged farming operations.

The National Geographic has a good article on the history of Daylight Savings Time, the full text of which can be seen here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news

The article says that we are sold (my word) daylight savings time with talk of the decrease in the number of traffic accidents and crimes committed. Congress chimed in by stating that our Nation's youth benefit from the extension of daylight at the end of the day so they can play outside longer. Consumers can continue shopping, spending money further into the extended daylight. Congress also pointed out that it helps domestic offices when the USA's office hours overlap those of the European community.

It sounds nice . . . it always does. Kind of like a frog being dumped in a pot of water on a stove burner. Slowly the flame turns up and slowly the unaware frog boils.

Society is running 24/7 all the time now. Thirty years ago, when our children were babies and required late night feedings and rocking, we could still see a bit of flag waving and listen to the National Anthem as the television stations, one by one, signed off -- and we were living in a big city at the time. Do any television stations sign off anymore?

Some brick and mortar stores are opened all the time, and the Internet offers us 24/7 opportunities to research, shop, and communicate at home.

Let's choose a stable time -- a time that does not switch back and forth with the seasons. In this unstable world, we need something that is always the same: a calendar year has 12 months, a day has 24 hours, a week has seven days, and a clock, whose hands, when they are on 3 o'clock, it is really 3 o'clock.

Not, "OMG, it's really 4 o'clock". Heart races, blood pressure goes up . . . does the USA need that stress?

And, remember, FALL BACK the first Sunday in NOVEMBER.

The Wichita Mountains this morning at 8:10.