Friday, November 4, 2011

Daylight Saving Time Rhyme


image by Paul via freedigitalphotos.net

I grew up in Arizona, scoffing Daylight Saving Time.
(That's right.  There's no "s".  I spelled that just fine.)
The "zonies" and Hopi opted out of the plan,
while the Navajo signed on as a time change fan.
Their tribe owns a donut shaped piece of my state.
I guess taking a bite out of both was my fate.

I now live in California and love to ride on the train,
but time change rules make taking Amtrack lame.
At 2:00 AM each fall the trains sit an hour on the line
because they can't leave earlier than the time on the sign.
I'm glad I've never ridden the train on "that night".
I bet the commotion would be quite a sight.

Growing up in the fifties would have been worse.
Time zones changed faster than a pirate can curse.
Back then, each individual locality could decide
the start and stop times to which they each would abide.
Iowa had 23 different DST "zones" one year.
Now THAT is the old school definition of queer.

It is still almost that crazy on our southernmost continent.
Each study team keeps time with the place from which they're sent.
When you live in a place that flips from constant light to darkness,
it's no doubt your sleep patterns will become a mess.
Plus, it's too cold and windy to visit your neighbors,
so you might as well keep time with those supporting your labors.

I wonder how many different time zones this rhyme will be read in?
Or if anyone will finish reading "before" they begin?
I hope all this time juggling is actually saving energy
because it causes many issues much easier to see.
In the spring we lose sleep, in the fall we gain darkness,
and in the process we create much much silliness.

© 2011 - all rights reserved - Rachel Hoyt


Don't forget to turn your clocks back this Sunday.
If you live in the U.S., November 6th is the day!

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

23 comments:

  1. I have always thought the time change was one of the silliest things our government has ever done. Great rhyme.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I totally agree with Jan. There are as many people who have to get up early as they do late so I do not believe anyone safes anything (besides all those who sell or produce medication)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes it always seemed pointless to me too.
    They should bid the whole thing adieu.
    Slap it back a half an half one time
    And there you go, no longer need another daylight saving chime

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Jan - I've gotten used to it, but it's still silly. Why can't we pick the middle time over changing willy nilly?

    @Phoenixrisesagain - Yep. I read a long list of people it affects. It seems it would be better to even it out through the year.

    @Pat - Loved your chime. Down with Daylight Saving Time! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the reminder! Hate this time of year!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Mari - On the plus side, I can snap pictures of the sunset on my way home from work. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's supposed to give farmers more daylight for harvesting, but I'm not sure how. Mostly it annoys people. It's not like farmers make up a majority of our national population anymore.
    China only has one time zone. It's huge, so the variance in sunrise/sunset times is crazy. At least we don't have to deal with that.

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Jessica - That sunrise/sunset issue in China sounds crazy! Re: daylight saving time - it's supposed to give all people an extra hour of daylight in the evenings to go outside and play, thus saving electricity by not being home? The problem is, we all work different hours of the day and DST only benefits 8-to-5-ers. Plus, we have tons of electronics we leave plugged in 24/7.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Jessica - That sunrise/sunset issue in China sounds crazy! Re: daylight saving time - it's supposed to give all people an extra hour of daylight in the evenings to go outside and play, thus saving electricity by not being home? The problem is, we all work different hours of the day and DST only benefits 8-to-5-ers. Plus, we have tons of electronics we leave plugged in 24/7.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a great poem about daylight saving time. I learned some things about the change as I read this poem and thought of things I had not thought of before.

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Judy - It makes me smile to hear you learned new things and thought new thoughts. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. smiles..nice...we will change to daylight saving time on the 25th of march over here in germany..and really looking forward to longer, lighter evenings... no idea what they do with our trains...if they stand somewhere...curious now...think i need to check or book a train ride in fall..

    ReplyDelete
  13. i am glad i have never ridden the train then either, what a head ache, you would lose more time just sitting...this jump ahead i for the birds though, i am still tired and a little slow...smiles.

    ReplyDelete
  14. When I was in restaurant management, I got stuck working a few of those time change nights. It was always great in the spring, any excuse to knock an hour off my shift. In the fall, that first hour when we would turn the clock back, always seemed like we landed in the middle of the Twilight Zone, weirdness abounded. Very clever poem you've written here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha. The twilight zone is a good description if you ask me. :)

      Delete
  15. I never met anyone who liked the time change. makes you wonder how stuff like this becomes the law.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It truly is silliness. The only thing I can figure--because it always comes around to this--is someone stood to make a profit by it, and someone else probably makes a profit because of it now.
    I gre up in AZ, too, and it was crazy when they instituted DST there. It didn't get dark until after 10 PM some days! I always thought it was a plot against drive-in movie theatres! And, it worked!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah. I think you're on to something. DST really favors all 8-5 jobs and messes with all others. Grrr...

      Delete
  17. enjoyed the read. Absolutely fantastic. Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete

Rhyming or not, I would like a lot to hear the thoughts my words brought...