{"id":8008,"date":"2025-07-27T09:06:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T13:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=8008"},"modified":"2025-07-27T09:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T13:06:16","slug":"its-about-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2025\/07\/27\/its-about-time\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s About Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a true \u201cSunday Story\u201d.  No politics today, just some \u201cmusings\u201d about time \u2013 and it\u2019s on a Sunday!!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clocks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I think we all have little quirks:\u00a0\u00a0the things we do that, maybe, only make sense to us.\u00a0\u00a0I am a clock setter.\u00a0\u00a0Is the timer on the coffee pot and the timer on the microwave out of sync? I can’t stand it. \u00a0\u00a0So when the power goes out, I am quick to reset everything.\u00a0\u00a0Now, in my favor I think; I don\u2019t have to have them synchronized to the absolute second.\u00a0\u00a0The \u201chalf-minute\u201d will do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am definitely the guy who resets the car clocks the first chance after the time changes.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, that\u2019s the first thing the next morning, twice a year, for every clock we have.\u00a0\u00a0That includes the \u201cornamental\u201d clocks that we don\u2019t even see, \u201caward-plaque\u201d clocks that probably need a new battery, and the fancy watches I seldom wear.\u00a0\u00a0I want the time to be accurate, everywhere I look.\u00a0\u00a0Somehow, on the Jeep, the clock consistently gets five minutes too fast, which, as you probably can tell, makes me crazy.\u00a0\u00a0So I reset that one every few weeks, back to\u00a0\u00a0\u201creal time\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That way I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m late for everything!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clock on my stopwatch is correct too.\u00a0\u00a0I use it a lot during the track seasons, and I don\u2019t want to have to check my phone during a competition to see what time it is.\u00a0\u00a0Folks will think I\u2019m \u201ctexting\u201d in the middle of a vault or a race, not a good look.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look Forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We also have a monthly calendar on the wall of our kitchen, a dry-erase board.  It has room for five weeks, and as soon as I can possibly fit the \u201cnext\u201d month on, I put it up.  It\u2019s one more way (besides our sync\u2019d phone calendars) for Jenn and I to be on the \u201csame page\u201d.  But it also gives a visual representation of our commitments.  Sometimes, it just a way to see where the \u201cget-to\u201d days are:  the days when there\u2019s nothing on the schedule, and we can chill.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the point for me is to get my head\u00a0ready for \u201cwhat\u2019s next\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Today was that day (I had to squeeze August 24 and 31 in the same box).\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s all the medical stuff that comes with being old enough for Medicare, and August is the \u201cBirthday Month\u201d for Jenn.\u00a0\u00a0And slipping in on Saturday\u2019s are Cross Country meets, a little bit of back to work for me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parking Lots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I was a track coach, we went to a lot of track invitationals. Those are all-day affairs, arriving early on a Saturday morning and leaving just before dinner time.\u00a0\u00a0The first \u201cduty\u201d of the team was to establish a camp, where we literally pitched our tent and put all of our equipment.\u00a0\u00a0My first \u201con site\u201d decision was to say where the camp would go.\u00a0\u00a0And, as all of my coaches, and most of my older athletes realized, we \u201ccamped\u201d in the same place every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was usually somewhere on the backstretch of the track, with a good view of the finish line and the field event venues.  In fact, I seldom was in the \u201ccamp\u201d.  I was out coaching, prowling the backstretch during the running events, and hanging out at the field areas for their competitions.  But we always had that central spot \u2013 our camp \u2013 in the same place.  Name a venue:  Heath, Granville, Worthington, Wheeling, Pickerington, Licking Valley, Galion.  You could always find the Watkins boys team \u2013 in the same spot.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it shouldn\u2019t be a surprise to anyone that I park in the same area for places I always go to:  Kroger\u2019s, Doctor\u2019s office, Barber, the Ohio Theatre, the Jesse Owens Track at Ohio State.  That way, when I\u2019m done with whatever errand or event, I can come right back out to the car, which, of course, is right where it\u2019s supposed to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old Age?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some might say that\u2019s old age.\u00a0\u00a0Nothing worse than that \u201csad elderly man\u201d wandering the parking lot looking for his car.\u00a0\u00a0But, to be honest, I\u2019ve been doing this since I learned how to drive.\u00a0\u00a0It just seems easier, one less thing to remember.\u00a0\u00a0(By the way, it drives Jenn crazy.\u00a0\u00a0Her goal is to \u201cpark as close as you can\u201d, even if it takes an extra five minutes to find the spot.\u00a0\u00a0So my pulling up two rows over and fifteen cars out to an empty spot always generates a sigh.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAre you saving the good spots for \u2018old people\u2019?\u00a0\u00a0We ARE old people!!!\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know where my car is parked.  And I know what time it is, and, good or bad, what\u2019s happening tomorrow.  It\u2019s all about time \u2013 and at least I get the \u201ccorrect\u201d information.  The future is never certain, but at least the \u201cmap\u201d for how it\u2019s supposed to be, is.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s one less thing to worry about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday Story Series<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

2021<\/h4>\n\n\n\n