A Watched watch never Ticks

Good Afternoon!

The sun told me that, not a watch.

The more I wrote about clocks and more I giggled about watches.

I have to tell on my child. It was Christmas, a great time to receive a watch as a gift, don't you think? Do you remember those major ugly men's digital watches with the silver dollar size face that had alarms? Well, Bud got one for Christmas one year. Remember now, I am telling the story as I REMEMBER it.

It was a few days before Christmas when he gift was wrapped and put under the tree. Somehow the watch got set to alarm about supper time. Imagine his sister and I talking really loud when we heard it to distract Bud. He looked like he never had a clue; but did he? I don't remember it going off the first couple of days..........

Anyway, I was a real stickler for children learning how to tell him on a regular clock before they had something digital. I suppose Bud was saying, "The big hand is on the four and the little hand is on the six" when he got this watch. IF he was telling time, I will assure you it was something like, "about 4:30" but with a digital it was 4:31 and 12 seconds....wait, 4:31 and 15 seconds. Did he have a concept of time? Who knows, he was nearly always home for supper, which was an about time.

Rachel was eleven and Bud was seven in February of 1977 when my grandfather died. Everything he owned was in Daddy's name but Dad thought I should have a piece of what was left. He sent me a check for what he thought was fair. I asked the kids what their hearts desires were. Bud wanted a 'green machine' which was a plastic three wheeler you motivated with your feet. He had worn out two Hot Wheels already. Although he had been riding a bike since four, he still liked the power and the spin out. We met his heart's desire.

Rachel wanted a watch. A digital watch with a black band and a black face with red numbers. Her wish was also met. Now, to know her, is to know someone who appreciates gifts. She was proud of her watch and liked to look at it. It was special. It happened that about the time she got it, the scout troop went on a field trip to the ambulance service. The EMT was telling us what each item was for and how the ambulance helped ill people. Now, Rachel was not avoiding his speech, she was just admiring her watch more. He asked her if she had somewhere to be at a certain time. She was embarrassed because she didn't think she was being rude; just looking at her fine watch.

Daddy had an old Hamilton that kept great time. It was in the era where you wound your watch. When it slowed up, he would take it to the jewelers for cleaning. That is what people did. Well, my mother was one who liked to dress to the nines to go out for dinner or a movie, or even the market for that matter. She liked to be seen with her family spit shined. As I might say to Tom, you need to put on your town shoes, verses stained lawn mowing shoes, mother would say to Daddy, put on your good watch. It had a leather band, no numbers, just slashes, and a diamond for 12. Heaven forbid someone might see a grimy work watch under those starched white French cuff sleeves!

I was six when I got my first watch. I may even still have it. It was silver with a expansion band. Mother was in the San and Daddy did the shopping. He took a piece of white tissue paper and sort of wrapped it like old fish bones and put it under the tree. I said, "Daddy! You didn't wrap that very well"! And he answered that it didn't matter how it was wrapped it was what was inside that counted. Like a typical Lutheran child, I was hot with shame. The box was creme colored with a piece of light aqua velvet fabric on the top. Oh it was so pretty, that is, until my brother Greg thought it would look better if his name was written in the velvet.

The other watch I received was for confirmation. It was gold with a gold band. I wore in daily until one night while in high school, I was really late coming home. I was walking and thought how am I going to explain this tardiness. So I broke the band and told them I had been looking for my watch in the grass in front of Kneale Avenue Grocery. I don't know if they bought the story but that was the end of the watch.

My family bought me a watch when I completed a year at trade school OR was that for my birthday? That part runs together. It had a gold face and a pigskin band. It was a great watch and it in the box of treasures. No, it had to be for my 44th birthday because it was my golden birthday.

Time is an interesting concept.

There is time
to get up
go to bed
go to work
go to school.
make appointments
Air travel
how long to cook something
Unless of course you prefer to just throw it against the wall.

And some families are really set on meals. Ours was breakfast at 7:30, dinner at 12:05, and supper at 5:30. Miss them and you ate cold food. Mother was a stickler about it. And I looked at the clock when she died and the song, "Suppertime" came to mind. She was "home" by 5:30. And the song goes,

"When I was but a boy in days of childhood
I used to play till evening shadows come.
Then winding down an old familiar pathway
I heard my mother call at set of sun

Come home, come home
it's supper time
the shadows lengthen fast.
Come home, come home,
it's supper time
we're going home at last.

One day beside her bedside I was kneeling,
and angel wings were winnowing through the air.
She heard her call for supper time in heaven
and now I know she's waiting for me there.

Speaking of mother. Once, when Rachel and I were visiting, it was time for crazy days in our town. We all went to Inga's Cafe for breakfast, then went to shop. We got home just before noon and she told daddy she didn't have time to cook and we went to Inga's again. Rachel napped and we rested then off again to Crazy daze. We got home about 4 and when Daddy got home, Mother said, "I have been so busy, I forgot to take meat out for supper." Where do you think we ate supper?

And now it is TIME for a nap. That is because at 4 this morning, I was stumbling into my clothes to go bass fishing. Funny thing about catching bass in the slop and pulling them through the weeds and cranking like your life depended on it, time stands still. And like anything worth remembering, you have mental play back. Rewind, unwind, reel it up, live it up.

joy

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