Into the Dark Ages

Although it has detractors, for me, the bi-annual clock game is always a good thing, both in the fall and in the spring.

In the spring, I enjoy the extra hour of daylight, and in the fall, I enjoy that extra hour of time.

Back in college, I remember objecting to bar owners closing the bar at 2:00 (Michigan's required closing time). "It's only 1:00," my friends and I objected. They insisted that the law says they must close. I've since been told that the official "move back time" is 1:59 a.m., meaning that we did, indeed, have an extra of drinking available. Of course, it meant that the "last call" would continue for an hour and twenty minutes, but that would've been okay. We just would've ordered a couple of last ones.

Things are more mellow for me these days. I enjoy the extra hour because it gives me extra time to study. This morning, I'm going to use it to finish a newspaper column that's due this Friday and to delve into Bertrand de Jouvenel's Sovereignty.

My goal is a little ambitious, though. The little kids (Tess, Max, and Meg--ages 7 months to 4 years) don't understand the clock switch, they can't read, and they don't want the extra hour of sleep. They'll be down in my study by 6:15, wanting to know why the other big people aren't up yet. They'll then start playing games and getting into all my stuff. I'll then have to stop reading and writing.

And spend that extra hour with my little children.

And be especially grateful for that extra hour in the fall.