Sorry for being late, folks, but the time change this morning really threw me back more than a measly hour. Many Americans complain about switching clocks back, or forward when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends. I suspect this is a common protest in all places that use DST, and probably even those that don’t but need to know what time it is in the places that do. For instance, if you’re in Western Australia and follow the markets in New York City, your schedule just got shifted back an hour because of our time change. There is no time change in Western Australia. And heaven help everyone who now has to figure out what time it is in Arizona and parts of Indiana that do not participate in DST. In my opinion, it’d be great if we didn’t have to go off of DST.
DST is not a new or solely American problem. The ancient Roman’s used different scales in their water clocks for different months to reflect a flexible schedule. Germany and Austria-Hungary first used DST on April 30, 1916, to conserve coal during the Great War. America adopted the practice in 1918. Next year we can throw a centennial party for DST!
Whether it does what it was intended to do, save money by burning less fuel for electricity, we’re now in Standard Daylight Time until March 2018. Enjoy these shorter days.
Two historical anniversaries to note for this week. Neither of these is mentioned in my forthcoming book, Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure. Maybe I can do a flash fiction piece for a contest and expand Bill’s world. On November 1, 1966, the New Orleans Saints became the sixteenth NFL team. Forty-nine years ago today, Richard Nixon was elected President of the United States of America.
* * ***
What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book I have my nose in. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I finished reading Mourner’s Bench by Sanderia Faye. My review is on Goodreads. I’m now reading Forever Vacancy, an anthology. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.