The Keeper Of The Clocks

Time was once just a clock to me
And life was just a book a biography
Success was something you just had to be
And I would spend myself unknowingly
- John Prine
A Good Time

Growing up, my grandparents had a mantle clock at their house.

I was with MyLovedOne the day she bought it. It could be that the reason I had a special feeling for this clock is that she listened to my opinion about which one to get.

No, she didn't ask for my opinion. But, she did listen. I can't even be sure the one she got was the one she liked most. It could be that she got it because I liked it. That wouldn't surprise me.

Today, that clock sits on the mantle in my home.

I don't know if buying a clock from an online store would have exactly the same effect. It's certainly possible. Kids today, I think, can identify as much with shopping online as we, from a previous generation, could going to the store with our parents or grandparents.

If it was indeed that her listening to my opinion was the act that made me feel connected I can't say. If so, sitting a grandchild on your lap when you log in to look at Howard Miller clocks wouldn't be that far removed.

There's an interesting entry on mantle clocks in the clocks blog.

TheSpecialOne enjoys interior design. It struck me reading this blog that the post references a clock serving as the focal point for a room. That's the same thing she was telling me, as the conversation wound around to how she should redecorate for me.

Maybe I'm...not so attached to that clock afterall.