You can be forgiven for having overlooked this, in all the excitement of the Dow falling below 0 and Rihanna maybe having to testify against Chris Brown, but Daylight Savings Time starts tonight.
In a tradition dating all the way to 2007, we turn our clocks ahead one hour before bed. (Remember: “Spring forward, fall back” — though “Spring back, fall forward” makes sense too.) Back when Ryan Seacrest was announcing the first “American Idol” songwriting contest — those were the days! — we sprang forward in early April, right around the time spring was, um, springing.
But in today’s crazy, mixed-up, the-old-rules-no-longer-apply world, we lose an hour (and don’t forget to check those smoke detectors!) a few days after the biggest snowfall of the year.
I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but I have yet to see one crocus sprout. I have not heard a single bird tweet. Earth to the U.S. Naval Observatory: We don’t even have a lot of daylight to save.
Experts say we’ve gotten into our economic mess because we’re an impulsive society. We bought things we could not afford, then put off paying for them again and again because we wanted everything now. We must grow up and put away our childish things, President Obama says. It is time to delay gratification.
It’s the same thing with Daylight Savings Time. I don’t mind a few more weeks of 6:15 p.m. dusk — particularly because dawn now breaks before 6 a.m. I like that early morning freshness. I’m not yet ready to bust out the barbecue.
My politics may lean left, but when it comes to this issue, I’m as traditional and conservative as they come. Daylight Savings Time belongs in April, just the way God created it.
UPDATE: Hey, nobody told me it was going to be 68 degrees today. I did hear a bird twitter. I am ready for Daylight Savings Time — bring it on! My bad.
