THE LIST: ‘Darn time change’

We’re 10 days post time change as I write this, and I’m still facing adverse affects from the whole “fall back” thing where you gain an hour of sleep but add a whole lot of darkness earlier on in the evenings.

The debate has been interesting to follow in recent years for whether we should change our clocks or not. We’re in what is called standard time right now. When we spring forward next March, we’ll be back in daylight savings time.

All this began as a way to conserve candles, I’m told. Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical letter to the Journal of Paris, telling the editor that if you wake up earlier in the summertime it will economize candle usage, leading to savings.

Supporters of daylight saving time say most people want more daylight hours after their regular “9 to 5″ workday. I have no idea if Dolly Parton would agree. Anyway, some say energy consumption is also a factor in this. Some refute it really makes a difference.

There’s also a good side to it.

What I’ve noticed about it is I get more done in the early parts of the day this time of year. I get up around 6 a.m. on my deadline days, which are Monday and Tuesday. I’ve been attending an early morning Bible Study on Tuesdays, which cuts into my work time, but I’m ready to go when I get home.

The light in these early parts of the day are certainly welcome and I feel much more motivated to get things done at an earlier hour.

I know the state legislature has taken a look at whether Iowa should follow suit of Hawaii, Arizona, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands by not changing clocks at all, but it hasn’t made it through into law yet. I’m assuming some feel there are bigger fish to fry.

I’ve been in the gym at the school twice in the last week and their clock in there hasn’t been adjusted yet. It really threw me off into thinking it was much later than it was.

It will be interesting to me, going forward, whether we keep changing clocks or not. The physical act of changing them doesn’t bother me, but it takes a toll on our bodies.

I better finish the paper, but the clock on my wall says it’s 4:50, when it’s really 3:50 p.m.

Darn time change!