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Split the difference and leave time alone
It always takes me a few days to readjust from either "springing forward" or "falling back." At least now the clock in my SUV is correct. I never can figure out how to reset the dang thing so I just leave it on standard time the year 'round. That reminds me of my old bachelor uncle who refused to reset his pocket watch to the "new" time. Dangling the watch in front of his unmarried sister with whom he lived, he told her that he wanted dinner (the noon time meal) by his time. She pointed at the clock on the wall, that she had reset to Daylight Saving Time, and told him he'd eat by it. Daylight Saving Time is earlier this year and longer than normal because Congress extended it from seven months to eight, through next year, to save energy. Some proponents suggest that we go to it fulltime. We have been full-time before, back in 1973 due to the oil supply crisis then. I like Daylight Saving Time for the extended daylight we have in the afternoon and I expect most people like it too. But there are some folks who don't like it. The earlier it starts the darker it is in the mornings and some school kids have a hard time readjusting and getting to school on time in the first few months of the changeover. Some students in rural areas have to catch buses before 7 a.m. and it can be mighty dark. I've always thought the better alternative to changing the clocks a full hour in either direction would be to simply split the difference- change the time 30 minutes and leave it alone. That would help during the winter months when it can still be dark at 6 or 7 in the mornings but it shouldn't make enough difference to adversely affect evening daylight in the summertime. I think I will write Congressmen Jo Bonner and Artur Davis with the suggestion.
Jim Cox is editor and publisher of The Clarke County Democrat.
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