October 19, 2011

The alarm clock on the nightstand started playing a classical selection in HD radio high-fidelity. Since the actual clock part of the clock radio is obscured because modern technology demands that clocks use bright displays instead of the older LED displays, I squint to look at the older clock on the other side of the room. It’s 5:30 a.m. Time to get up.

I hop out of bed, do my business in the master bath, put on my bathroom and look out the window. The moon is shining brightly and I can see quite a few stars in the sky. It looks cold. The neighbor’s kitchen window is lighting up the side lawn. There is no sign of any sort of sunrise.

It’s 5:30 a.m. This is a traditional time for farmers to get up and get moving. It’s when the garbage men come by on their truck, it’s when the tractor trailer drivers start moving their goods from point A to point B along the interstate. 5:30 a.m. The start of the day for many. And because of the newish yet obscenely outdated Daylight Saving Time law, the start of the day takes place in the darkness of night.

Yesterday I mentioned in one of my blog entries that I love the magic this time of the year brings. Part of that magic is stepping out into the darkened world after a long workday and a nice supper with the family and listening to the wind rustle the trees. It is a time for peace, for meditation and for reflection on the day’s events.

But we are trying to do everything backwards.

I often hear that we have Daylight Saving Time because the farmers love it. This is a crock of manure. The farmers don’t like getting up in the dark anymore than us office dwellers do. The cows are still sleeping, the chickens are still sleeping and we should still be sleeping. I believe humans are wired to arise with the sunrise, for the most part, and getting out of bed before the sun has made an appearance for the day starts us off on the wrong foot. For many folks, myself included, this includes an unnecessarily early start to the normally-reserved-for-winter Seasonal Affectation Disorder, we start to get depressed.

All so that Americans can think that they’re enjoying a longer day.

We don’t really save energy with Daylight Saving Time anymore. We burn just as much light trying to see where we are going no matter what time of day it is and because we are trying to stay active in the after work hours, we burn more fossil fuels than if we just stayed home and enjoyed an evening with the family.

My existence in Daylight Saving Time is like living in a constant state of jet-lag, especially at this time of year when it has been extended an extra week or two. I know that my mood and disposition will be brighter once our clocks are in relative sync with the sun.

Until then, I’ll just talk about my discomfort a lot.

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