Give Me My Hour Back

J. Kevin Tumlinson

I wasn't going to harp on this. I fought it, in fact, to the last second. But now…

It happened as I slept. I woke up Sunday with one less hour than I went to bed with. Most of the country did, in fact. And why? Daylight Saving Time!

Now I know the rationale behind the whole thing. Because of our position on the globe we get more daylight in the summer than in the winter. So the idea behind DST is to move one hour from the morning to the afternoon, thus giving us more time to enjoy the sun.

Personally, I'd rather sleep in.

In researching this topic I found a web site that "illuminated" the whole subject for me (I took a class on "Bad Puns" in college). You can play along by checking out http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/. On this web site, there are a lot of interesting facts about the phenomenon, including the grammatically correct way to write the term (no "s" at the end of "Saving." Who knew!).

According to the site the majority of people in the U.S. (about 69%) actually like Daylight Saving Time. But let me ask you - when was the last time you heard anyone say a good thing about it? Who likes losing an hour?

Plus there's all the inconvenience. Twice a year we have to scour our homes, looking for every little gadget, gizmo and device that has to have its clock reset. It's usually June before I find the last of them. And because I usually miss one or two clocks around the house, I almost always end up being late for something. Usually a couple of times.

I hate being late.

Actually there are some legitimate health issues that evolve from the time change. I know that I get a little grumpy when my sleep pattern has to be adjusted, but what if I had some sort of sleep disorder? Sleep Apnea, for example, is a problem for millions of Americans, and it can be a pretty serious health risk - even leading to death in some cases. Sleep patterns for sufferers of this condition are essential. During Daylight Saving Time, there can often be a lot of stress involved in adjusting to a new sleep pattern. It's tough on just about everyone, but for some people it can be pretty serious.

I can spout facts about this all day, but the truth is I just want my hour back. I hate lying awake until a late hour and then waking up groggy and grumpy the next day. I also hate having to set a million clocks, watches, microwaves and VCRs. So now that we've adjusted the clocks, and now that we're starting to get into the rhythm of the time change, let's lock it down! Who says we have to change it back later? Let's stick with it "as is" from now on!

Or better yet, give me my hour back!

J. Kevin Tumlinson is a writer and a schoolteacher living in Lake Jackson, TX. His hour is up.