Darswords

When I was young, three clocks stood out in my life.

No picture appeared in the free tech stock, so I guess I need to use a thousand words instead. Glad the clock isn’t ticking.

This first one was the little mantel clock on the upright grand I learned to play on. It needed two keys. One to keep it wound up and the second to set as needed. It was a beautiful wave of wood with Roman Numerals. This clock rang out the hour, so no matter where you were in the house you would know the hour. It also rang once for the half hour. That was more confusing as that could be interpreted as 1 AM, 1 PM, the need to wind it up again, or just the half-hour—but what time was the last hour that rang? Dusting the piano and the clock was a sacred duty for me. I can still smell the Pledge and the smooth curves of the clock.

Next door to my grandmother’s house was a nice old couple. We called her ‘Grandma Dirtyfoot’ as she was always outside watering her plants. She actually saved my life when I was a newborn. Apparently, I had an enlarged thymus that blocked my breathing at 6 weeks old. I was the first grandchild on that side of the family. Nobody wanted to spank me while holding me upside down, even though that was what the doctor was telling them to do. Grandma Dirtyfoot walked up and did exactly what was needed. And then I breathed. This couple went to our church. When I was old enough to visit them, I remember their clock on the china hutch. A glass dome covered the golden twisty-turning pendulum. I guess that was what it was. I found it fascinating to watch. I recently saw that a friend of mine had one. It was pretty exciting to see. It is quite hypnotic watching that pendulum. But it is silent. Sorry,I couldn’t find a picture of that one either.😒

Both of my grandfathers were carpenters. My dad’s dad built houses. My mother’s dad built furniture. At one point, he built grandfather clocks. I remember the one in their house not only ticked and tocked, it chimed the hours, half hours, and quarter hours. It wasn’t just a monotone bell, like our piano clock. It played a little tune. It was beautiful in every way. And the real pendulum swayed back and forth. You had to pull the chains to wind it up. It looked something like the one below.

Imagine telling our grandparents to look at their phones to see what time it was. Oh, wait! UL3-1212 I think, got us the ‘Time Operator’. “At the tone, the time will be…” She’d say. And you knew she was right.

I guess I couldn’t figure out how to include the tacky word. Oh, well, maybe next time. Oh, wait! I just did! Hehehe! Now how to tuck in that other word. What was it?

By the way, I tested negative today. Chris is doing okay, just not as peppy as usual. The fires are still going but far enough away that we don’t seem to get more than the smoky, sore throat. Praying for the folks that are closer. Our poor little frontier town only has a volunteer fire department. But they are doing their best.