I’m grumpier than usual about Daylight Saving Time this year. Maybe it’s just because this has been a hard year, and I’m tired, so I’m just grumpier than usual in general. But I’ve been getting increasingly annoyed by this twice-yearly time change for a while now.
It didn’t used to bother me much. Oh sure, it was really annoying when I was a kid and it got dark at like 4 p.m. (I lived in New Jersey), so if I had to take either of the late busses home from school because of after-school extracurriculars, I had to walk home from the bus stop in the dark. And I’ve always resented losing that hour of sleep every spring.
But mostly, it was a blip. Now, however, I find it increasingly annoying because the more I’ve learned about it over the years, the more I realize this is a legacy system we should have jettisoned years ago, but momentum (and lobbying) carries us ever forward.
For an interesting read on the history of Daylight Saving Time, click here.
Now, I’m not going to comment on the politics of Daylight Saving Time. I don’t care if we switch to Standard time permanently or Daylight time permanently or split the difference. The trick is permanent! Stop moving my clock around.
I know, I know, first-world problems. And I recognize the irony of wanting a change to stop the clock from changing.
See, I’m not opposed to change. Not at all. A lot of things need to change. Change can be a powerful force for good. But once a pattern is set, we as humans can have a hard time making those needed changes.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes about historical precedent and the human resistance to changing it quite often. Her latest story on that topic, “Alien Ball,” is available free this week on her website.
Here’s the synopsis:
Frank loves basketball. His long career covering basketball puts him in high demand. His purist views on the game well-known.
So, when the Ashtenga seek to form an Ashtenga/Human League for basketball, the Interglobal Sports Network wants Frank to give voice to the anti-alien point of view.
Everyone, including Frank, thinks they know what point he will argue.
But what Frank discovers might change his views…on everything.
Chosen as an Asimov’s Readers Choice Award finalist, “Alien Ball” looks at the history (and future) of basketball from a fresh new perspective.
Click here to read this story as part of Kris’ Free Fiction this week. You can also buy the story for future reading here.
One thing that will never change is the power of great fiction.
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer, working mother, and brain tumor survivor.