Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana, Texas

Opinion

Discussion

March 13, 2010

BELCHER: Tick, tock ...

Time change sparks fun memories of days gone by

By Bob Belcher Corsicana Daily Sun

Corsicana — As you’re reading this on a Sunday morning, I hope you remembered to “spring forward” last night ...

“Daylight Saving Time” officially began at 2 a.m. this morning, and remains in effect until Nov. 7, when we’ll “fall back” to Standard time. Fortunately, with so many “smart” electronic devices in our lives today, technology makes a lot of those changes for us. However, my old Mr. Coffee isn’t one of them, so it got the “spring forward” command last night the old fashioned way — with me trying to remember how to set the clock without messing up the desired “brew time.”

Many years ago, living on the tri-state border of California, Arizona and Nevada (Needles, Calif. to be exact), dealing with the annual forward and back scenarios required more than just setting the clocks. It required a lot of thought and planning to stay straight.

There was at the time, and I’m sure continues today, an awful lot of “trade” taking place between the city of Needles and the Mohave Valley area of Arizona, right across the Colorado River.

Arizona, however, was in the Mountain Time Zone, while California and Nevada were in the Pacific Time Zone, an hour “earlier” than Arizona. During the winter months, if you planned a trip into Arizona, or those in Arizona coming to Needles for something, the hour’s time difference was important to keep in mind for appointments and such.

But, the summer months found all three states on the same “clock” when California and Nevada “sprang forward” and Arizona didn’t. As I used to say on the radio back then “We’re synchronized for the summer months.” No more need to worry about “whose time” you are referring to in going to a movie or meeting for dinner. Life was simple, unless you were trying to watch TV.

TV? Yes, TV.

This was in the 1970s, long before the days of cable and satellite television.

Needles received its television service from stations in Phoenix and Las Vegas via a “translator” system. Some antennas high on a mountain range in Arizona picked up the signals from those two towns and retransmitted them into the “Colorado River Valley” where we lived. We had six or seven channels as I recall, and thought we were in “fat city” in the world of entertainment, being in that we were in the middle of the desert 100 miles from the nearest television station, in a big hole that prevented most TV signals from reaching us.

During the summer months, when all three states were on the same “clock,” program times were the same, with “prime time” starting at 7 (much like it is here) and the “late night” shows (Carson, in those days) starting at 10:30 p.m.

However, during the “Standard time” months of the fall and winter, when Arizona was actually an hour ahead, our TV habits in California had to change. The 5 O’Clock News — in Arizona — came on at 4 p.m. for Needlesites; the 6 O’Clock News was at 5, etc., etc.

But the really neat part was “late night” shows like Carson’s Tonight Show — six months out of the year, folks in Needles got to watch the show at 9:30 p.m.! For a Carson fan like me, who also had to get up at 4:30 in the morning everyday to go to work at the radio station — that was cool!

All that sounds quite silly, looking at it in terms of today’s world of 500 satellite channels, video on demand, pay per view, DVR and Tivo and Hulu.com, all of which allow you to watch pretty much any thing you want to, any time you want to. Technology, while making our lives easier, has also spoiled us rotten.

Thanks for allowing a little trip down memory lane as you ponder the question my lovely bride of 33-plus years still asks me each spring and fall after the “springing forward” and “falling back”...

“But what time is it really?”

                           —————

Bob Belcher is Managing Editor of the Daily Sun. His column appears on Sundays. He may be reached by e-mail at belcher@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” on this column? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com

Text Only
Opinion
  • Corsicana Government Center Mayor: Welcome discussion of alternatives

    During the City Council meeting on Feb. 7, 2012, several people spoke during the public forum asking for the opportunity to vote on whether or not to issue $2,000,000 of debt to build a new animal shelter. In a recent letter I discussed the reasons why I cannot agree to place the items on a Council agenda.

    February 10, 2012 2 Photos

  • Bill Tinsley Kingdom Preview

    My wife and I like going to the movies. We don’t like all movies. We prefer comedies; light-hearted dramas and uplifting stories.

    February 9, 2012 1 Photo

  • Linex publisher.jpg Looking ahead to spring break

    Be careful what you ask for. Sounds straightforward, right? Then why do we keep pressing?
    People tend to hang around with people that think like them, act like them, enjoy common things. Thus, most of my close friends are border-line comedians.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo

  • Dick Platt As the Super Bowl turns ...

    As I am writing this rant we are about a week and a half into the two-week hiatus between the NFL conference championship games and the Super Bowl. I am already starting to fall into my off-season depression and facing the prospect of having to watch arena football and reruns on the NFL Network.

    February 7, 2012 1 Photo

  • Gelene Simpson.jpg The Gladys We Knew

    If I had to choose someone to describe as a beautiful Christian lady, it would have been Gladys E. (Stratton) Dietel of Dawson who left this world at age 97 on Jan. 28. She had been a member of the Fellowship Sunday School Class at First United Methodist Church of Dawson, and as the teacher of that class, I learned to expect Gladys to put her whole heart into anything she undertook to do.

    February 6, 2012 1 Photo

  • Brown Deanna New09.jpg Food for thought

    If ever you’ve been one, like me, who battles their weight constantly, no doubt you’ve been on some weird diets.

    February 4, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill Tinsley Jesus’ creed

    Everyone has a creed because everyone believes something. Even atheists have a creed, which is their belief that God does not exist. A creed is simply a statement of what we believe

    February 3, 2012 1 Photo

  • Linex publisher.jpg Super Bowl fever hardly registers here, right?

    It’s the day after National Signing Day, the day of high school realignment. Coaching change talk can be found. The Super Bowl looms.
    But does it feel right?
    Living in North Texas, has getting geeked up for the Super Bowl become harder to do? Would it help if it were not 70 degrees so often lately.

    February 2, 2012 1 Photo

  • Dick Platt In the News!

    There are a couple items in the news this week I would like to report on. Now, mind you, these items are not goofy and zany like Janet Jacobs might

    January 31, 2012 1 Photo

  • Gelene Simpson.jpg Remember these signs?

    When I was growing up on the south side of Corsicana, a great many people were concerned with what they called “signs.” Some were related to animals and some were pertaining to the weather, crops and such. With Groundhog Day coming upon Thursday, Feb. 2, I am reminded of just how often signs were part of our daily lives.

    January 30, 2012 1 Photo