Column | Time Shifting

Why does every modern appliance need a clock?
When the power went out the other day, I had to re-program
6,206 digital clocks. The coffee machine, TV, CD player, tennis
racquet and dog food dispenser all had to have their times reset.
Even the clock had to be changed.
Now, this is complicated enough.
That’s why when it comes to clock-changing, I’m glad I don’t live
in Indiana. Residents there have been cooky over their clocks for
more than a century now.
    And now they have just been forced to change their local clocks
once again - coffee machines and all.
    Every time a Land of Lincolnite drives across the state border we
are like Alice dropping through the rabbit hole of time.
    What’s the story?
    Time was a political football in Indiana well before the introduction
beeping digital alarm clocks.
    Put simply, the Indiana legislature is split into two factions. One
camp represents the northwestern region of the state. People
there are as likely to be Bears fans as Colts. They drive across the
border with impunity and don’t want to live in the same time zone
as the distant East Coast.
    The other faction resides on the east coast of the state near
Cincinnati and Louisville.
    On April 28, a bill backed by former White House staffer Gov. Mitch
Daniels was slugged out in the Indiana House.
    The vote was tied 49 to 49 and the last minute hesitant voter
decided against day-light savings time. That was a victory for the
east-coast faction.
    But it’s not really that simple.
    The battle over daylight savings time also split Hoosier
lawmakers into rural and urban camps.
    While the state of Indiana has already been on Eastern Standard
time, the addition of daylight savings time adds to the ‘double fast’
time.
    Then there is this: Over 100-years of bickering on time, Indiana
localities have a long-record of ignoring official edicts and
following their local time-keeping traditions.
    To be fair, Daniels says Indiana time is bad for business in a
global age. He cites difficulties in aviation, shipping and trade
practices spurred by Indiana’s eccentric clocks. What time is it in
Indiana now? I’m not sure.
    But I know this: Mitch Daniels is wrong.
    Whether driving to morning work in the sun or driving home in the
dark at 5 p.m. time is crucial to all. And it’s obvious many Hoosier
localities do not favor the Daniels course of action.
    These people should not be forced to change their clocks.
    It’s bad enough when the power goes out on your tennis racquet.

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