Long before time ruled our modern life, dicing it into seconds, minutes and hours; commuting, train schedules, appointments, lunch dates and meetings. Before clocks became standard household items, before wrist watches, pocket watches and bell towers, even further into the past when church bells and the call to prayers became the increments to measure our life by, our ancestors measured their time by day and by night. Time as they experienced it was a matter of distance. “Today I will plow the field.” “At dawn I will start and at dusk I will stop.” “After plowing twenty rows I will eat lunch then finish the final twenty rows and come to dinner.” Life was measured in distance. On board, except for the chiming of the ships clock the crew slipped into this strange and unfamiliar way of living. They would check the chart to see how much distance we covered. They would ask what I estimated our time of arrival was. Those who started the voyage standing watch in the dead of night were now rewarded with an evening and morning watch. For the crew there was ritual and watches. Four hours on then eight hours of rest, marked by three well cooked meals and a variety of snacks, personal hygiene time reading time, movie time (I owned a large collection of movies) and the occasional strike of fish on the fishing line we had been trolling with across the Atlantic. For me as the Captain I was in a hurry. I want to plow the field before noon. I have a greater distance to travel. There was not a moment to lose. I am the force of commerce. Time is money. Distance is an obstacle to be conquered.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Captain of Time
By Scott Dodgson
Long before time ruled our modern life, dicing it into seconds, minutes and hours; commuting, train schedules, appointments, lunch dates and meetings. Before clocks became standard household items, before wrist watches, pocket watches and bell towers, even further into the past when church bells and the call to prayers became the increments to measure our life by, our ancestors measured their time by day and by night. Time as they experienced it was a matter of distance. “Today I will plow the field.” “At dawn I will start and at dusk I will stop.” “After plowing twenty rows I will eat lunch then finish the final twenty rows and come to dinner.” Life was measured in distance. On board, except for the chiming of the ships clock the crew slipped into this strange and unfamiliar way of living. They would check the chart to see how much distance we covered. They would ask what I estimated our time of arrival was. Those who started the voyage standing watch in the dead of night were now rewarded with an evening and morning watch. For the crew there was ritual and watches. Four hours on then eight hours of rest, marked by three well cooked meals and a variety of snacks, personal hygiene time reading time, movie time (I owned a large collection of movies) and the occasional strike of fish on the fishing line we had been trolling with across the Atlantic. For me as the Captain I was in a hurry. I want to plow the field before noon. I have a greater distance to travel. There was not a moment to lose. I am the force of commerce. Time is money. Distance is an obstacle to be conquered.
Long before time ruled our modern life, dicing it into seconds, minutes and hours; commuting, train schedules, appointments, lunch dates and meetings. Before clocks became standard household items, before wrist watches, pocket watches and bell towers, even further into the past when church bells and the call to prayers became the increments to measure our life by, our ancestors measured their time by day and by night. Time as they experienced it was a matter of distance. “Today I will plow the field.” “At dawn I will start and at dusk I will stop.” “After plowing twenty rows I will eat lunch then finish the final twenty rows and come to dinner.” Life was measured in distance. On board, except for the chiming of the ships clock the crew slipped into this strange and unfamiliar way of living. They would check the chart to see how much distance we covered. They would ask what I estimated our time of arrival was. Those who started the voyage standing watch in the dead of night were now rewarded with an evening and morning watch. For the crew there was ritual and watches. Four hours on then eight hours of rest, marked by three well cooked meals and a variety of snacks, personal hygiene time reading time, movie time (I owned a large collection of movies) and the occasional strike of fish on the fishing line we had been trolling with across the Atlantic. For me as the Captain I was in a hurry. I want to plow the field before noon. I have a greater distance to travel. There was not a moment to lose. I am the force of commerce. Time is money. Distance is an obstacle to be conquered.
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