Once I Traveled through Time

Once I traveled through time.

Slipping past years in a blink of the eye,

I awoke to a world asleep.

What strangeness I did find.

Foundations forgotten or left behind,

A Potemkin village made of lives.

Strangers unto themselves.

Beings advanced in years, but not in life,

Denying their very lineage.

Children of Deity.

Living an existence devoid of light.

In a cell of their own construction.

The sun still rose and set.

But having closed their eyes to shun the truth,

They had since forgotten how to see.

The light beckoned in vain.

Unwilling to endure the sight without,

They now hid in the darkness within.

Ignorance was easy.

An imagined world: reality,

Where whatever one wants can be right.

But it was all a facade.

Lies would not corrupt the truth.

Darkness could not shut out light.

These unhappy visions seared my soul,

And I saw the truth in the light of day.

Ignorance was not bliss.

The youth were confused and wandered lost,

While the adults denied them their knowledge.

Surely the end was near.

Yet there were some few who held on still,

Armed and armored with knowledge, light, and truth.

The valiant stood as one.

They held their lights high, ne’er to be hid,

Remembering from whence and whom they came.

 They knew no confusion.

Their destination was sure and true,

And they marched ever forward, toward their goal.

The truth had kept them free.

These happy visions enlarged my soul,

As I realized that all hope was not lost.

Those who wished could be saved.

I awoke in a world asleep,

And vowed never again to shut my eyes.

I would not lose more time.

Daylight Savings Time: The rest of the story

Spring forward, fall back. That’s how I was taught to remember it. Oh how deceptive those terms are.

Spring forward –

All light, airy and worry-free, it sounds like we’re making some real progress here; getting ahead in life, taking an extra turn in Monopoly, skipping past opponents in Candyland, or nearing the finish in that never-ending game Chutes and Ladders. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is much darker – depressing in fact. The reality is… you LOSE. That’s it, lose; not win. We’d call you a loser, but that term isn’t PC, so we will call you winning challenged. And just what did you lose oh winning challenged one? You lost an hour. Where did it go? Did you get anything in exchange? No, sir, you lost. Go straight to jail, do not pass GO, and do not collect $200.

Fall back –

Just the opposite here – fall back, as in retreat, as in you are being defeated. Your army is losing. Men are dying. Or even if it’s not as bad as death, you’re still trying to get away. Run away, little boy, the bullies are coming for you. Your hair looks like it could use a swirly and they found a toilet with your name on it. There is nothing pleasant here at all. Or is there? When we fall back, we actually get a GIFT! We are given an extra hour.

“Excuse me, sir, I’d like to purchase that set of 24 hours on the top shelf there. That should be enough to get me through until Monday…”

“Great, and as a one-time special offer, with today’s purchase we are throwing in one extra hour, free of charge!”

“Wow! I feel like I’ve won the lottery! I’ve never won anything before in my life.”

“So, what are you going to do with your extra hour?”

“I’m going to Disneyland!”