Late in August of 1974 my parents decided I needed a watch to help guide me home from my many adventures.
This watch was supposed to help me understand that it was time to reign in my adventure and head home in time for dinner.
It was a dandy of a watch and was pretty good at telling time…when I actually remembered to wind it or even take it along with me.
I did not like wearing it around my wrist. Instead I kept it in my pocket and pulled it out to take a peek every once in a while.
It actually worked for a good month, despite going through the wash several times.
Now, this watch never really TOLD me the time, as it had no speaking voice or buzzer.
Yet I found myself despising it when at a glance it reminded me that I was late by a good half hour.
I can’t tell you how many times a curse word was formed on my 10-year-old mouth upon noticing the real time.
I grumbled it as if it was a living thing that was forcing me to quit a great adventure in progress and get myself home.
Upon my late arrival home I was always greeted with the same line of questioning.
A typical explanation was that the watch itself was to blame.
What good was it if I had to waste my adventure time by continually staring at it?
I’m quite sure my line of reasoning did not line up with my mother’s.
But the fact was, prior to carrying that watch I was never late for any function—lunch, dinner or otherwise.
I had never measured out my time limits before I had the watch.
But when I started carrying it, when giving permission to go to a friend’s house or to the beach, my parents would add, “but only for an hour.”
Did that hour include my round-trip travel time, or just the time I actually spent at my destination?
I often argued in my own defense that the clock started ticking when I arrived at a location.
The rationale saved me from punishment.
I may have cheated time, but that was the only cheating I ever did.
I do believe that my parents’ motive for buying the watch was to help me become more responsible, when in actuality it just made me more creative with my time limits.
As I grew older I decided not to carry a watch.
Instead, I arrive at my destination a bit earlier than expected and enjoy my time there.
Mitch Lee, Adirondack native & storyteller, lives at Inlet. ltmitch3rdny@aol.com