Pauline Baird Jones: Geologic Time?

This is not a clock. It is a rock. It exists IN time, it does not TELL time.

I had reason recently to mull on that mysterious thing called time. My mulling followed on a short exchange I had with the hubs.

Hubs: I’m not going to make it in time.

Me: If you’d quit using rocks, instead of clocks, to mark time, you’d be on time.

I get a “look.” And the hubs, inexplicably to you or I, does not rush out the door. He sits down at his computer and starts clicking things (not looking at the time, btw).

Because in his perception of time, he isn’t late. He will be “in” time. Because the hubs operates in geologic time. It’s time…plus or minus a million years. In his view, he is never late.

I used to think he did it to annoy me, but over the years, I’ve come to realize he perceives time very differently from the way I do. If you had a timer and asked me to tell you when a minute had passed, I would probably call it within a few seconds. I won’t say I’m never late (but that’s usually because I don’t want to be somewhere or I’m traveling with the hubs), but usually I’m early. Even when I try to be late, I tend to be early. It’s not a blessing.

This is a clock.

If you ask the hubs to tell you when a minute has passed…well, the way of the rock does not deal in minutes. They are too puny and insignificant. (And yes, we’ve tried watches. They DIE on his wrist. Seriously quit ticking.)

This has caused me to ponder time on many occasions. Before smart phones, one needed to do something while waiting for someone operating in a different time than one’s own. I have to wonder if it is that mulling that caused my fascination with time travel? Okay, I can’t totally blame him because I read Wrinkle in Time before I met him.

And I’ve always loved to watch even really bad time travel movies like Time Rider. Okay, I didn’t love it, but I did watch it. Cause I love time travel movies. Love the “what if” potential, the fish so far out of water story line. Biggles Adventures in Time anyone?

I enjoyed the sensation of “mini” travel through time when I went to England and was ahead of my family in time, though would so rather have done it by TARDIS. Steerage is not comfortable time travel.

I’ve gone beyond simple mulling of time. I’ve blogged about why time travel is a really bad idea. And about the Chinese government banning time travel. (That still cracks me up.) My favorite Harry Potter is The Prisoner of Azkaban. I’d so love to have a time turner. My favorite Star Trek Next Generation episodes are the time travel ones. And I’ve written five novels that involve time travel in one way or another, even though they almost made my head explode trying to sort it all out.

Despite the head exploding potential, I get a kick out of time travel Google searches. I’ve found time machines for sale (unused), books on actual time travel experiences, and that story about the Chinese government. Even National Geographic has weighed in:

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SafwXdP7ylc’]

So what about you? How do you perceive time? How does it flow for you? Are you early? Late? On time? Live with someone on “other” time? Do you like time travel? Wish you could do it? Have done it? All comments are entered into my monthly drawing for a $10 AnaBanana gift card of makes-time-pass-more-pleasantly. Winner announced the first blog post of the new month.

Perilously, and timelessly yours,

Pauline