Category: The Time Syndrome

Time has perplexed most of us at one time or another in our lives. Why does the world keep changing day after day? Will our love and life last forever? Will I be late for the meeting? What time is it on Venus? John Ross, too, has wondered about many…

Years ago a big up-to-date supermarket opened not far away from where we lived. Checking out the new store turned out to be a somewhat uncanny experience for me. When I stepped up to its glass door, “something” seemed to know that I was there and intended to enter. A…

Suddenly I became aware that I wasn’t really reading any more. My eyes had closed and my rudderless brain was drifting off to nowhere. Enough of that! It was four-thirty. Time to get out of my study and do something else for a while. Maybe give Kay a hand. Heading…

Setting the table for breakfast, when I tipped the plates the sunlight shining through the big window bounced reflections onto the walls and ceiling. Porridge was still cooking while Kay finished dressing and tidying up. Eventually the minute-minder on the kitchen stove sounded off with its dull, rattly bing! ……

A diary is supposed to be a kind of historical chronicle describing personally significant events which happened during the day just passed. However, merely describing what occurred on a certain occasion doesn’t really say much in depth about time. Time is far more than the day-by-day experiences of a single…

October 17, 1929 Time can change a little boy into a ten-year-old. Today I became one of those. Mom had a dandy birthday supper for me with spare ribs and butter tarts – my favorites – and a big chocolate layer cake. Jim and Grant were here and so was…

June 25, 1930 The bell tower at the fire hall is the tallest building in town. It stands apart from all the stores, just off Main Street and across a small park from the railway station. Unless there is a strong wind in the opposite direction, the bell in that…

Thinking that raking up leaves would be good exercise, I raised the big front door of the garage and went in. I dropped the rake with a clatter into the garden cart and backed out of the garage. As I was turning to go over to the south side of…

Reflecting on my afternoon, I smile ironically at Jack’s firm belief that the cause-and-effect relation satisfactorily explains time and everything that happens. He knows of course that if a ball heading in a certain direction hits another ball standing in its path head-on, the one that was at rest when…

It was breakfast time. Kay put down her cup. “Something wrong?” My head was in my hands, my elbows on the table. I straightened up and looked at her with a despairing grimace. “Marie’s idea that I should use a diary format to write about time did help me to…