Back in 1980 my watch was very "old school". It did not have a battery, but had to be wound up every couple of days. Sometimes I would forget to wind it. That happened when I was in Elk Park, North Carolina. When I woke up in the Fellowship Hall of the church where they let me sleep that night, I noticed that my watch had stopped. So I re-set the watch and wound it up. In order to get the correct time, I looked all around the Fellowship Hall for a clock. I did find one on the stove, so that's what I used to set my clock.
Back out on the trail I continued to hike. Something weird happened though. I noticed that the sun was coming up early in the morning. I also noticed that it was getting dark a earlier too. That seemed strange to me. This was spring, and the days were supposed to be getting longer, not shorter! It actually took me a few days to realize what had happened. While complaining to another hiker about why it was getting dark at 7:30pm, the other hiker informed me that it was actually 8:30! I had been hiking for days with my watch set to "Standard" time instead of "Daylight Savings" time! The clock on the stove was wrong!
Imagine my surprise and chagrin to realize that I hiked several days and didn't even know the correct time! I was in the right place but had the wrong time! It just goes to show you what happens when you get away from all the modern technology (and back then we didn't have home computers, cell phones, cable tv, or microwave ovens)! Time is relative. I was able to hike many miles on the trail completely oblivious to the fact that my watch was wrong. A watch is useful, but not necessary in all cases!
Here in 2011 I was recovering from the engagement party for my niece. I ate WAY too much at the party and weighed in at 182.4 pounds this morning! Note to self: yelling and screaming at a bathroom scale does not change the numbers on the dial.
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