Cheese, look what time it is!
– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young –
The last few months, the lone office wall clock lost time, and I don’t mean just a few minutes. We could set it correctly when we left at 5 p.m., and when we’d get in the next morning at 8:30 a.m., it might say 10:30 or 2.
New batteries didn’t work, so it was assumed the only recourse was to purchase a new one. The poor thing wasn’t of the highest quality, anyway, since I bought it for $10 at the dollar store, 11 years ago.
Really, it outlived its life and beyond, considering it fell off the wall multiple times, when a customer got too zealous when closing the door on the way out. Also, when the windows are open, it creates a suction draft, so the adjoining apartment door slams shut – hard – causing the clock to abandon the nail it’s situated on with a vengeance.
After those times, the old thing didn’t stand a chance of making it to 15 years.
Well, we finally decided something had to be done, so we hopped on Amazon and looked at what choices were available. Of course, I wanted to get a Halloween-style clock and while the others graciously said it would be OK, I didn’t go through with it; it’s not fair to force my own personal wants on the rest of the gang.
I searched for a newspaper or writing-themed clock, to no avail. There were ones that had Victorian ads on them, but no just newspaper types. So, we turned to other things.
Flowers? No. Birds? No. Animals? No. Every one that might be cute, didn’t have actual numbers to tell the time and we just couldn’t handle that. So, I gave up. Eventually, the clock situation got even worse, so I again re-searched every pattern of clock I had before, determined to get a new one this time. Still zip on a style we all liked.
And then, I had an inspiration. What is the one thing that all of us in the office have in common and love wholeheartedly? CHEESE!
Yes, they do make clocks that are cheesethemed, and I found one with various sizes and kinds splashed across the front of it. To a chorus of, “Aw,” I hit order. Now, we just had to wait seven to 10 business days for delivery.
In the meantime, I think every customer who came in mentioned that the time was wrong. “Needs new batteries.”
Not quite, but after a few times of explaining to them that it was just broken and we left it hanging there, while waiting for the replacement, I got tired of skeptical looks, and just smiled and nodded.
When the cheese clock finally came, it was even cooler than I expected. We oohed and awwed over it, installed the battery, and wonder of wonders, it actually worked (you just never know, with my luck).
I was going to toss the old one, with an extra “well-done” pat, but one co-worker insisted there was nothing wrong with it, that the only reason it kept losing time, was that the battery wasn’t latched in good enough. Very well. I handed it over and she proudly hung it up in the side office, after ensuring the battery was secure.
As of this morning, at 10:30 a.m., the old clock read 5:10. Not the battery. It will now face true and eternal retirement. I’m more than grateful for our new cheese timepiece, but there’s one thing that bothers me.
Now that we actually have a clock that works – a truly unique and whimsical clock, I might add – not a soul has mentioned it. Guess I should set it incorrectly, then maybe it would get some notice.
