Time is a mystery. Clocks seem decietful. I am obselete.
For years I navigated time by bells. In ancient academia bells rang when it was time to change class. Then I switched to using the students' time. When it was time for them to go they told me. Retired, I rely on John and the fall of light.
Now I find time can be encapsulated on a telephone. Well telephones don't really exist anymore, but hand held devices can do anything but make ice cream and there will be an app for that soon. John moves his calendar around at will, his own will and the will of others. He fills in time with colour," blocking it off." (I have just returned from yelling at Winnie in french. It seems to impress her and keeps me in colourful vocabulary.)
Now "blocking off time" isn't hard. I have a clear visual on the calendars. The problem is the nights. Say I plan to go overseas, or rather John does. I will fly here or there and arrive at some odd hour all of which is fine by me. Other people ask me about the time though and I can't find the nights. LOOK at your calender. There's a day block with a number in it but where's the night? Is it the line between blocks ? When I ask John about this he goes nuts and lectures me. The lecture always muddies the waters but do explain why my students were so keen on leaving my class.
I find the "new" use of military time for all of Europe comforting, but not really instructive. If I've got it right, midnight is 0001 or 1000. Then we procede to 1026 which is midnight plus 26. Noon is 1200 or 0012. My question is when do we subtract?
Of course I navigate as I always have without a bell. I stand and count under my breath. I check to see if it's day or night. I use my fingers in a futile effort to sort everything out. A kind person comes up to me and says,"Are you having a problem?" I say I don't have a problem but could this person tell me the time. Generally the person asks where I'm going, takes my hand and leads me to the train, bus, airline or taxi stand. Most of them watch so see that I get on without problems.
If I invest in a fancy phone will it have an app for me?
The Road to Zimbabwe - memories of travel & romamce by John & Nancy Blignaut
Finally! Here is how to order the book.Go to www.lulu.com and type 'The Road to Zimbabwe' into the search bar on that page. When you see the book you can hit 'Preview' to see the first few pages. The alternative way to go to the book is to copy this URL into your browser: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-road-to-zimbabwe/9760834
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