No time like the present
Psssst … Have some time to spare?
Time is ripe for this opinion piece on Welland Hydro’s Canada Day gift to the city. I think it too important to let go by without editorial comment from the hometown newspaper.
As we know by now, the “special gift” as it was described in a pre-event media release, was a clock. The official presentation took place mid-morning July 1 outside city hall. It was the perfect choice. A clock has timeless appeal. Not only that, but it’s high time one is out there in front of city hall, eh?
One does not have to be a history buff to appreciate the significance of the gift. But maybe it helps.
The clock was a gift to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday — our sesquicentennial; Welland’s centennial year of incorporation as a city in 1917; and Welland Hydro’s own centennial, 2013. Regarding the last of these, you know the saying — better late than never. From Grade 9 Latin class, a lifetime ago, “Tempus fugit” — Time flies. Does it ever!
Being retired, more or less, I have time on my hands to spare. But I am not writing this to kill time. Nor is it to waste time, there is a purpose to it.
Trust me, my intention had been to stop by city hall the morning of the top-secret presentation to see what it was about, scribble out some notes and write this week’s column. But after a 7:45 a.m. visit to the market and a few chores following, time got away from me. I was pressed for time. I lost track of it. Being on-site on time for the unveiling would have been a race against time. I would have lost.
But, time to end this levity, enough of it. In all seriousness, the city and We the People need to be appreciative of this truly timely gift. This handsome time piece’s role is more than that of reminding folks of the time of day. It is a marker in time — here we are, 100 years into our history as a city and where do we go from here? For the time being, this is a rhetorical question.
Having had some down time over the holiday weekend, I read the online account of the unveiling ceremony and I’m glad that I did. Here’s one reason why.
I found it interesting that our clock not only can play 200 preprogrammed traditional songs, such as Christmas music and O Canada, but others can be programmed into it as well.
If it’s not already in there, I hope one of them will be Chicago’s Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Picture this: in next to no time, someone standing nearby our clock is sure to check his or her wristwatch.
Hopefully though, it won’t be someone who wouldn’t give you the time of day if you asked for it.
Hey, this has been fun, more fun than being on scene last Saturday morning, jotting down notes for a column and being a witness to history at the same time. But now, time to sign off. Time is running short, my deadline looms and I won’t be late, I can’t be late.
Catch you another time. — Lifelong Welland resident Joe Barkovich has spent much of that time watching people. He continues to be amazed seeing the best and not so best in us, but that’s life. Get a glimpse of how Joe sees our part of the world in his weekly column. He can be reached at whererailsandwatermeet@gmail.com.