Time to check out ‘Striking Beauty’ at Morven in Princeton
You know what I miss? The ability to be up to seven minutes late.
Remember back in ancient times, when you told someone you’d meet them at 10? And you showed up at 10:05? The person couldn’t even be mad, not for one second. And if they tried …
DUDE >> Dude, you said you’d be here at 10! It’s 10:05!
ME >> Is it? Crap, sorry, I’ve got 10 on the dot right now. {shows watch}
Yes: Back before satellites were beaming the correct atomic time down to our cell phones, we each “had” our own time, and as a result, we were less bound by time. Basically, we all had an extra seven minutes whenever we needed it. To be clear, you couldn’t show up a halfhour late; that was, and remains, rude. But two minutes? Five minutes? Seven minutes? No problem. (For the record, that’s the cut-off. Seven minutes. We all agreed upon this number back in the day. Eight minutes? You’re late, bugger off.)
Ah, to have the luxury of those seven minutes again …
Of course, back before watches, when all we had was a neighborhood sun dial or whatever, I suppose people just showed up whenever the heck they felt like it. That must’ve been … difficult.
DUDE >> You said you would be here when the sun was over there, and now it’s all the way over here!
ME >> Ah, my bad. Got caught up leeching some boils.
At some point — and I really don’t feel like doing the research on this — clocks and watches and the like were invented, and I’m guessing it was a rich man’s game. If you were poor, you were still depending on the sun (or whatever, again: Not researching). But if you had money, you could buy a watch, or — if you were really flush — a clock.
Like the clocks currently on display at Morven in Princeton, celebrating tall case clocks — all made in New Jersey — between the years 1730 and 1830. Called “Striking Beauty,” the clocks are scattered among five galleries, there’s over 50 of them, you can see how they work, and — and this is coming from me — it’s a pleasant way to spend a little (wait for it) time.
“Morven is proud to continue its tradition of celebrating and documenting New Jersey’s cultural heritage with the largest New Jersey clock show ever,” said Elizabeth Allan, Deputy Director & Curator. “New Jerseyans won’t want to miss this opportunity to view so many rare and special clocks in one place.”
I mean, she ain’t wrong. This is probably the only time you’ll have get the chance to check out so many clocks at the same — I’m going to do it again — time. (And fear not: All the clocks are set to different times, so there’s not an hourly cacophony of dinging and donging.)
Did I think I was going to enjoy this? I mean, I don’t know. But I did. They’re freaking cool, and knowing all these clocks were A) made by hand and B) made in New Jersey is pretty neat.
But yeah — looking at these clocks, and recognizing how time is perhaps the greatest influencer of our life (“Do you have time? I don’t have any time. Time is of the essence. Can’t be a slave to time. What time is it? Time to make the donuts.”) — it does make you stop and wonder, if only for a moment, why?
Maybe our long-ago ancestors were lucky when it came to this little sliver of existence. Time rambled on back then instead of marching in unison like a North Korea military parade. Ding-dong.
Striking Beauty runs through February 18, 2024. It’s worth an hour of your — one more and we’re done — time.