Going Inkless

For years, I was the one who came straight back to work the day after Christmas, New Year and Thanksgiving, too.  There were things that needed doing, work that didn't stop just because the rest of the world was taking a break.  Somebody had to do those ceaseless tasks, and if it wasn't me, one of my coworkers might have to give up holiday plans to come in and work.  So, I enjoyed the days off while the library was closed, but dutifully returned as soon as the doors opened again.  This year, the work in my new position is not so time-sensitive, at least not at this time of the year.  Taking an extra day after Christmas would have little impact on my department; so I planned to join the ranks of those who disappeared from the workplace and spent an extended holiday at home.  In truth, it was only one extra day off, the Friday between Christmas and the weekend, but the timing worked out that there would be five whole days to spend in merriment with the ones I...

"How do you expect to come loose in time when you pay so much attention to the clock," I've been known to say. Usually, I say this jokingly to my husband when he grumbles about coming in a minute or two off his estimate on some matter of timing. He's got a very good sense of it, and misjudgments of time don't happen too often. The inferences in my comment are three: A. Coming unglued and sliding around randomly in time as we know it would be desirable. B. The things we use to gauge time, the clocks and watches and calendars, have power over time itself. C. I am somehow less encumbered by the concept than most, and I am in a position to offer advice on it. These are only partly true. While coming loose in time might seem like a scary proposition to most, you would have to admit it probably wouldn't be boring. Imagine visiting any point in your life or in time as a whole, times from your past or future, other eras in history. You could revisit gran...