Watch in, Watch out

You want to know what people really take for granted? Their watches.

There are people with watches and there are people without watches. People without watches wear watches sometimes, as jewelry or just as a temporary thing, but that doesn't make them People With Watches. I'm a man with a watch, but I never really realized it until I stopped being one.

Sometime (I don't know what time. I really don't) during that last week, on the INS Relax, I, well, wanted to see what the time was, so I checked my watch. I think I froze in that position - looking at the freckles on my left wrist - for about a minute, not quite comprehending what was wrong. It becomes more than a second nature; it becomes a first nature. You look at your wrist, and the information - what time it is - eventually penetrates your mind. You strip a Man With a Watch of his watch and ask him what time it is. He'll look at his wrist. He will keep looking at his wrist whenever you ask him, no matter how long he's been without his watch.

Coming to think of it, I've named my computer; I've named my closet; I've named some of my shirts, but I never named my watch. It's just a part of your body, for all practical matters. And it was gone.

I needed a new one, and I needed it bad. When I was back to earth I made a stop between the shuttle base and Destination at the local mall, and walked into a clock shop.

You know something? Clock stores has lots of clocks in them. That wasn't very surprising, actually. Anyway, I didn't want any of those trendy Swatches, or any other over-designed or steel-plated watch, made especially suitable for skydiving, snowboarding or leaping from high buildings without a parachute for no special reason (if you believe those TV commercials). All I wanted is your regular digital Casio 50m water resistant. They didn't have it. They said they'll send someone to the storage bin and fetch one be back in 10 minutes. I waited.

I can't tell how long it really was, since I didn't have a watch, but those 10 minutes seemed to last very long. I had nothing to do but watch watches.

Eventually, I thought those 10 minutes were taking far too long. I was becoming afraid I'd miss my bus. "Um, excuse me" I said to the seller, sounding really silly, "May I ask you a funny question?"

"Sure" he said.

"What is the time?" I asked.

He laughed. Then he showed me his wrist watch. It was 12:09. What do you know.