SLIPPIN' INTO DARKNESS

No, this is not a post about the classic War tune. It's Lou's diatribe against the annual shift to Standard Time. Before we get to his rant, reprinted from GIMME SHELTER, it might helpful to note the origin of the spring/fall time shift.  According to Time Magazine's blog, "Daylight Saving Time, one of the universe’s great mysteries, like the afterlife, or who really killed JFK...dates back to the good ole’ days when we did everything based on when we had sunlight. It got more serious when Benjamin Franklin decided to be “that guy,” suggesting we all get up earlier to save money on candles. Thanks, Benji. It was a major blow to all the unhappy, unhealthy, and unwise people who love to snooze.The practice wasn’t formally implemented until World War I, when countries at war started setting their clocks back to save on coal. Daylight Saving was repealed during peacetime, and then revived again during World War II. More than 70 countries currently practice Daylight Saving Time, because they think it saves money on electricity (in the U.S., Arizona and Hawaii have opted out). But studies show that Daylight Saving Time actually results in a one percent overall increase in residential electricity. And that it messes with sleeping patterns. Oh, and also it may cause heart attacks, according to the American Journal of Cardiology. So it’s no surprise that more and more countries are reevaluating whether to hold on to this relic from the past."

Viva Daylight Savings Time!

Lou disagrees. As he makes clear every Fall, he DETESTS the time change. A self-admitted 'boy of summer', he gets the blues when it's dark before dinner. Here's his take from our book: "Ever since I was a kid playing hoops in the schoolyard till the last shred of light, I've hated the time change. Darkness has its advantages, and even makes sense in some places like work-driven New York, where the residents look harried and the buildings grimy during daylight hours. Once old Sol goes nighty-night, however, and the shimmering lights come up, the City takes on a magical glow. Freed from their desks and cubicles, put-upon Manhattanites retreat to theatres, museums, and restaurants where they actually look...happy. It’s different in California, the land of Endless Summer where diehard surfers, hikers, and bikers relish the outdoors the way that cultists lap up Kool-Aid. Mandating premature darkness and forcing them inside where they're stuck watching reruns of Gossip Girl, is just plain wrong. If the Golden State ever mounts a secession movement, the time change will be our rallying cry."