Tales of Time

The paper calendar is on all the “declutter your home” lists nowadays. Apparently, using your computer, phone or other digital device is more efficient. I can see their point, but I still use good’ole paper. I remember making a trip to the bank to pick up a free one, hoping for tractors or puppies. Or getting one in the mail from an organization we had donated to, usually scenic landscapes. The after Christmas sale was always a good spot to pick up a funny one for the kitchen. I still use a planner, too. Filling out a planner and calendar also gives me something to look forward to without looking at a screen. I can see what excitement lies ahead! I tried the cellphone calendar app, but I missed my colored pens and writing things down. Turning the page on the calendar is cathartic for me. It symbolizes a transition in time. I admit we have a digital family calendar, and I do my best to update my things on there. I see the efficiency of a group link. There are moments it feels a little like a group text, if ya’know what I mean. I enter something, then someone else enters the same thing, then the other user changes the time for the event, but only on the first one, not realizing there was a second one…yes, we figured it out. I am adapting.

Calendars have been a part of civilization for centuries. In more primitive times people measured days as ‘dawn to dawn’ and used the moon phases and the movement of the sun to determine a period of time. I remember learning Julius Caesar was advised by astronomers to determine the length of a solar year and divide it up, taking into consideration the weather changes. The astronomers determined a solar year was 365 ¼ days. That pesky ¼ is why we have leap years. This new system replaced the Roman calendar. People have always marked time in one way or another.

Think about the nostalgia of the calendar over the past 100 years. The beautiful artwork, local advertising, and moon phases can be found in antique shop sale bins now. Then came the pinup calendars, a color painting for each month, later to become color photography with endless possibilities in shape and size. I know I have said more than once, “Is it a full moon?” referring to how things are going, and then I check my calendar.

Calendars are like a lot of other paper things – it is a matter of preference. Like books vs. Kindles, or newspaper vs. online media, there are pros and cons to each. I prefer an actual book, though they do take up more space. And I prefer a newspaper over on-screen media, though this can be tough. I’m not a 24/7 news girl anymore. I like a buffer before reading about the day’s events. I feel like the culture of immediate reporting online regularly lacks the necessity to flush out the true story, differences in on-scene narrative and it certainly doesn’t allow officials to respond in an appropriate time frame in most cases. The rush in reporting can cause unintended errors and often public discord before the true story is released. I am old school. Give people time to do their job. Sometimes the situation resolves. Sometimes it escalates. Only time will tell.

Your Friend,

B