March 6, 2023 – Millarville, Alberta
There is an affliction going around. Everybody I know has contracted tempus fugit; I have a very serious case of it myself.
Now that Covid is under control, we need to concentrate our efforts on this new pandemic. The disease I am referring to translates from Latin as time flies. Most people over fifty have the neurological disorder, which makes the perception of time grow shorter. And it is getting worse, time compaction speed increases exponentially as we age. Monthly calendar pages drift by like falling leaves.
We have to do something about this! The destination we are all headed toward, at a recklessly accelerating rate of speed, is not a place we want to be. There has to be a solution.
It wasn’t always like this. When we were children, the days leading up to Christmas seemed excruciatingly long. The anticipation of gift opening made hours and days drag on and on. Will grandma ever get here? Turkey has been cooking all day, when will we eat?
Russell and Brad – Christmas 1961
Now, I put the Christmas decorations in storage on the first Tuesday after New Year, and dig them out again on Friday, or so it seems.
Summer holidays were glorious when we were young – endless days of sunshine and long nights filled with stars, campfires, and fireflies.
I didn’t bother taking my gloves out of the truck this spring, knowing that I would be looking for them again, all to soon.
My mom told me once; “Don’t wish your life away.” I was complaining about how long it was taking to graduate, to get my driver’s licence, or something of the sort. Her words stuck with me. (Don’t get me wrong, I never took Mom’s advice, I just remember her saying that.)
Mom, giving Kevin the same advice – he never listened either.
Since I was fifteen years old, I have been in a terrific hurry to achieve every milestone. I have a lot of milestones to show for it, but I burned up a big part of a lifetime gathering those rocks. I need to slow this rolling stone down, a lot, and soon.
These two photos were taken 30 years apart, or was it 30 days?
Obviously, an hour is still sixty minutes, a week has seven days, and there aren’t any less months in a year, so the compression of time must be a problem of perception. And perceptions can be changed.
I have a few ideas I am working on to slow the passage of time, but I could use your help. I intend to write a few pieces on the topic, any advice you have is appreciated.
What is your remedy for …
…Tempus Fugit?
I will post our collective findings on Saturday.
I wonder if people in prison have the same problem. I can’t imagine time flying while waiting for parole. Having said that, committing a crime and being locked up seems like a drastic technique to slow time down. There has to be a better way.
Marshall and Riley in Alcatraz – 2012.
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Gervais
Tarda tempus cum amicis
Russ
profunda cogitationes
Keith MacDonald
I am old and all I have left is time. I don’t mean time to live, I mean free time. Time to fill. Time to kill until time kills me. It’s due to all the rum and cokes I’ve had – they carmelize me. If a man lives long enough, he gets prostate cancer. If he lives longer, his brain starts to disintegrate. I can jiggle, I can dance, but now days the last few drops always go in my pants. When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected. It’s probably my age that tricks people into thinking that I’m an adult. But it’s weird being the same age as old people. We continue to exist as long as someone remembers us.
Russ
There are some kernels of wisdom there. I expected no less from a man so laureled. (One clarification, do you “jiggle”, or juggle? Or jiggle while you juggle?)
Keith MacDonald
I never jiggle while I juggle – too messy.
Rhonda
Can’t wait to hear more of your investigation into this, Russ. Great writing as always!!
Russ
Thanks Rho. I will let you know if we discover a Time Machine.
Tyler P
Maybe this is old news, but I never really tried to figure out why time seemed to fly by faster the older you got, but a co-worker mentioned to me that life is a fraction; when you are 5 years old waiting for Christmas to come and mom puts out the decorations on December 1st, that month long wait is 1/60th of your life, so it seems like a long portion of time in relation to how long you have lived, when you’re 50 that same month is now 1/600th of your life, just a droplet of water in your sea of life.
Russ
Good point, time is relative, which means it accelerates. We have to fix this.