Leap Day comes around again, reminding us of the little imperfections in the way we try to deal with the universe. So our planet takes 365 days and a tad more, for one lap around Sol. And we make our adjustment for that little tad. Those of us of a certain age have learned to tweak our daily routines with little tads here and there. Eat less, drive with a caution we’ve learned too late. We no longer wish to change the world, just to enjoy it as quietly as we can.
Our neighbor plant Mars rotates a tad more slowly than our Earth. Kim Stanley Robinson envisions a time when we might colonize Mars. He suggests that the extra rotation time might be solved by turning off the clocks at midnight. So, every night, clocks could be stopped for two hours and then re-started. How long would it take us humans to adapt to that adjustment – “Leap Hours?”
Out in El Paso County, Texas, the little village of Anthony has declared itself Leap Year Capital of the World. Back in 1988 Anthony’s Chamber of Commerce made that declaration. We Texans, even those of us in exile, can find ways to rise to the top of the pile. Anthony also is home to the World Wide Leap Year Birthday Club. With over a hundred members who celebrate each February 29th.
Should Leap Day children be entitled to a slackening of the aging process? That would be something to celebrate.
Dac Crossley
February 29, 2016
“The trouble with telling a good story is that it reminds the other fellow of a dull one.” – Sid Caesar.
For some reason I like leap year. That extra day is like a gift. Why can't we stop the clocks for two hours a night without considering the Mars orbit? Oh well, we'd just consider them two more hours to work--hopeless bunch of hypers that we are.
Posted by: Chris | February 29, 2016 at 12:01 PM