So Daylight Saving Time is upon us. I’m not sure what year it changed. When was it – late 60’s or early 70s – somewhere in there. I don’t think most people were crazy about it really. I think we would have probably been perfectly happy if we knew nothing about Daylight Saving Time, had it never come around, but it did.
I remember when it came. In the summertime I coached youth league baseball and I didn’t like DST at all. Maybe we lost a lot and I just needed something to blame beside me. Now, broadcasting ballgames at the high school, I guess I liked it okay. I can’t think of any reason why not. You know, I found the thing that really bothered me about it was drive in movies. I mean you used to go to drive in movies with your family, by yourself, or with a date, and you could just tell by the glow in the sky it was about movie time so you pulled in. Suddenly, with DST you went to the movie and it was like 8:45 at night when the movie started, and there was still some daylight. Back in the old days we used to go to the moves, leave when it ended, then make the drag and do stuff like that. Now, you couldn’t. It just wasn’t the same.
Speaking of the drag. Back in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s there wasn’t anything like the Brownwood drag. I mean, we had kids come from other towns just to be a part of the drag in Brownwood. It went from the Dairy Maid across from Coggin Avenue Baptist Church, went down Coggin Avenue, you’d turn left on Austin Avenue and go downtown until you got to Center Avenue, turn right, then you would go all the way out to West Commerce, take a left and go out to Lyon’s Drive In, circle it and start back. Most of the time, the drag was so crowded that it moved very slowly. It was just crowded – always crowded. It started hopping as soon as it got dark. That used to be eight o’clock at the latest. Again it’s the difference in eight o’clock and getting home at whatever, or hitting the drag about nine o’clock and, well, you don’t have much time. But those are the two things I remember – baseball games and drive in movies.
I think lake goers loved it. Beach goers loved it. Government studies say you’re more groggy and upset more, but I don’t know about stuff like that. I’m just talking about having fun and I think you could have more fun, to be perfectly honest with you, in regular time as opposed to Daylight Saving Time. Maybe not. Maybe I was just younger then. My wife read where super markets and some other businesses didn’t have as much business.
But, to be honest with you, it’s here and it seems like the older I get the more I like it. Does that make sense? No, it doesn’t to me either, except you got more fishing time in. Daylight Saving Time was always a good time according to my grandkids and my wife.
I’ve checked with my cat, too. We asked her three or four times if she likes DST and so far I’ve gotten no response. Daylight Saving Time – good for some, maybe not good for others but we have no choice so enjoy.
Until next time, so long everybody.
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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at [email protected].