Time On My Hands

The last time I wore a wristwatch was years ago. I used to wear one dutifully for fear of having to inquire from a stranger (or even a friend) what time it was. I never had one of the best watches even within a modest price range, but always had something serviceable. It seems to me that I had one that served as a calculator at one time (and at another time I carried a pocket watch). What was gross and fun at the same time was the smell left on the wrist when the watch, pressed against the skin for hours with no respite, was finally removed. It's one of those indelible smells bound to provoke memories.

For a while after I started carrying a cell phone, I continued to wear a watch. As long as I had that watch, I wore it. It was grandfathered into a dying habit, however. At long last, it broke, and I saw no reason to replace it. Everything it did could be done by the cell phone. The phone kept time and did any other extra things better than the watch ever had. It made no smells and didn't hurt my fingertips when I had to adjust something. How I hated those little tiny buttons on the side of the watch!

I almost never missed wearing a watch. Sometimes it seemed like I was losing a second or so extracting the phone from my pocket or a holster to check the time, but it was a second I felt I could afford to lose. Other than that, there was no problem. The phone continued to keep time if the signal were interrupted. Lately, however there have been some problems. Sometimes you can't even have your phone activated or on your person (as at a tv show taping), and other times the phone's battery is low or gone. What is one to do?

Fortune has smiled upon me. I happened to be acting in a short film where wrist watches were a prop. When I went to turn mine in, as a respectful actor should, I was advised that I ought to keep it. Oh, lucky day! The watch clearly was not an expensive model, but I accepted it and set myself to the task of learning how to operate it without the benefit of directions. Soon enough, I had worked out how to set the correct time. With more effort, I hope to learn how to control other features, including the one which has it beeping on the hour every hour. I'm not sure I want that. Problems, though I can solve: I'm just happy that fate delivered to me a watch, because I realize now how I missed them.