greek time

(I have no idea what this is)

You know it’s time to get the car washed, not when it’s covered with dust (it’s always covered with dust), but when the names and symbols of various sports teams you hardly recognize, and which may or may not represent you, start appearing in fingery trails on the windows and doors. Because first there are fingers, and then there are keys.

You know it’s time for bed when you hear the upstairs neighbor walking around in her high-heeled shoes, getting ready to go out.

You know it’s winter when it rains. (At least where I live.)

Other times are a little less definite. TV programs start whenever they start, each channel on its own idiosyncratic timetable. “Morning” extends to after noon, and “noon” is from 2 to 4 p.m. “Breakfast” is coffee first thing and a cheesepie midmorning, well into the workday, and the workday could be five hours or eight, depending on the day of the week.

Last night (aka “afternoon”) I asked my students, “What's the difference between ‘on time’ and ‘in time’?” One brave but hesitant boy raised his hand. “On time is when you arrive five or ten minutes late, but it’s okay.” I stopped him there, before his uniquely Greek theory could be fully fleshed out.

“That’s not on time or in time,” I said. “That’s Greek time!” For once, they had to admit I was right. I'm not complaining. As far as time is concerned, I'm as Greek as they are.