Hickory Dickory Dock (October 23,2007)

Hickory, Dickory Dock
By: Maria Reylan M. Garcia

Hickory Dickory Dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock strike one. The mouse ran down, Hickory Dickory Dock. Yes, I can still memorize this nursery rhyme along with several others my preschool teacher taught me. By the way, I’m in First Year College now. As fascinating as to how a college student enjoys singing Hickory Dickory Dock rather than blogging on Friendster or enjoying a fun filled night out with friends, this humble writer is experiencing one of those syndromes psychologists connote as the second childhood. Nevertheless, I have come across a conclusion that will boost up Mother Goose’s market for nursery rhymes. The mouse, in my own opinion, is the epitome of punctuality and has seemed to be born under the ancestry of Father Time himself. When the clock struck one, the mouse immediately went down. Whatever may be his reason of descending, the very essence is that the mouse did something. The mouse did not waste time.

Time is Gold. This phrase appears to be one of the most abused quotes known to man. If given much analysis, time is actually worth more than gold, even more than diamonds or any other wealth the material world can offer. Such illustrates how exceedingly important every second ticks, every minute tocks, how a fraction of a time could change millions of lives. Science had unraveled a lot of mysteries and had theoretically explained almost all brain constricting possibilities. Yet, never did Science acquire total control and absolute knowledge on the paradox of time. I guess time machines remains to be gadgets only available at dream world.

It irritates the bone marrow out of my skeletal system when I come across transacting business with a late comer, a time constraint player, a disorganized nincompoop. To schedule an appointment, includes a chained and tailing side kick called commitment. When Joe wants to date with Anna and sets up their romantic dinner from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, this only shows that Joe is free within the two hours and busy before and after those times. If Joe arrives at 7:01 it gives Anna all the grounds and reasons to walk out on him, and if they end at 9:01 it also gives Anna all the grounds and reasons to go home ahead. I may not have experience some diplomatic luncheon meetings, presidential conferences but I am quite aware that this simple logic of time management is something every one should be well aware of.

A lot will be spoiled. A lot will be affected. A lot will change. With a simple negligence of time, a struggling patient may lose his life, an apprentice may lose his dream job, a student may fall behind his classmates, a father might get furious with his daughter. It is not just the one you’ll meet whom you’ve disappointed, along are the people behind her, who depends on her, who waits for her, you have disappointed them all. The land of the rising sun, Japan, I admire their strict compliance for time, how every second for them means thousand of yens. No doubt their country is reaching the height of economic prosperity and human resource development. Their discipline is quite extraordinary. I may have not visited Japan, but I have come across reading books on their lifestyle. Their bullet train, which is the fastest there is, leaves at exactly 7:32 when it is scheduled to leave at 7:32, no a quarter of a second less or an eighth of a second more. Because of their disciplined way of following schedules things follow quite smoothly. Everybody is right on time for work, which creates a domino effect of workers and laborers getting a head start on the day finishing the prospected number of documents to file, dresses to sew or microchips to seal. Students arrive on school on time, giving them a good disposition on their pop quiz, resulting to a perfect 30/30 making the road to a better educational attainment clearer each day. Marketable goods turns up at selling stalls early and on time, making business and trade flowing with intense lubrication creating more profit and a seemingly healthy supply and demand relationship.

But, how about Filipino Time? Who created it in the first place, isn’t it us Filipinos? We are all quite aware how impractical and a major headache this malpractice can get, but we still rely on it as a sort of alibi and false rationalization for our shortcomings. I’ve got one word, Pathetic. Sorry I’m late, I got stuck on traffic. Sorry I’m late I’ve got tons of paper works left in the office. You’re stuck on traffic? Get an early head start in order to avoid traffic, it’s not my fault theirs heavy congestion in our streets. You’ve got office work to do? Finish them all up before your scheduled appointment, that’s why it’s called a schedule to accommodate things not to let me wait.

The mouse did it’s best to go down at exactly one o’clock. Given that the mouse is an irrational being, aren’t we ashamed of our rational selves?

Don’t make excuses.
Be on Time.

That is why they invented watches.