Barely one week from now, the province of Saskatchewan gets to demonstrate once again that it is different in a fairly noticeable way. While most of the rest of the world has to fiddle with clocks, and grumble about losing an hour’s sleep, Roughrider Nation, also known as the Land of Living Skies, does not change.
It has been that way for more than 50 years, and it’s likely to continue for at least 50 more. Whenever someone does a poll on the subject, the word ‘inconclusive’ takes on new meaning. Roughly half the Saskatchewan people who are questioned say “Enough is enough! It’s time to get in step with the rest of the world and change those clocks!” But a fairly equal number say, “No, we like things just the way they are, thank you very much.”
Indeed, as the years go by, the list of compelling reasons why Saskatchewan should join the Daylight Savings parade seems to grow shorter, not longer. During the 11 years that I lived in Regina, the most annoying problem was forgetting how much time difference there was if you were calling someone to the east or the west. More than once while I was hosting radio shows, I ended up missing what might have been a great phone interview because I called the interviewee an hour late, or an hour early.
Figuring out the TV schedule is always fun. In the summertime in Saskatchewan, popular shows are always an hour earlier than other places, but in the wonderful world of the PVR, who watches anything in real time? What exactly is real time anyway?
For many years I dared not be late with a newscast at the top of the hour because thousands of people stopped what they were doing to listen. Right. Not many of us believed it then, and almost no one believes it now.
Pardon me Miss, do you have the time?
I’m Roger Currie
