Most evenings, Mrs. T is in her office watching what passes for television, while I'm in the family room, with a book or keyboard in hand. Lately something wasn't right, and I couldn't place it.
Everything was at hand, and in its place, but something substantive was missing. The room didn't sound right. After a bit of head scratching it dawned on me I couldn't hear Grandfather clock's ticking over sound of the air conditioner.
To my ears, the sound of a ticking clock is the most glorious noise. I find it is substantial yet soothing. I slow myself down in rhythm with the clock. It is the greatest tranquilizer ever after a puppy on your lap.
If you are not blessed with a loud ticking clock, may I propose this substitute? The National Trust has created a CD, The National Trust Album of the distinctive sounds of 11 of their properties. One of the sounds is the clock in the clock tower of Blickling Hall. Click here for a listen.
If you hurry, you can download the entire CD for free.
The second best part of our clock is that once upon a time Mrs. T's grandson emptied a pencil sharpener into the bottom of the case. Years later it still smells fresh every time I wind it.
Toad
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7 comments:
It's a standard first step when I enter my mother's house (my childhood home)for one of my two to three times a year visits. I disengage the coo-koo (sp) clock. Drives my crazy. I lulling sooth tic-toc is one thing. The bird announcement drives me crazy.
We have a ticking clock (Directoire) in the living room and a small IKEA clock in the bathroom that has a tick audible from the bedroom. The living room clock chimes on the hour and on the half and it is when it stops that we notice, as you did, that there is something missing. The rhythm of our lives, as it were, right there in that tick-tock, tick-tock.
Is that Captain Kangaroo?
We have a shipstrike clock and unless they know the 8 bell code, it leaves our house guests scratching their heads when it sounds.
Yes, patsy that is the Captain, and Grandfather clock. Childhood staples in my house.
Lovely post.
Wow, haven't thought about Captain Kangaroo in the longest! Bless you for that. Years ago when we were going to be on vacation on my Mom's BD, I left her gift with a friend to deliver on the day and arranged for flowers to be sent as well. I hated being away on that day. The gift was a clock in a glass dome, you know, the kind with a twisting pendulum where you can see all the brass workings? It chimes every quarter hour and on a quiet day you can hear the ticking. The great thing about the clock is that its volume is regulated by the amount of light. No, that's the second best. The best thing is that when I hear the chime and close my eyes I can imagine that I'm back in time, just come to visit with Mom. Damn it, I still miss her!
We've never owned a grandfather clock, but I have memories of staying overnight at my aunt's house and hearing it chime every hour. I can imagine that after a while, the ticking would be relaxing. My hubby found his grandfather's old wristwatch the other day and started wearing again. It's a wind-up, so he held it to my ear and said, "Nothing sounds better than that." Yep.
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