A clock-less airport
My week in the St. Louis area was fab, thanks for asking. I'll likely write a column for Sunday or next Wednesday about the tourist-y highlights, and maybe some column or blog items about general observations.
Here's one: I landed in Phoenix on Tuesday for my connecting flight to Ontario and wondered what the local time was. Should I set my watch back two hours, or one?
Checking a clock in the Phoenix airport, however, proved impossible: There aren't any. I walked from the A gates to the B gates and never once saw a clock. Eventually I asked an airline employee at my check-in area for the time. The time difference was indeed two hours.
Given that almost everyone in an airport needs to be critically aware of the time, and that people are flying in from all over, meaning whatever time is on their watch or phone may be wrong, one would think a clock or two at an airport might be useful, no?
I was going to make a point of looking for clocks at ONT when I landed, but forgot. I'm pretty sure the airport has several. Am I wrong?
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A journalist for more than two decades, David Allen has been writing a column for the Daily Bulletin since 1997 and blogging since 2007.He lives in Claremont.
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That is EXACTLY my experience in Phoenix!
Yes, Ontario has clocks. Phoenix just wants to mess with your head, I think. I still can never remember whether they're on Mountain or Pacific time.
[Glad to know this wasn't just me. -- DA]
Thanks for the heads up. I'll be at the Phoenix airport in two weeks!
And Arizona doesn't "do" daylight savings time. So part of the year they're mountain time and part they're pacific time and that distinction caused me to miss a movie once in Phoenix.
We were at the theater and the time stated was about 1/2 an hour away so we bought some popcorn and since a movie was running in the theater, we figured the previous show hadn't let out yet. Finally the manager came over to let us know that the film had started. We were off by an hour.
Oh the joys.
[That's funny. And I thought there was some unpredictability regarding Arizona's time. Thanks for confirming that thought. Indiana is, or at least was, the only other daylight savings time holdout. -- DA]
We don't need clocks in airports anymore because everybody has cell phones and the time changes automatically.
[Really? How handy. Maybe I should get one. -- DA]
My theory, after living in Arizona for a number of years, is that the state doesn't participate in daylight savings time because it would take too long to explain the concept to most Arizonans.
[Har! -- DA]
Is it saving or savings?
[According to Wikipedia, it's saving. Which means there's a good chance it's the opposite. -- DA]