With daylight savings just around the corner, it’s almost time to spring those clocks forward. Remember back in the day when most of our clocks were analog? And in order to set the time, you’d just have to move the minute hand around with your finger? The analog clock was super simple! And then came digital clocks, sort of making that task easier. That is, if it allows you change the hour and minute separately. And maybe the ability to change the numbers both up and down. Otherwise, away you’d go watching closely for the hour digits to change.

Nowadays we have it so made. It’s done for us, thanks to those nifty satellites up in space. With the exception of maybe the stove, microwave, thermostat, car, and any decorative clocks you have hanging around the house. Or…. your watch perhaps? (Feel free to refer back here if you need a checklist come Sunday morning.)

There’s something classic about an analog clock. And those of us who grew up learning how to read time on an analog display, will continue to appreciate its value. There will probably be a day when we won’t see many of these as they are slowly drifting away. But it’s like the art of writing cursive. We put serious effort into learning it and will fight to keep it alive as long as possible, damnit! I wonder if that’s how it was with sundials? Which we also learned how to read in grade school.

Childhood memories surrounding clocks come easy. I can still remember listening to the tick tick tick of a clock my grandma had in her guest bedroom, that I would listen to while falling asleep. Or those extra-slow last few minutes of the school day, watching that prominent, bright-red second hand slowly rotate clockwise towards the 12.

One of my girlfriends in grade school, her family had a gigantic grandfather clock in her living room. I remember waking up during many a slumber party and waiting to hear the chimes at the top of the hour to figure out what time it was.

One clock that was awkwardly popular but I never grew up around one, was the cuckoo clock. My only memories are of cartoons with the cat trying to get the bird when it would pop out at the top of the hour. I don’t quite understand the kitsch with these. Maybe a field day if you had a cat, although the Pink Panther may feel otherwise.

But I was one to sport the crazy popular (not so much fashionable) Minnie Mouse watch. And one of my girlfriends always sported the “ring watch.” Which I’m pretty certain was made trendy by The Spice Girls.

In today’s high-tech, digitally-intense world, analog clocks seem to be slowly making their way to greener pastures. I love the look and feel of an analog display but am currently guilty of having chosen a digital display for my Garmin watch. Software developers tend to continue to include the option to display an analog clock, but for how long will they need to? And schools are slowly moving away from teaching kids how to read them.

The art of reading time on an analog clock may be slowly dying but it seems there’s certainly people out there who still find it as important as I do to keep the art alive. For an extra twist, let’s keep it going with roman numerals, military time, and while we’re at it, the sundial! You never know when you might need these skills. And hopefully someday soon, the whole idea of “daylight savings” will be nostalgia too.