There are two clocks at the center of Wareham. This is the one in front of the Post Office:

The second one is in the background, just to the bottom right of the clock’s pole. It’s in front of a bank building that is no longer occupied.

To adjust or set the time on the analog clock, someone has to get a ladder and manually adjust it. The contrasting colors make it easy to read from a distance. Other than for a few days around the Spring and Autumn time changes, it keeps good time.

To adjust or set the time on the digital requires the push of a button on a computer. On a sunny day, it’s hard to read; at night, it projects the time quite a distance. It can take weeks for the correct time to be on display after the Spring and Autumn time changes. Frequently, it’s off by several minutes; since the bank left town, it is off by hours. They are not synchronized because they aren’t kept (or neglected) by the same people.

Seeing two times at once irritates me more than it should. After all, I can check my phone if I really need the correct time; if I’m phone free, it means there’s no need for me to know the correct time. There’s just something jarring about it.

When I see these two clocks, when the asynchrony bothers my sense of order, I try to remind myself of some larger truths:

The sky will be blue or gray regardless of the Main Street clocks.

The trees offer shade and shelter no matter the time.

How I live my minutes, hours, days, and years can’t be measured or contained by any clock.