I miss her so much.
We had such good times together. Any time of the day, she was just a phone call away, ready to give me what I needed.
She's been gone a few years now, and she is missed.
I'm referring, of course, to the Time Lady. You know, that voice that would say "At the tone, the time will be...", and was always located at a number ending in 1212. A few years ago, she stopped answering. Now there is no way to find out what time it is without using a short-wave radio. The times showing on clocks in the house are now all over the place. Computer clocks always seem to be off, as do cell phone clocks. Computer network clocks are even worse. Now everywhere I go, there seem to be a variation in what clocks and watches say the time is that varies by as much as 10 or 15 minutes. I just want time to be measured more accurately.
Where did she go? I figured I'd ask Google. Sure enough, there's a nice biographical page:
http://www.etcia.com/barbe/timelady.html
Jane Barbe died in 2003, which is around when the time lady phone number went silent.
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4 comments:
I sorta feel bad. I used her voice for years and then just forgot about her once the internet came along. I never even knew her name until now.
Out of curiosity I did a google search for time and went to click on time.gov - no answer! Never would have happened when 1212 was active.
This one is hardly news. It's just been bugging me since the first time a few years ago I called to find the time number to be disconnected. I didn't even know her name until I look it up while typing the entry :)
One time long before the number was entirely shut off, it was temporarily out of order. There was no time lady, but the number connected you into what sounded like a big echoey room with a bunch of people yelling "Hell????o" and "What time is it?": it was everyone else who had called the problem number at the same time.
You can still hear the Time Lady in Los Angeles if you call (310) 853-1212. Maybe she moved here and went into semi-retirement.
That must be a city where everything runs on time, then, and at any given church service, you will get several watches beeping at the exact same time for "noon".
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