Tick Tock...

It’s late. “Late” is relative I suppose. Relative to me and myself of past years. Many (many) years ago I would have been making my way out to a club somewhere, money and ID shoved into my kneehigh boots, fresh from a late evening post-work disco nap. I’d head out to soak in whatever energy I could find, sweat it out on the dance floor, and bounce back less than eight hours later to hit the daily grind again. My knees hurt just thinking about it. 

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Tonight’s ‘lateness’ means sitting in the stillness of our home on an oversized chaise lounge, sandwiched between our two incredibly loved dogs. The TV is on quietly in the background, tuned in to the Game Show Network, which turns out has several shows hosted by Joey Fatone/Alfonso Ribeiro. As if I didn't feel my age enough. 

I hear the ‘tick tock’ of a clock. A clock that has ticked and tocked its way throughout most of my life. This particular clock was made by my grandfather. He specialized in woodwork, taxidermy and was also known to deliver a pretty darn good sermon on Sunday mornings. The clock is small, less than a foot high, maybe 6 inches wide and battery operated. There is no magic or mystery behind the clock's function, but still it fascinates me. A perfect example of form and function. When my grandfather passed away, his handiwork and heirlooms were dispersed and passed on. This clock sat in storage for nearly 10 years under my mother's watch  as I was moving around the country and such. No ticking. No tocking. Just resting in silence.

I recently retrieved the clock, replaced the batteries, and found a place to display it. Tick tock. Tick tock. And there it was – alive again, as if not a second was lost. It was a comforting synchronization of sight and sound.

I think of the younger versions of me that watched this clock tick and tock, and the many "me's" between then and now (tragic hairstyles and all). What would all the versions of me say to each other if we were gathered together? Would we even recognize each other? This has been a ongoing curiosity of mine, so much that my thoughts found their way to my musical muse, and this song*.... is what was born from that (click here if you would like to give it a listen).

Tick tock tick tock.

Am I watching this clock or is it watching me?

*many thanks to my friend Dave Lichtenstein, who recorded/produced this recording (and many of my other songs) years ago in Oakland, CA (he’s the one playing guitar as well, because hey.... I'm lazy and just wanna sing).