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By Mom Unplugged, March 9, 2007 9:07 am

OK, here’s one for you: What do daylight saving time and Halloween have in common? … Stumped?… The answer: CANDY! Still puzzled? Then read on.

If you listened to “All Things Considered” on NPR last night, you might have heard a piece about our new daylight saving time that begins this year. This year, daylight saving will begin this Sunday, March 11th (3 weeks earlier) and continue until November 4th (1 week later). The theory is that a longer daylight saving period will save energy, in fact this measure was passed as part of the 2005 Energy Bill.

The interviewee (Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time) was skeptical of the energy saving argument and instead attributes the increased length to various industry lobbyists. I am too uninformed to enter into a debate about the potential energy-saving aspects of daylight saving versus lobbying influences, however I was shocked to learn that one industry that has long lobbied strongly for this change was the candy industry.

According to Mr. Downing, the candy industry has been trying to extend daylight saving past Halloween for the last 25 years. In 1985 their representatives even went so far as to place a candy pumpkin on the seat of every senator as a reminder. Apparently with one more hour of daylight for trick-or-treating, kids will get more candy. If they get more candy, the manufacturers make more money…a lot more money.

Perhaps I should feel happy that the candy manufacturers will prosper, the economy will be helped, jobs will be created, etc. However my initial reaction to this was shock and disbelief which has now, after some thought, transformed into discomfort and distaste. This does not feel like a positive decision for our children. Do kids need more candy? Doesn’t this encourage obesity, rotten teeth and greed? Will the American Dental Association be the next group to rise up in support of this change? Isn’t this using our children for economic gain?

Maybe I should just “lighten up” and quit seeing evil intentions where none were intended (I hope). Besides, Arizona is one of the few states that doesn’t observe daylight saving time…yet I can’t quite shake this uncomfortable feeling.

Trick-or-treat…you decide.

If you are interested, click here to listen to the story on NPR’s website.

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By Mom Unplugged, March 5, 2007 9:17 am

Today I saw the first spring robin on my way to school with the kids! That sight always fills me with some hope for a warmer future.

As of yesterday, it is a little easier to believe that spring is truly on the way. Yesterday was so warm that the kids had a friend over and played outside most of the afternoon. After being shut indoors for so long, it was refreshing to see them run around, have a “picnic,” and play on the swing set. They also enjoyed all the mud that the snow has left behind. I guess I’ll be doing some laundry today!

It occurs to me as I write this, that this is the type of information that I would have written in a letter in the days when people actually wrote letters. Since the theme of this blog is essentially “high-tech” vs. “low-tech,” it makes me realize that a blog actually seems to be a “high-tech” way of delivering “low-tech” (in most cases) information.

Perhaps we all miss the days of seeing a familiar envelope in our mailbox and knowing that it brought very ordinary news from dear friends or family. There was comfort in that connection, a sense of belonging. Do I experience that same thrill of pleasure and surprise when I open an email from a friend? No. Would I email my friends to tell them about the robin I saw this morning? No. Would I have described that experience in a letter? Yes.

Perhaps our desire to connect with others in this fashion is a yearning for a return to simpler times.