This originally ran in the now defunct Examiner.com in October, 2009. Enjoy; and don't forget to set your clock ahead an hour!

 

If Bilbo and Prince Caspian had daylight savings time

What if Middle-earth and Narnia had observed Daylight Savings Time? How might events have unfolded?

It is unclear what time of year most of the events occur in The Chronicles of Narnia. But what if Prince Caspian’s flight from Miraz had occurred on an autumn Sunday morning? Imagine the conversation as his tutor wakes him.

Doctor Cornelius: Caspian, Wake up and get dressed. Quickly.
Prince Caspian: But Daylight Savings Time ended today. I get to sleep another hour.

Or what if the event happened in the spring, and Cornelius forgot to set his clock forward? Tragedy!   

Or what if Bilbo and the Dwarves had missed the timing for opening the Secret Door on the Lonely Mountain by an hour because they forgot to re-set their timepieces?

This is perhaps a bit silly, but it does remind us that timing is important in both Middle-earth and Narnia. JRR Tolkien and C S Lewis both knew that there are no true coincidences, and that God’s timing is always perfect, even if we don’t understand what he is doing.

And then God answered: "Write this. 
   Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters 
   so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness 
   pointing to what's coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! 
   And it doesn't lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait. 
   It's on its way. It will come right on time."
Habakkuk 2:2-3 (The Message)