Man & Time, J.B. Priestley

By Craig: I have recently been reading an old book by the mid twentieth century writer J.B. Priestley called Man and Time. In the first chapter there is an old 19th century illustration that was borrowed from The Ingoldsby Legends. It depicts a man being chased by a grandfather clock with legs and arms. His hat has blown off of his head as he flees down a hill from this thing that seems almost certain to catch him. The look on the man's face is one of sheer terror. For the most part we are all running from time. This old illustration sums up the unambiguous future that we will all one day face. We will all one day cease to be.

Most people seek a sort of permanence in their lives. It is a comfort zone of sorts that we strive for, although it varies with the nature of the individual. We get use to functioning in a sort of rhythm that becomes a part of who we are. Most of us wake up and immediately start performing the same ritual that we have become accustomed to day after day. The permanence, however, which is sought...can never be attained. Outside influences along with slight deviations in our game plan coupled with the passage of time render this nirvana impossible. We are always looking behind us...and ahead of us, and there it lurks...that grandfather clock ticking away the seconds that will eventually make all thought and actions moot and pointless.