Charlie & The Antique Clock

         Charlie Townsend is a very busy man.  He is frugal, strict, direct and above all, impatient. At work, he is more efficient than three of his office subordinates and he makes sure that those under him work twice as hard as the rest of the office. One time, Charlie was waiting for an important package that he needed immediately. Instead of waiting, he had his secretary call the courier to find out exactly where he was in route and had her meet him halfway to obtain the package on time. Upper management had thought this was extremely efficient, and so recently there had been rumors among the office personnel that Charlie would become the new Department Head and that the meeting with the owner of the business, Mr. Dunham, would be tomorrow morning.



                  Pretty proud of himself, as he should be, Charlie was strutting down the street and passed by a local antique store where he smelled just a hint of rose. It was at that moment he decided to purchase an old antique clock with brass bells that he saw in the window to wake him up in the morning. After all, the electronic digital clock had sometimes made him a few minutes off schedule because he did not hear the alarm go off. With the loud clanging of the bells, he was sure he would be up bright and early for his meeting. The clock had a few cracks on the face and the winding key was a bit rusty, but it worked all the same.



         That night he sat the alarm to ring at exactly 6:00 AM. The next day, those clanging brass bells shouted for Charlie to get up and get up now! He sprang out of bed and put on his robe, and to his dismay the time on the antique clock read 7:00 AM. But how? The time had been accurate each time he set it last night to test it!? In a more than usual rush, scrambling to pull off his pajamas and to put on his best suit, tripping over his leather shoes and trying to tie the blue silk tie that his wife gave him for their 2nd anniversary, Charlie ran down the stairs to the kitchen. On the table sat a breakfast fit for a king; grits with grape jelly, hash browns, country ham, eggs over easy, and biscuits with her grandmother’s sausage gravy! His wife’s face was beautifully blushed and she was waiting for him at the counter with a smile that could brighten the night sky.



         Without a word, Charlie scooped up the newspaper on the counter, threw it in his briefcase so that he could read the sports section during lunch, gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek and ran out the front door to catch the 7:25 AM bus. His wife just stared out the kitchen window with a tear rolling down her cheek and whispered solemnly, “But, I’m pregnant.” He jumped on the bus just before it rolled out onto the street. It took about 20 minutes to reach his destination in which Charlie proceeded to run down the street. He ran past the local antique shop where he still smelled the sweet aroma of roses. But, this time, he ignored it completely and sprinted across the four-way railroad tracks that traveled just a block from his office.



         All of a sudden, a huge gust of wind suddenly knocked him off balance allowing his briefcase to wedge free from his steel-like grip. All of Charlie’s papers, files, certificates, and even his newspaper began flying around like a twister in Kansas. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the wind died down and his papers were spread from one side of the street to the other on the railroad tracks. Knowing that he couldn’t very well meet with Mr. Dunham without most of those papers, Charlie ran back to the tracks and began scooping them up and putting them back as neatly as possible into his briefcase. Besides, how would it look if the new Department Head came in with a disorganized briefcase and crumpled up files?

         Charlie didn’t hear the loud whining of the locomotive coming down the track. Nor, did he hear the terrified screams of onlookers frozen in fear. He was too busy picking up his papers, his files, his certificates and placing them oh so neatly into his briefcase. Again, in a last ditch effort by the conductor, there was one longer whine, but it was too late. SMACK! SCREECH!!!!!!



         There it was again; that sweet tender aroma of roses. It was like he was surrounded by a garden of roses. RIIIIING! RIIIIING! The antique clock rang its bells as if it could awaken the dead. Charlie sat up and let his head clear for a moment. As the blurriness of his vision went away he sat up and saw 7:00 AM. Not wanting to be late for his meeting with Mr. Dunham, he scrambled to get dressed in his best suit, the luxurious leather shoes his father had worn, and the soft blue silk tie his wife had given him for their anniversary.



         As he walked into the kitchen, he saw a breakfast made for a king. All of his favorites right down to that gourmet sausage gravy he so loved. His blushing bride standing behind the counter with such a beautiful smile waited for him with such love in her eyes. Charlie picked up the phone and called his secretary. “Sandy, I won’t be in today.” he said without hesitation. “Yes, I know the meeting with Mr. Dunham is today. Just tell him that sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses.” And, with that, Charlie took his wife in his arms and swung her around embracing her like the night they were married.