Let's Dance the Time Warp Again
- Jim Crescitelli
- Dec 28, 2025
- 3 min read
As we anticipate the start of a new year, I do what I always do at the end of December: think back on the previous year's string of events- a history, actually- and marvel at the way time appears to be speeding by. Of course, these reflections are based on what I actually remember about the previous year. Now age 70, if I don't write something down in a journal, that something tends to evaporate from my brain. Honestly, I realize that my playing the age card is just an excuse, as I've been forgetting things since I first began to think, whenever that was.
Time is a thing that mankind invented so that we could get to work... on time. It's an artificial overlay we've placed across creation that has to be readjusted every four years on February 29th., or else we'd be really late for work. (And did you know that a second is added to our calendar every few years in order to keep up with the earth's wobbly rotation?)
I am no physicist- the preceding paragraphs prove that- and so I deal with the speedy passage of time by picturing in my mind's eye calendar pages fluttering by like in those 1930s Hollywood movies; that I can handle.
Personally, as a historian working with the Archive at the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, I have come to appreciate the passage of time as it relates to West Orange County's history: in short, so much has happened since the region began to be formally settled in the mid-nineteenth century, and we devote much time to cataloguing, clarifying, verifying, and sharing.
Grammar school field trips are an essential way in which we present our history to the students of Orange County. I notice that, during our presentations, their attention begins to waver if they are served up too many dates regarding "when something happened." Faced primarily with the task of memorizing, many of the students often seem unable to relate to a time span that we may be discussing: how do fifty years "feel" to them in the passage of time, for example? They're ten years old!
To make time more relatable, I've come up with a way to make it fun and interesting as well:
"OK, class. To tell you how history moves along, here's how time relates to me. My grandfather was born in 1895- that's the 19th. century. I was born in 1955, in the middle of the 20th. century. In the year 2025, we are in the first quarter of the 21st. century. And you boys and girls will no doubt be living well into the 22nd. century, which begins in 2101. So, my personal history touches on four centuries- not four hundred years!- because of the people who come before and after me. History is not just a set of dates that you have to memorize: it's a series of people and experiences that tie us all together throughout time."
The looks of wonder on their faces tell me that they get it: I've explained the passage of time as it is experienced by each and every one of us. (And when they start yelling out their dates of birth- 2015, for example- I am really faced with how fast time has flown.)
Time: it's a precious commodity to be appreciated and nurtured as we grow. We are constantly reminded of its characteristics in such phrases as time is short, time flies, time is of the essence, time changes things, and so many more.
As we start the journey of a new year, notice your own personal histories and even try writing it all down in a journal. You won't be just passing along a roster of dates for future generations to memorize- you'll be passing along yourselves.
