The Plant, Neil Style

Carolyn's mom, Shirley, lived with us for twenty three months before she passed away. Since she was legally blind, she had a clock which announced the time, in a somewhat mechanical voice, on the hour and whenever you pushed a button on the top of the clock. When her mother (one of the kindest souls I've ever met) died Carolyn kept the clock in a dresser drawer in "Mom's room" but removed the battery. End of story, right? Not quite. Not with Neil around. Actually, everything was normal for about a year, until we hosted the "card club". About an hour after everyone left we heard a voice: "The time is twelve A.M.!" Where did that come from? It was late. We were tired. We went to bed and to sleep. The next morning we hear: "The time is ten A.M.!" Carolyn found the clock where she had left it, in the dresser drawer. It still had no battery! What was going on? This continued throughout the day. The announcements were so brief it was hard to tell exactly where they were coming from. We relayed this mystery to Kay on the telephone. She relayed the story to Neil. Like a knows-all swami with a crystal ball, Neil suggested that we might want to look in a particular area near Mom's room. Well, what do you know, we found a second talking clock, and this one definitely had a battery! I don't have to tell you who planted it there. At least he was merciful; we only had to suffer for a day! --Dan S