What is the point of keeping an old clock?

by Bruce
(OH)

My friend from high school had a marvelous grandfather clock belonging to his mother. It was on display in their dining room for as long as I had known them.

When they moved away, they had a large sale and the clock was placed in their drive way to be sold. Nervously, I asked his mother if she were really going to sell the clock, as I had previously heard her explain that it was a gift from her late mother.

Seeing that I was interested in it, she asked if I would rather have it. I asked her why she wanted to get rid of such a lovely grandfather clock and she explained that it no longer worked and would be too difficult to ship for their move.

Reluctantly, I agreed, and so began the task of fixing the clock. I looked in the phone book, but came up empty-handed. The label stated that it's a Howard Miller "MODEL NO" 610-406.

I eased it apart with the most care I could muster, observing the placement of various gears and mechanisms. The inner-workings of that clock were beautifully crafted and yet my pathetic diagnosing and halfhearted attempt to fix it were in vain because in the end I could not figure out what was wrong with it.

I pieced it back together the best I could, and placed it in my own dining room the next day. My wife was apprehensive and did not approve of the addition at first.

After explaining the entire story and with a bit of coaxing, she let me keep it. She still asks what the point of keeping an old broken clock would be, but I simply explain that it's not the functionality of the clock so much as the story attached and the memories associated.