At Chautauqua it is possible to immerse yourself in 19th century life as completely as you want. Victorian style houses line streets that are devoid of cars. The bell tower sounds Westminster chimes every 15 minutes-- and I decided that for a day I would do without a wristwatch, I would not look at a clock, and I would not turn on my cell phone. I would listen to the bells to tell me the time.
Westminster chimes are in four parts. At a quarter past the hour the first part is played. At half past the hour the first and second parts are played. At quarter to the hour three parts chime. On the hour all four parts sound, plus the gong of the hour. Knowing time within 15minutes is sufficient for the way of life here.
I made it to the 9:15 AM service okay, and I got to the 10:45 AM lecture. But during the 12:15 PM organ concert I lost any sense of time because I couldn't hear the bell tower.
Actually, for much of the day I heard things I hadn't paid attention to before. While listening for the Westminster chimes I heard the laughter of children playing... The soft swoosh of a bicycle passing by...
Did I ever lose track of time? Well, yes. And I have a confession to make: although I did without my wristwatch and iPhone, TV and radio, I did sneak a peek at my iPad. To be without Internet is asking too much. I'm not in a penal colony, I'm at Chautauqua -- a place with the perfect blend of the 19th, 20th, and 21 st centuries.
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