Let it Go

"Dad, dad! Wake up!" My eight year old son's voice rattled my sleep.

I eyed the clock by the bed that flashed numbers like an NBA scoreboard and displayed 6:33 a.m. My brain, fogged for a second, thought someone's lost the game badly, 33-6. I gathered my wits and thought to myself,

It's a clock dummy.

"What's wrong, Johnny?" I slurred like a drunken sailor.

"Something bad happened while we slept! My watch says one time and grandpas cuckoo clock on my dresser says another." He said.



I explained, "Our government's laws mandate the time change."

My son, Johnny, mildly autistic and hyper-sensitive to change, required special attention.

"Johnny, we have to Spring forward." I said. "In the Spring we move the clocks forward one hour to Daylight Savings Time. We move the clocks back one hour to Standard time in the fall."

"Why? Johnny demanded, "I don't like it. I want grandpas time back," and pulled his smartwatch off and threw it on the bed.

I rose out of bed and got Johnny settled, fixed his breakfast and put on his favorite movie, Frozen.

His agitation remained as he rocked back and forth on the floor until Elsa, a character in the movie, said the famous line, "Let it go!"

Johnny echoed, "Let it go!" Then out of character, stood up, stared at me like I was the universal keeper of time, pointed at the clock in the kitchen and yelled, "Let it go! Let it go!" Then louder, "Let it go!" Like a defense attorney in a courtroom that pleaded for an accused murderer before a jury.

I reflected on the government-mandated time change and decided Johnny was right.

The time had come to Let it go. What would change if we did?

We'd reduce the agitation in our society produced by a meaningless change and Johnny could find more peace. I think the original purpose of Daylight Savings Time was intended to aid the world of agriculture and save energy. I concluded the practice was obsolete.

What would change if we didn't? I mused and answered aloud, "Nothing, nothing would change.” The time change didn't add any time to the day but shifted the start and finish. We got up at sunrise and stayed out until sunset. The change created chaos.

After lunch, I contacted our community Autism group to get feedback and support since reducing chaos helped us all with our children. I called the group leader and he immediately lent his full support. Johnny and his daughter were the same age. He agreed to let me speak at the next round table of our peers the following Thursday night.

***

Thursday came, and I presented my idea to the group. Everyone present had been affected by the faux time shift, some more severely than others. They fully supported the plan to seek a repeal of the out-of-date government mandate buried in the Uniform Time Act of 1966. I learned Arizona and Hawaii didn't support the time change while several states worked to over-rule the practice within their borders. We created a comprehensive plan to execute the Let it go movement. Autism parents were the best planners in the world, it’s required, every day.

A local TV station, through a parent in our support group, learned about our plan and came to the house to conduct a live interview Johnny. For the new network this would be a good human interest story. The broadcast headline could read, "Eight year old Autistic boy takes on the Government.

The station setup crew turned our family room into a studio. Bright white light drove the shadows from the room, and the red power light on the camera case displayed its readiness. Johnny sat beside me, calm. I worried all the fuss would unsettle him, but he remained focused, and on a mission.

The short-haired blonde reporter prepped me earlier, and I knew what she would ask. With a broad smile, she looked at Johnny and said, "Let's begin, just talk to me Johnny and don't worry about the camera."

She turned to the producer, who held up three fingers and counted down three, two and one and pointed his index finger at her.

"This is Monica Johnson, with Live Five news, and I am here with eight year old Johnny and his Dad, John Sr. .They have launched a movement to end Daylight Savings Time and amend the 1966 Uniform Time Act"

Monica led me through several questions about our plans to lead a social media, write-in, and change.org campaign. Satisfied, she turned to Johnny, who leaned close to me, "Johnny what do you think about the time change?"

Johnny stared at her and didn't respond.

I said, "Johnny, you can tell her.”

He sat up, as if empowered by an unseen force, pointed at his grandfather's cuckoo clock that we had moved to the mantle and said,

"Let it go!" The producer swung the camera to the mantle as Johnny repeated louder, "Let it go!" The camera zoomed into the cuckoo clock as Johnny yelled at the top of his voice, "Let it Go!

The station led with the story on the six o'clock news and again on the late broadcast.

The following day the story went viral when someone posted the news video to social media. Three National news networks carried the story, and Johnny's voice sounded across America, "Let it go!" Social media garnered over three million views and continued to climb.

Three days later, the producers of Frozen joined in the movement with an animated commercial of Elsa saying "Johnny says, Let it go!" They marketed the ad globally on every social media site.

The American Autism Association produced T-shirts with a free license, The screenprinted logos read, Johnny says, Let It Go!

The mailman delivered canvas bags of mail addressed to Johnny from thousands of supporters. Many sent money to support the movement. The Let it go movement, without any notable dissent, unified the country.

A month later, we received an invitation for Johnny to testify before a joint United States Congressional Committee chaired by the Energy Committee.

The potential stress and impact on Johnny worried me. His unique world did not tolerate many variables. To my surprise, Johnny exhibited a hidden reserve of energy and calm I didn't think possible. His determination and purpose seemed to calm him. The celebrity status didn't affect him and when he saw, Let it go! He smiled with a radiance that drove away the shadows of my fears.

***

In Washington D.C. everyone wanted to meet Johnny. He told them about his Grandpa's clock and that time needed to match. The packed committee chamber sat in silence as he spoke. A young autistic boy's perfect logic had captured the attention of the most powerful people in the world.

The chairwoman asked Johnny, "What would you like us to do with Daylight Savings Time, Johnny?"

"Let it go. Let it go! LET IT GO!" he said.

The crowd stood with an ovation of applause and chanted in one voice, "Let it go! Let it go! Let it go!" until the Chairwoman, her face all smiles, pounded the gavel for order in the chamber.

***

Two weeks before the Fall change to standard time the President of the United States signed the new law titled, Johnny's Law. The amendment to the Uniform Time Act of 1966 eliminated the need to ever change our clocks again. The United States Government, had finally, Let it go.

Late that night when I tucked Johnny into bed, outfitted in his Frozen Let it Go T-shirt, I noticed that Johnny wore the Smartwatch on his wrist again. He pointed at the watches display and then the cuckoo clock back on his dresser and smiled. Johnny's need for peace had eliminated a large source of chaos in the world for everyone.

He whispered, "We let it go."

"Yes, you did Johnny, I am so proud of you!" I said as tears filled my eyes.