Old man, Johnnie loved the grandfather clock he kept on his mantle. The clock was a precious gift from his dear mother for his fortieth birthday. He was getting on in years. Both parents had passed away, and now he was dealing with the recent loss of his wife. They didn’t have any children, leaving him alone in that flat. In addition to Johnnie’s solitude, the clock stopped working. 

He decided to take his cherished clock to the watchmaker to have it repaired. He carefully picked it up and headed out the door. Moments later, as he walked around the corner, a young man rushing from the opposite direction ran into him, violently knocking the clock out of his arms. He watched in despair as the grandfather clock fell to the pavement, the glass face shattering and the carved wooden crown cracking, eventually breaking off. 

The young man, displaying a shocking lack of remorse, callously shouted, “Old man, why can’t you be like normal people and wear a wristwatch on your arm?” Johnnie stunned by what just happened, was unable to reply. His heart ached even more as he looked at his beloved grandfather clock lying like a pile of parts on the pavement. 

A bystander facetiously commented, “They say, time stops for no one. I just witnessed time stop.” Another added, “They say time flies. Well, I just saw time take flight!” A third voice chimed in, “His clock has stopped. Check if he’s breathing?” 

A woman in the small crowd commented, “It seems like he’s cheated death. His time was up, but he still stands.” Another insensitive remark came from the gathering onlookers, “Give him time, rigor mortis hasn’t set in yet.” The final callous comments filtered through, “Such a good waste of time.” The last one chimed, “That clock looked like a valuable timeless item and is now reduced to a valueless timepiece.” 

None of the onlookers offered help. They all stood around amazed, dazed and fazed by the incident. Johnnie, looking around and having had enough of these cruel comments, felt it was time to clock out. He picked up his broken clock and headed home, broken-hearted, thinking “Why are people so heartless?”