We the people—most of us, anyway—give credit to God for the special effects of creation, starting with time. But the measurement of time is our invention. It was we who came up with the calendar, the sundial, the hourglass, the clock, the pendulum, the metronome, the stopwatch—and also that chronic nag, the parking meter.

“Memos to a New Millennium” broadcast December 31, 1999 on NPR