Dear Cape Friends,
If you’re new here - welcome! Each week I share what’s happening in Cape Cod real estate, sprinkled with local flavor and the occasional detour.
If you woke up Sunday morning feeling oddly proud of yourself for being early to everything- congratulations, you survived another Daylight Saving Time “DST” shuffle. The clocks went back, the evenings arrived early, and once again we all agreed to pretend that an extra hour of sleep somehow makes up for five months of darkness by dinnertime.
Here on the Cape, that means porch lights flicking on at 4:30 p.m., dogs thinking it’s breakfast at 5 a.m. (including my two crazy Jack Russell terriers), and everyone wondering whether it’s socially acceptable to be in pajamas - or boxer shorts - by 7 p.m., tending a fire with a cocktail in hand.
So where did this dumb, idiotic - yet oddly enduring - ritual begin? I had to do a little digging...
The idea actually goes back to Benjamin Franklin, who half-jokingly suggested that Parisians could save candles by getting out of bed earlier. Fast-forward to the early 1900s, when countries like Germany and Britain adopted “summer time” to save coal during World War I. The U.S. followed suit in 1918 - and we’ve been changing our clocks (and complaining about it) ever since.
Some places decided they’d had enough: Hawaii and most of Arizona never change their clocks. Who knew! The rest of us just keep squinting at our microwaves trying to remember how to reset them. Even President Trump recently chimed in, calling the clock change “a big, beautiful inconvenience” and suggesting it might be time (pun intended) to make DST permanent. Personally, I think we could all use a little more daylight - especially here on the Cape. (For the record, I am NOT talking politics – but in this one instance can we all agree?)
On a global front, only about one-third of the world’s countries still practice seasonal clock changes. Europe keeps the twice-year flip; Asia mostly ditched it. In fact, China enacted DST in 1986 and abandoned it in 1992 after massive nationwide confusion and train-schedule chaos. Coincidentally, China changed Presidents the following year. Yup, look it up!
Hmmm… did I just uncover a mega conspiracy? Attention, Joe Rogan: this might be the greatest conspiracy never told - get on it!
Meanwhile, back in the Western Hemisphere - and closer to my heart - let’s talk Bermuda.
While China scrapped DST decades ago, Bermuda kept it - proof that rum and sunshine make almost any policy tolerable. Aside from my daughter getting married there (at her husbands wonderful family compound) last spring, it’s one of my favorite places on planet earth.
( Local tip: call my pal Arthur Wade (“The Calypso Cowboy”) (441) 300-8294. Tours, rides, and “problem-solving” with a smile. Think Pulp Fiction’s Mr. Wolfe… in pink shorts and boat shoes.. )
Bermuda, believe it or not, sits almost on the same latitude as North Carolina, not the Caribbean, which means they lose daylight just like we do this time of year. The difference? They handle it better. When the sun sets early, they pour a Dark ’n’ Stormy and call it research. Maybe that’s the real meaning of the “dark” in Dark ’n’ Stormy - it just comes a few hours earlier this time of year.
So wherever you are - Cape Cod, Bermuda, or somewhere in between - enjoy that “extra hour.” Use it to light a fire, call an old friend, or, if you must, pour something with a tiny umbrella in it. It’s always five o’clock somewhere… though now it might be four. 😄
Back to Real Estate (and Reality).
While the world tries to fix time itself, I’ll focus on what’s actually fixable - how your home looks, how we tell its story, and when we put it out there. This “off-season” is sneakily one of the best windows: serious buyers, less noise, and great light - if you’re quick before it disappears.
So go enjoy your extra hour - walk, call, sip, or finally conquer that annoying af blinking microwave clock! I’ll be here showing homes, writing updates, and pretending 5 p.m. is still part of the workday.
And if you’re starting to think about buying or selling, PaulBorde.com is always a great resource to browse listings, catch past newsletters, and stay current on the market (and- if I may say so -read some Pulitzer Prize–level past updates).
If you’re around Friday morning, please swing by Chatham Perk for the very best coffee in town. I’ll be there - And remember, as always, it’s on me…
Best,
Paul