In a small vacant lot at the end of Dearborn, a thirtyish woman walks a pair of whippet dogs, both boasting matching sweaters. Across the street, a young couple gaze at a number of listings in the window of a real estate office, most flaunting loft condominiums that reach half a million dollars plus. There's no time like the present Williston, North Dakota, is 893 miles west of Chicago. The sun comes up an hour later there. It sets an hour later.
Weather conditions being equal, everything in nature happens about one hour after it happens here.
Flowers open snow melts bed lice crawl back into their secret hiding places. Alarm clocks set for 6 a.m. bleat simultaneously in each location. Identical images of Matt Laurer sip identical coffee mugs in synchronization on North Dakotan and Chicagoan TV screens. Timecards clank in their punching machines. Yes, about 15 years ago.