Death to Clocks

Vic's desire to tinker with clocks might come from the need to express his ability outside of his usual accounting job. To conquer an intricate machine, rather than the mundane crunching of numbers. A matter of being faced with a high tech machine, and being it's master, rather than having some dumb, inanimate machine mastering the human.

Machines can do work that involve a lot of horsepower. Steam engines, tractors, pile drivers, and the like. A watch, or clock is such a tiny, delicate little thing. It's all about the engineering, the design, and having the smarts to figure it all out. Vic is a smart guy, and even without specialized training, he considers himself qualified to tackle the job.

It does take a certain amount of specialized training though. I think Vic would realize that if he considered his own job. Anybody can do math, but it takes a certain amount of training to know all the techniques of good accounting.

Even in Mark Twain's short story about a mishap with a valuable, and well working watch when it entered the hands of watch repairmen. Even a trained watch repairman can go overboard, and ruin a good thing if he isn't careful. Read it here: http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1565/

Vic has a bit of a problem with compulsive behavior. He goes overboard on certain topics, not learning from his mistakes, or those times when he has crossed a line. Sade regulates him when she can, but she can't be there round the clock. If she isn't there to stop him, Vic is sure to make a shot at getting that wide brimmed hat, and embarrassing himself in front of his neighbors. Vic is prone to go overboard on spending money and time on lodge business and trinkets. When Sade's not around, Vic revels in the flirtatious advances of those secretaries at work, only to catch it from Sade when she finds out. And she always finds out.

That obsessive behavior is the reason Vic can't leave any defenseless timepiece alone.

I suppose everybody has their pet peeves, and things we have addictive behavior about. It's just one of those absurd things in the world of Vic and Sade that make the characters so normal. -- Keith Heltsley, Retro Radio Podcast

• In episode 37-07-07 Smelly's Tonsil Operation, Sade mentions three alarm clocks Vic had been messed with and had been broken.
• Vic: "I thought I fixed that clock..."  (((HEAR)))
• Vic: "That screwdriver still out in the pantry?..." (((HEAR)))
• In episode 40-06-05 Alarm Clock Hunt, Vic offers Rush a dime for every alarm clock he can bring to him.
• Vic: You have an alarm clock record that is absolutely spotless. You never broke an alarm clock in your life. I, on the other hand, have been most unfortunate."  (((HEAR)))
• In episode 42-02-13 Prize Clock, Vic did his best to fiddle with a clock that was won as a prize and did not belong to him.