The old City Hall building in Harriman Tennessee had seen too many years since it was built in 1883. Once a majestic and beautiful landmark when it was first built, it now stood in a state of disrepair and neglect. It’s roof had several leaks, the windows were cracked and broken in places, the paint was peeling off the walls and the furniture had been there from before the turn of the century. When Robert James the new Mayor was elected; he set out his first day in office to determine what things in the old building needed to be fixed. The list was extensive and there was little money in the budget for repairs. The Mayor’s assistants; Matt Lomax and Mike Harrison were given the dubious task or arranging for the remodeling. Seven contractors bid on the project and after haggling among themselves the Upton Construction Company was chosen. They had been chosen for the one and only reason that they would perform the necessary repairs cheaper than the other companies. While this seemed like Mayor James was just being conservative with the taxpayer’s money; he was really just setting up a ‘nest egg’ for himself by reporting that the repairs were twice as costly as they really were in the city records and pocketing the excess money. There was nothing unusual about a politician lining his pockets since they do that sort of thing all the time but Mayor James made one very BIG mistake. After the repairs were made and the cover-ups handled deftly, the Mayor decided that most of the furniture would have to be replaced as well. “We need new, modern furnishings instead on this old, rickety junk.”; he said to Matt and Mike. “I want a new desk, chairs, conference table, and get rid of that ‘ancient piece of junk’ grandfather clock. It’s an eyesore and it scares me half out of my wits every time it chimes.” “Yes sir, first thing in the morning”; replied the Mayor’s ‘yes men’. All of the City Hall’s furniture had been hand crafted but the grandfather clock was by far the finest piece of furniture. The hand carved oak panels and gold hardware were an antique lovers dream- come-true. The clock had been meticulously crafted by one of the last great Swiss Clock makers. It was said to be alive with his spirit.... in more ways than one. Claus Royce had spent the last six months of his eighty three years making the very finest time piece of his career as a groundbreaking gift on the City Hall building to his grandson in the New World; the mayor of Harriman. When he died as the final finishing touches were being performed, his understudies swore that they saw his spirit enter the grain of its majestic panels. In all of its time in the mayors office at City Hall, it hadn’t lost a second in one hundred and seven years! None of these things mattered to the Mayor. He wanted an LCD. wall clock made from plastic and circuits. “A digital clock doesn’t make noise, never needs winding, and if you get one with a back-up battery it won’t even have to be reset after a power failure.” One by one, the old furniture was hauled away but because of the clock’s feeble condition, it would have to be partially disassembled by clock experts to prevent damage to its delicate mechanism. There wasn’t any love lost for the clock from the Mayor but he stood to make a nice addition to his coffers by arranging for its safe transportation to Smith’s Auction House in Knoxville; a neighboring city. The first available time that Smith’s antique experts could pick up the clock was 3:00 PM the next day. The necessary arrangements were made. The clock had ’overheard’ many conversations in all its years but the last few had been the most disturbing. It had one purpose and one only; to keep perfect time there at the City Hall. Now something was threatening its ability to serve that purpose, and it just couldn’t allow that. The clock set directly behind the Mayor’s desk where it had been since its arrival from Switzerland long before. At 12 Noon on the dot, the old clock began to chime ‘with booming authority’. “That blasted thing has got to go!”; exclaimed Mayor James. Despite it going off every single hour on the hour, he never failed to be startled with it being so close behind him. Perhaps in a subconscious way he feared his ‘Judgment day’. “What time are those clock experts getting here today to disassemble that pile of junk?”; he barked. “I don’t know how many more times I can stand it going off without having a heart attack!” “They will be here today at three PM.”; said Mike. “Is that the best they can do?”; he demanded. “Yes sir, that was the first available time they could get to us with the proper equipment”; added Matt. “Well, roughly how much are they going to charge to dismantle the damn thing?”; the Mayor inquired. “They told me yesterday that each job is different but it would probably run around seventy five to a hundred dollars.”; Mike replied nervously. He knew how tight the Mayor was. “What? A hundred dollars to do that! Why, I’d smash the thing to pulp with a sledgehammer for five!”; he scowled. “Relax sir, we’ve already found a bidder who offered fifteen hundred dollars for it! Minus the hundred for the service call and the thirty dollar wall clock you want that leaves thirteen hundred and seventy dollars for us to use any way we see fit.” “That’s unbelievable! For that old thing? Well, you two will be handsomely rewarded for your hard work. Right now I’m going to lunch; as for you ‘Mr. Clock’; you can chime all you want to ‘cause in three hours you will be in pieces.” The Mayor got back from his lunch at one thirty PM and directed his attention to some paperwork on his desk. The Harriman Building and Planning Commission was proposing a large shopping center to be built. Always an opportunist, the Mayor wondered if he could get away with placing some of his property in his son’s name to sell to the developer’s at a premium price. He paged his secretary. “Lisa, have Matt and Mike come to my office for a conference, hold all of my calls and let me know when the clock movers get here.” After being notified about the meeting the three men sat down to discuss the Mayor’s latest scheme. From behind the closed conference room door Lisa heard the old grandfather clock strike two PM. She went back to her typing and office work, and took several messages for the Mayor and his assistants. Wondering how much longer it would be until her three fifteen coffee break, she glanced at her wrist watch. It read three after three PM but she knew that it was a little fast. A minute or so later, two men walked up to her desk and introduced them as the clock experts sent from the auction house. She told them to take a seat on the new leather couch while she notified the Mayor of their arrival. It was at that instant that the Clock struck three! The clock’s chimes sounded much deeper than usual to her and was followed by a loud clatter, as if a piano had fallen over. She rolled her eyes and smiled at the clock men with a perplexed expression. “Sir, the repairmen are here, do you want me to send them on in?”; she requested over the intercom. Several minutes went by without a response. She repeated the question and then added; “Is everything all right in there?” When no answer was given she knocked on the door and said; “I’m coming in.” She opened the door and screamed at what she saw. There at the Mayor’s desk, all three men were slumped over and the grandfather clock was against Mike Harrison’s head! The coroner’s report stated that at exactly 3:00 PM; in a bizarre freak accident, the grandfather clock chimed and became unbalanced and fell over striking Mayor James on the back of the head, and then rolling off him and hitting the other two men in a similar ‘domino’ fashion; killing all three men instantly. Also noted as a side note was that the clock was completely undamaged and still had the correct time....... Yes the clock did STRIKE THREE! Three who were trying to keep it from its century long purpose. Fortunately for the new Mayor, he likes the grandfather clock!
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