A friend once described what he called the 'blue Volkswagon phenomenon,"
viz.: You can go through life never noticing blue Volkswagons, until say
you date someone who drives one. Then you notice them everywhere.
    Seems that way with His/Her/Their Time - While looking for something
else this morning I noticed that the phrase turns up (below in caps)
in Jefferson's recounting in 1818 of the story Ben Franklin told him
to assuage his feelings during the congressional editing of the
Declaration of Independence. Franklin used the phrase in connection
with apprenticeship, in a familiar story that always bears another
circulation.
-jk

"When the Declaration of Independence was under the consideration of
Congress, there were two or three unlucky expressions in it which gave
offence to some members. The words “Scotch and other foreign auxiliaries.”
excited the ire of a gentleman or two of that country. Severe strictures
on the conduct of the British King, in negativing our repeated repeals of
the law which permitted the importation of slaves, were disapproved by
some Southern gentlemen whose reflections were not yet matured to the full
abhorrence of that traffic. Although the offensive expressions were
immediately yielded, these gentlemen continued their depredations on other
parts of the instrument. I was sitting by Dr. Franklin who perceived that
I was not insensible to these mutilations. “I have made it a rule,” said
he, “whenever in my power, to avoid becoming the draftsman of papers to be
reviewed by a public body. I took my lesson from an incident which I will
relate to you. When I was a journeyman printer, one of my companions, an
apprentice hatter, having served out HIS TIME, was about to open shop for
himself. His first concern was to have a handsome signboard, with a proper
inscription. He composed it in these words: John Thompson, Hatter, makes
and sells hats for ready money,” with a figure of a hat subjoined. But he
thought he would submit to his friends for their amendments. The first he
showed it to thought the word “hatter” tautologous, because followed by
the words, “makes hats,” which show he was a hatter. It was struck out.
The next observed that the word “makes” might as well be omitted, because
his customers would not care who made the hats. If good and to their mind,
they would buy by whomsoever made. He struck it out. A third said he
thought the words “for ready money,” were useless as it was not the custom
of the place to sell on credit. Everyone who purchased expected to pay.
They were parted with, and the inscription now stood, “John Thompson sells
hats.” “Sells hats,” says his next friend? Why nobody will expect you to
give them away. What, then, is the use of that word? It was stricken out,
and “hats” followed it, — the rather as there was one painted on the
board. So his inscription was reduced ultimately to “John Thompson” with
the figure of a hat subjoined — "

Paul Leicester Ford, ed., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (New York,
1904-05) 10: 119.

Dr. Jon Kukla, Executive Vice-President
Red Hill - The Patrick Henry National Memorial
1250 Red Hill Road
Brookneal, Virginia 24528
www.redhill.org
Phone 434-376-2044 or 800-514-7463

Fax 434-376-2647

- M. Lynn Davis, Office Manager
- Karen Gorham, Associate Curator
- Edith Poindexter, Curator