SEATTLE -- We tend to think of time on a small scale of seconds and minutes, but Stuart Kendall is thinking big. As in "pyramids" big.
"I would describe this as not as large in physical scale as the pyramids, but certainly with the same philosophy," said Kendall, the 66-year-old rock cutter.
Kendall's company, Seattle Solstice, is part of the mind-boggling project -- constructing a 200-foot tall clock some 500-feet deep into a mountain in the Sierra Diablos of remote West Texas. It's a clock designed to chime every day for 10,000 years.
"When this project came up we were just completely fascinated with it," said Kendall.
The undertaking is the brainchild of California's Long Now Foundation and is funded by none other than Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos. The purpose -- to foster a belief in the future.
"It's a way to build something for this age that would go on and preserve and foster long-term thinking," said Kendall.
Kendall and his son Jason are making their mark on history with their custom robotic saw that will cut a massive spiral staircase into the rock inside the mountain. People will climb down the stairs and hear the clock chime daily at noon.
Gargantuan gears 5 to 8 feet tall and weighing 1,000 pounds each are being built at Seattle's Machinists Incorporated. Another Seattle company, The Gear Works, with extensive military experience, is involved, as well.
The clock will be "self-winding" through a combination of thermal power and 20,000 pound weights. Stuart Kendall expects to start work on the staircase in the fall.
Work is already underway in West Texas. A mining company is boring the entry tunnel.
Some may say Bezos simply has too much money, and too much time on his hands. Or that the project is more of a cuckoo clock. But to believers it's a symbol of timeless optimism, a reminder to future generations that time is precious and to never let it run out.
"I think this is a gift," said Kendall. "A gift that's going to be left to civilization in having this artifact that's going to go beyond any of our lives."
For more information: www.longnow.org/clock
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