EVERETT — Brace for the big dark. It’s Daylight Losing Time.

Or so it will seem at dinnertime.

Twice a year, we play the clock-changing game known as daylight saving time.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, clocks fall back an hour. You gain an extra hour of sleep, which you’ll need to stay awake when darkness arrives before dessert.

Even our pets may wonder why breakfast is late. But at least kids won’t have to wait for the school bus in the dark.

Hawaii and most of Arizona sit out the clock-changing game. For the rest of us, Congress might eventually change the rules. Or not.

It has been tried before. In 1973, President Richard Nixon signed a law launching year-round daylight saving time, but concerns about children heading to school before sunrise and public opposition led Congress to restore standard time in October 1974.

For those of us who can’t set the clocks in our cars, it’s now either right or wrong — until clocks spring forward again.

The time change is a bummer for some and a boon for Country Clock Shop owner Fred Kiesel. His Everett shop draws customers seeking help resetting grandfather clocks and adjusting watches.

It’s a dwindling trade, kept alive by old-fashioned timepieces that need tinkering.

“Sentimental value is keeping me alive,” he said.

Once upon a time, Kiesel maintained the clock in the historic Mission Building at the Snohomish County campus, climbing the tower to move the hands forward or back for the time change.

He gets asked why the clock stopped and the bell no longer tolls.

“People call me and say, ‘Why isn’t the clock working?’” he said.

Snohomish County Executive Office spokesperson Kari Bray confirmed the tower clock is out of commission.

“While the clock has a long history of keeping time here (since March of 1910), the 700-pound clock currently requires a rebuild of its main mechanism to address a mechanical failure that has, quite literally, stopped the clock,” Bray said in an email. “Grant funding is being sought to pay for a project to repair the clock tower, but we don’t yet know if or how much we may receive, and so we don’t yet have a firm timeline for repairs.”

Our body clocks are another story. The adjustment can leave us fatigued, irritable and groggy. You wouldn’t think a measly hour could make such a ruckus.

Earlier sunsets can also affect mood, particularly for people prone to seasonal depression. The rest of us might feel like hibernating.

One good thing comes from messing with the clocks: It’s a reminder to change the batteries in your smoke detectors, too.

Contact writer Andrea Brown at reporterbrown@gmail.com or 425-422-7598.