Watches and clocks are something we rarely think about with the exception of October, when time skips back an hour and this month, when it moves forward 60 minutes.

In this day and age of happy-meal Spiderman quartz watches, cell phones and tool bars on the bottom of our computer screens, clocks and watches with mechanical movements are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Chances are you've got an old timepiece sitting somewhere, quietly collecting dust instead of ticking away the seconds of our days as it was designed to do.

For some that broken clock is your great-great-great grandmother's grandfather clock, or perhaps it's a watch given to you by a grandfather who wanted it to help you always be on time the way he was way back when.

If you fall into one of those categories or, if you are just too darn inquisitive like me, stop by Tic Tockery and see what time it is.

Huong Le, (Pronounced 'Hong') owner of Tic Tockery, located at 930A Douglas Blvd. is a second generation watchmaker whose son also carries on the family tradition at his own Tic Tockery in Yuba City.

Huong's career began more than 30 years ago when he was apprenticed to his uncle while a child in South Vietnam. As the war there intensified, Huong, a young man, joined the military.

"After the Americans left, the South Vietnamese lost the war," Huong said. "Things became much worse for me and my family. I had to escape from Vietnam. If I was caught trying to leave, the Vietcong would have done terrible things to me and maybe my family too."

Huong bought an old river boat and along with 23 others escaped on a dark night out into the South China Sea.

After many days at sea filled where the boat's motor had broken down and the boat threatened to sink, he and the others onboard came to an American-owned oil rig. A man on board the oil rig helped Huong and the others on the boat immigrate to America.

That was 1983. Once his family reached America, he got a job right away at a large clock shop in Fairfield. The name of that shop was; you guessed it, Tic Tockery.

"I worked there for many years. The owner was a very nice old man who taught me much," he recalled. "When I worked there, I was paid by commission and that meant I had to hurry. I did not like rushing through my work because I wanted to do better quality work. I learned English and decided to start my own shop in Bakersfield."

After many years in Bakersfield Huong moved to Roseville. His clean shop is filled with timepieces like ancient grandfather clocks in need of the deft touch only found in a master craftsman and tiny exquisite jeweled ladies watches being handed down to yet another generation of wearers. For those who live in the fast lane, he even changes batteries in quartz watches for a few bucks too.

When I visit Huong at Tic Tockery, I can't help but smile. He's always friendly, his prices are incredibly reasonable and he does a job that others like him have done for hundreds of years. If for that reason alone, he has my regard.

When I learned his family's story, my esteem for the man grew greatly.

We live in a country filled with stories like Huong's.

On this very day, there's somebody with a family leaving a terrible place in the dark of the night, praying for a chance to give them something better than what they've had to endure. Like Huong on that night many years ago, that person is even willing to risk their lives for a chance at freedom and a better life.

Hearing stories like Huong's once in a while reminds me of the incredible value placed upon freedom by those who don't have it or worse yet, by those who have lost it.

I am a fortunate man and proud I can call Huong my friend.

Visit his shop, at the very least you'll get your clock to stay on time and maybe you'll find something else there too.

I know I did.