"I'll just tell you the way it is. You ask me what time it is and I'm gonna tell you how to build a clock"

Dick Dale’s words reflect a personality and communication style that values depth and thoroughness over brevity. When someone asks a simple question, such as "what time is it", most people would give a straightforward answer: just the time. Dale suggests that he cannot limit his response to what’s merely requested. Rather, he feels compelled to give extended, detailed explanations, so instead of just providing the hour, he’d lay out the entire mechanism behind telling the time, the workings of a clock, maybe even its design, the gears, the springs, and the hands that point to the hour and the minute.

His approach emphasizes a desire to share context and understanding, not just information. It is as if, in every interaction, there exists an opportunity for teaching or storytelling. To someone who operates this way, the world is made up of connections and backgrounds that matter as much, if not more, than the headline response. This thoroughness can be rooted in genuine enthusiasm, perhaps even impatience with superficial conversations, or an inability to simplify what he perceives as complex. Some people are naturally explanatory; they see the richness of explaining how and why, rather than what. For them, giving only the answer feels like shortchanging the listener of an opportunity to learn or understand.

Yet, such thoroughness might not be for everyone. While some will appreciate the additional insight, others might find it overwhelming or tangential, especially if only a simple answer is sought. Dale’s self-awareness here suggests humor and acceptance of his own nature; he knows his style is different and is perhaps a little apologetic or proud of it. Ultimately, it reveals a mind attentive to detail, perhaps a teacher at heart, showing that sometimes, what appears to be over-explaining is actually an invitation to see the workings behind the world’s simplest facts.