A Once-In-A-Lifetime Event

This posting is out of order because the eclipse is just too special to postpone. Approximately two weeks ago I picked up my sister Jo in Redding,  left California,  and headed to Salem, Oregon to be there for the eclipse.

Jo, Daisy and I parked next to the home of my daughter Janice and her husband Doug.  We were joined by son Ron and his wife Loretta from San Diego.

It was a family mini-reunion (We missed you, Tom and Mary).

The night before the eclipse we all had dinner together at a local restaurant.

The next morning we gathered in front of Janice and Doug's house for the event and a barbecue.

Daisy was enthralled with all the attention.

I tried taking pictures through the lens of a pair of the special glasses...

..but the results are very bad.

I wish I could describe the emotion I felt while watching this event.

I have seen a number of partial eclipses and thought they were interesting but not all that riveting--this was decidedly different.

As the sun began to disappear, the air turned cold, the birds stopped singing, shadows grew long and dark, Daisy crawled under my chair and sat very very still.  

As the sun was blacked out we all fell quiet (also all the neighbors around us) speaking only in low voices.  As if a switch had been thrown, at 10:20 AM, the morning went to twilight then dark enough to see the stars in the sky.  We were able to remove the special glasses and stare directly at the sun. And the sun was merely a faint ring in the black sky.

How thrilling to see the diamond appear on the ring.   It was at that moment that everyone around us suddenly and spontaneously cheered.  Fireworks went off throughout the town.  And Daisy let me pick her up and cuddle her--something her hyper-active temperament had never let any one do prior to this.  A total eclipse is awesome!  It was unexpectedly moving and over way too fast.

I wanted to write a poem, sing a song, salute the tiny moon that could erase the mighty sun for even 10 seconds.

And I am making my reservations now for the next U.S.A. total eclipse in 2024.