A total solar eclipse is seen on Monday, August 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

PRE ECLIPSE

It’s an eclipse, what’s the big deal?!

POST ECLIPSE

Did you see it, and did you wear the corny cardboard glasses?

I lost my gazing glasses, damn!

I found my gazing glasses. It’s pretty awesome! In central Virginia where I live, we marveled at around an 80% eclipse.

What did you think of it? What words describe it best for you? For me it was…

• Magical
• Spiritual
• Awe-inspiring
• Humbling
• Eerie
• Other-worldly

For some it might have been…

• An event to plan a vacation around
• An event to share with kids and family
• A reason to put up with lots of traffic to travel to an ideal viewing destination
• A reason to pray for clear skies
• A reason to wear corny cardboard glasses
• An excuse to miss work
• An excuse to party
  

  

For such a short of event, there was a whole lot of hoopla!

Did you know — an eclipse happens about every eighteen months to two years in some part of the world or another? The fascination with astral happenings leads some people travel to experience it often.

BACK IN THE DAY

Can you imagine what it might have been like to experience a total eclipse in the days before science understood what and why it happens, and that it is a normal event, albeit rare?

Imagine you could travel back in time, to say, 500 years ago. If you could observe the human reaction I imagine you might see…

• Intense Fear
• Panic
• Hysteria
• Grieving
• Screaming
• Praying

And then, it was over, and life returned to normal…

But what a way to punctuate the day, the week, the year! I know I’ll never forget it.

All photos above are from NASA public images.

And why weren’t we visiting Carrie, Michael and family in Boise for this happening. Poor planning is all I can say!