How to enjoy the eclipse!

What is the big deal anyway!

Hard to tell, but this is a photo of complete darkness across the porch

My daughter filmed the eclipse, and sent me the video that same evening.  She and her husband travelled to a small Tennessee town in the path of totality, hoping to enjoy the eclipse and yet to avoid the crowds congregating in larger cities.  They sat under a large shade tree and met visitors from Ohio, New Jersey, New York and several other states, but the numbers of people were low.  It seemed everyone sitting on the grass in the town center had made a point to be there at that time.  As the sun disappeared I could hear cheers and shouts, the crowd was unabashedly enjoying the spectacle.  The streetlights turned on, the insects roared and the sky faded to completely black.  Just watching the video on my cellphone, I couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm.  One woman yelled out, “I see a lightning bug,” and everyone in the park cheered and laughed.  The joy of the moment was contagious, and I laughed as well.

            In the days leading up to the eclipse I grew tired of all the hype from radio and TV, including all the social media coverage.  We heard about the fears of traffic strangleholds bracketed with invitations to eclipse parties and eclipse festivals.  I was torn between wanting to avoid the crazy crowds to wondering why such an awesome act of nature would need to be surrounded by concerts and promotions.  I bought eclipse glasses, commemorative stamps, and an eclipse map, but scoffed at eclipse T-shirts.  Radio broadcasts repeatedly warned us of the dangers of staring unprotected at the sun.  We were told to move all pets indoors, and to close the curtains and blinds, just in case our dogs looked outside.  Road signs on the highway remind us the date of the eclipse and warned us to “plan ahead.”

Warning signs on the highway

            On the flip side to the ongoing frenzy, others developed a blasé attitude, sort of a “what is the big deal anyway” mindset.  I had friends say they were planning on staying inside, maybe watching the eclipse on a live stream from NASA.  Maybe they would look outside when it got dark, just to see.  These comments were from people lucky enough to be in the path of totality, where the moon would block 99 – 100 % of the sun’s light.

            Our son lives in Charleston, SC and we decided to visit him and enjoy the last sections of eclipse totality on its path across our country.  Our son took a day off of work, like so many others in town.  Schools were closed, government offices shut down early and traffic promised to be a nightmare from all the visitors expected into the city, although possible cloudy weather lowered those numbers.

            The day before we were shopping in the local Walmart.  In the time it took for me to try on 2 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts I heard at least 8 phone calls to the clerk working at the dressing area.  Each call was answered the same way, “No, we are all out of eclipse glasses.  I am so sorry.”

            As we were leaving the store I passed employees giving the same reply all through the store.  Between all the hype on the radio and TV, all the casual disinterest, every pair of glasses in town had been purchased.

            We three, my husband, son and I walked out to the parking lot of the apartment on the day of the eclipse.  It was hot and sunny so we would step out of the shade, don the glasses and stare at the sun, then retreat under a tree to cool off.  How exciting it was the first time we could tell a sliver of the sun was darkened.  Each time we looked, more of the sun had disappeared.  Our two daughters texted from different locations and we all shared in the excitement together.  Neighbors stepped outside as the black ball of the moon continued to swallow the sun.

Attempting to photograph the eclipse with the selfie mode

And then the storm clouds arrived

            Sadly, we heard thunder and clouds began filling in the sky.  Soon the sun was hidden behind thick clouds.  With hope we kept looking up, until the lightning and light rain began.  Soon though, we realized the falling darkness was deeper than any rain clouds could create.  Our streetlights turned on, insects began singing and children ran in happy circles on the field.  I remembered times when we were allowed to stay up late as children, and we ran around in the cool nighttime air.  These kids were enjoying the strange darkness in the middle of the day, and not even the rain dampened their joy.  After a few minutes the darkness lifted somewhat, the massive storm hit with thunder and lightning, and sideways falling rain.

             A few days before someone had said to me, “It’s just an eclipse.  I don’t know why people are so exited.”  At that time I decided to just enjoy the moment, to not expect too much or too little, but to watch and feel and participate.  I would enjoy with out expectation, and that is what I did.  I was disappointed to not see the moment of totality, to not see the corona of the sun or the funny shaped shadows that would filter through the leaves, but I was also thrilled to experience the parts I did see, and the complete darkness and the lifting of that darkness.

            And now I know, next time, I will again travel and take my chances with the weather, the traffic, and the forces of discouragement.  What nature gives, I will enjoy!

            

Books and thinking.

Books and Thinking

The library is one of the most important places for me when I move to a new town.  We sign up for library cards, check out tons of books, and join various book clubs and activities.  People fill the building enjoying story hours for children, reading magazines in soft chairs situated under windows, while others are working on computers, and researching for jobs or projects. While sitting close to the reference desk I observed two men asking for help.  The first man asked for books on cryobiology, and the second needed a cookbook for his wife.

 I just re-read an essay in defense of libraries and reading.  The writer wrote that reading is one of the most important things we can do.  Libraries provide opportunities for everyone to read, regardless of income or life situations.  I have seen homeless people taking shelter in the buildings, and yesterday I listened to a probably homeless lady reading a book out loud.  She might have been a little crazy, but she was passing her day in a much better way than sitting out in the sun, and she was enjoying her book.  Since I didn’t want to enjoy the exact same book, I moved to a different chair across the room.

Reading is important.  Thinking is important.  I had a teacher that was constantly telling us he wasn’t there to teach us biology, but his goal was to teach us to think.  I always wondered when I would know I was a thinker, when I had learned the lesson and attained the skill.  I wonder still.

I would like a method of measurement, a device that would let me know when I have reached the level of thinker.  When exactly would I be ready to trust my ideas, my thoughts?  When could I trust that my knowledge is true?

            When we dedicate ourselves to a religion or a philosophy, we have to at some point choose to believe, to have faith in the thinking process that brought us there.  When we dedicate ourselves to a life changing decision, career choice or life mate for example, we have to trust our thinking process.  When we take one or another political view and cast a vote, again we have to trust our own reasoning. 

We believe education is the answer.  I do believe, yet educated people do not agree on matters of faith, politics or pretty much anything else.

Maybe all this education is not there to guide us to one exact truth.  Educated and uneducated people believe in God, and also do not believe.  Educated people, whatever that means, have voted on both sides of different issues.  But, and this is what bothers me, if learning to think is the goal of a good education, if reading well and deeply is key to a good education, then why can’t I trust my thoughts, my decisions, my world view?  Have I not given enough thought and study to the ideas floating around?  Have I not read enough books?  I love to read, but maybe I am not choosing the right material.  I love to ponder ideas, but how do I know I am pondering well?

I think about the Civil War, and the men running to join up in service of the good cause, on both sides of the war.  These were people willing to kill, and to die, and they were serving apposing sides of the conflict.  This was the war known for pitting brother against brother.  Even people raised in the same household had been known to choose opposite sides in the Civil War.

Perhaps achieving the goal of thinker isn’t going to lead us to a specific truth, but instead will guide us in the way we arrive at these decisions.  Truth is found when we are honest to our own thinking even if our truths may be different.   I am not satisfied with this answer, but I think it is the best I can do.  We are only able to know the things we know.  So many decisions have to be made based on our best understanding of a subject, and perhaps the reading we have done, the ideas we have been exposed to, perhaps these things will guide us and aid in our sifting of information.  I can only hope that to be true.

At least with public libraries, we all have access to good literature, history books, newspapers, and whatever else we choose to fill our mind with.  We do not live in a closed off society, we can feast on words every day.  I guess the biggest danger of this is junk food, reading things that do not help in developing our minds, our ability to think and reason.  Still, as long as we have the option to choose the books we are going enjoy, we have a better chance of growing.