I feel badly that one of the things I sometimes find myself saying lately is - the more I'm alive the less I like people. But you get it, right? After 43 years I've seen some things and maybe my tolerance isn't what it used to be. But this week I am happy to say my outlook is different. This week I am filled with love for my fellow man all because of the sun. (Cue George Harrison's guitar intro for "Here Comes The Sun".)
I spent Monday - Eclipse Day - at a couple of community gatherings held to celebrate and embrace the celestial event. I was happy to see so many people show up to participate in the festivities. I did not expect that; one because it fell during a work day and two I thought it was a "nerd" thing.
I can say that because I have always been one of those "nerds". During the partial eclipse of '94, as a college student with a summer office job, I made a paper plate camera I could use to safely view the sun. I tried to entice my adult co-workers to come outside on break with me and check things out, but no one was really into it like me. Plus, we were supposed to be working. There were phones and customers to deal with.
As a middle school student, I remember using my grandfather's old telescope to check out a few lunar eclipses. I would always end up outside in our backyard alone, alone in terms of people, but with plenty of company of the animal variety. After a few owl hoots or rustling in the grass sounds, I would end up going back into the safely of my home.
But this year it was different. I was not alone. I was able to experience the eclipse with my kids, my sister and her family and people I had never met before. My sister and I stood side by side, decked out in our special glasses - staring at the sun. Folks, it doesn't get better than that. So many people gathered at the community event we attended and when our kids got bored, they could hit the playground. It was surprisingly a delightful day that allowed many people to take pause and marvel at our world.
What I am most impressed with are the people who took time to plan fun community events. People took time away from their regular jobs dealing with budgets, agendas and bills to create an afternoon of enjoyment for their residents. And this wasn't unique to our area - it happened all over the country. It was especially nice to be among the sun gazers because everyone seemed - happy.
It was an exciting atmosphere where people could enjoy food, fellowship and a view of the eclipse that at one point was almost completely obscured by cloud cover. When it counted, the clouds parted, providing an incredible vantage point for those who were watching with anticipation. There was even a point where some rain drops fell and boy my heart was racing thinking their might be an eclipse and a rainbow.
I am glad that people were able to embrace this amazing event. People of all ages were gathered to be a part of the happening and for me it was, just incredible. I was in awe of the sight I witnessed once I put my NASA approved glasses on. It sure beat my paper plate set up from a few decades ago. Even still, many took time to construct a cereal box camera and one gentleman even allowed me to give it a go!
I hope kids who participated in Monday's eclipse learned a thing or two about our universe and how amazing it is that something so large - the sun - can be dimmed by something much smaller in size - the moon - with a distance of millions of miles separating the two. Maybe now words and phrases like corona, umbra and path of totality, make sense to these young minds who are getting a better dose of STEM (science, technology. engineering and math) in schools these days.
All I know is that I am already planning to flee to the 'Cleve (Cleveland, Ohio) in 2024 for the next solar eclipse. I am going to save the pair of glasses I got this week and instead of the 80% totality we had in Pittsburgh get a 100% dose of corona (not the beer), which is predicted for parts of Ohio and northwest PA. It is going to be a long wait but hey, on Monday smiles returned to faces and once again to invoke Mr. Harrison - it's alright.
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