The ubiquitous stories of the eclipse are now behind us. But the memories live on. We saw the eclipse from Tacoma, Washington, laying out a blanket on a portion of the golf course abutting my in-laws home. We were asked to move only once by a groundskeeper so he could mow beside us and once he was done Jacquelyn and I settled in with our sister-in-law in tow.
As the moon made its slow trek across the sky, we donned our glasses and settled in with books, our backs providing support for each other. We watched the sky dim and the shadows turn the sunlight to crescents on the ground – hundreds of eclipse images laid out before us.
And as the moon reached its zenith, covering fully ninety-five percent of the sun, we marveled at the majesty of the event, thanking the astronomers for their insights, for their prowess. We are amazed that the people inhabiting this pale blue dot in the corner of our galaxy, can model the orbits of the planets and plot their positions.
Seven years from now, in 2024, a total eclipse will wind its way toward us once more, this time in Dallas, the moon’s shadow traversing from New England to Texas. We can’t wait. Hopefully we will have as good a view.