Seeing total eclipse

 

Hayter article for April 14, 2024

 

“Took a little trip”

Kay and I haven’t been out much for the past few years, so we decided to rent a B and B somewhere along the path of the total eclipse. We’d never seen a total eclipse. The closest we’ve come is an 86 percent eclipse that we saw while staying five months in Grandview, Washington, back in 2017.

I wrote 20 articles from that locale. I don’t have time to find the article about the fun we had with our relatives while watching the 86 Percenter. During our total solar eclipse experience, it was just Kay, the neighbor’s barking dog, and me. Not as jubilant as our Washington experience, but we can die happy after seeing a total eclipse.

The next eclipse in Texas will be in 2048. If I’m still alive, I’ll be 99 years old, and in no mood to to drive 579 miles to Follet, Texas to see the thing. Follet is a town on the eastern tip of the Texas Panhandle. God chose it to be the only part of Texas where the 2048 eclipse will be seen. Follet has a population of 349 and continues to drop. In 2048, I doubt they’ll have a bed and breakfast. They may not even have a population.

Oh, and the 2048 total eclipse will be annular, not solar. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s revolution is closest to the Earth. No, I had no idea that the moon’s orbit varied, so work with me here. When the moon is closest to us, it looks bigger, and will totally block out the sun. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon is furthest from the Earth, which makes it look smaller when viewed from our viewpoint.

 When the moon is close to us, it can cover all of the light from the sun. That’s called a total Solar Eclipse. When it’s farthest away, it looks smaller making it impossible for it to totally cover the sun’s light. Instead, there will be light escaping when the moon is perfectly centered with the sun.

Which makes you wonder, “Who gives a rat’s rump?” I’ll tell you who -- a 99-year-old man will not drive 579 miles to a ghost town to see an annular eclipse. Entirely too much light.

            No doubt about it, Kay and I saw a total SOLAR eclipse. It would’ve looked so much better had we stayed home and watched it on TV, however, I much prefer being able to brag about the experience.

I don’t know how many millions of people viewed Monday’s total solar eclipse. Nor do I care.  The important thing is -- I saw it. So, if Virginia ever says something like, “Did you think to return my pie pan?”  I can reply, “No! But, you can bet your pie pan that I did see a total solar eclipse!

Kay and I viewed the eclipse in the backyard of a small Bed and Breakfast house. No one within yelling or seeing distance was outside at the time. Unfortunately, the neighbor’s dog went haywire as soon as it started darkening. He could not be calmed down, either. His yelps developed a particular rhythm like, “Oh, no! Oh, no! “Oh, no!”

At this time, I feel it necessary to tell you to wear your eclipse glasses through an entire solar eclipse. I took mine off shortly before the total eclipse part because I thought it safe. Turns out, it was. Right up until the moment of the big flash. Kay later told me that it was the “diamond ring effect” that appeared immediately before and after the totality of a solar eclipse.. something perhaps she should’ve mentioned before the big flash.

By the time the moon became a total shield, I began to hear the Neekerbreekers. I thought those big cricket creatures that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about were pure fable. Well, they might be up until the time a total solar eclipse occurs. At that moment they went bonkers. Roosters, too. They thought they were near the edge of morning again.

A couple of things that are hardly worth mentioning, I’m going to go ahead and mention. The house we were staying in had two bedrooms. Both were upstairs across from one another. Both had a king-size bed. Each room was a small square with no closet. The difference between the rooms was in the color of the walls. One was dark, the other less so. Both were upstairs, and the upstairs had no bathroom. Unlike normal people, I make at least one trip to the restroom on any given night. Carrying a flashlight down a steep staircase with shallow steps and a higher last step is unnerving even for a surefooted person like myself. A person with a need to go, balancing himself while stepping slowly down the stairs, would be beyond the capabilities of a normal human being. That information was not necessary, but I felt it relevant.    

Right now, I shall venture into the kitchen to take advantage of the many leftovers we brought back from our trip. We didn’t know what we would feel like eating, so we brought along a big variety. It was my idea and totally unnecessary… as was the annular eclipse thing. I didn’t even know the moon’s orbit varied. – I’ve learned so much during my older days. 

 

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