Eclipse a totally awesome experience
It started at 2:14 p.m. The moon took a bite out of the sun. Just a nibble, like an appetizer. This past Monday, we were in Montreal. Why Montreal? Montreal because it was in the path of totality. A full solar eclipse.
We were lucky seven years ago to have been in Rexberg, Idaho, for a similar event. It was quite an experience. When the eclipse happened, and the moon blocked out the sun, I was not prepared for what came next. Some people on the soccer field laughed. Others wept. It had gotten cool. The birds sang as if it was sunrise. It was as if it was sunrise in one part of the sky and sunset in the opposite direction.
The total eclipse took less than two minutes but it was as if time had stopped. Two minutes felt like two years. I joke. Sort of.
With my apologies, but it was the best two minutes of my life. Apologies might be in order because it trumped, or equaled, the birth of our four children and four grandchildren. It felt like birth or probably more accurately, rebirth. I suddenly had a taste of what some people call being born again.
The word awe comes to mind. It made me feel small but not small in a bad way. Small but a part of something grand and celestial. It was so wonderful and joyous that we vowed, if the stars lined up, that we would try to witness the next solar eclipse visible in North America.
There were closer places to witness this one but we’d never been to Montreal so it was a good excuse to visit. We met up with Sue’s cousin Brad; his wife, Trish; her brother, Dave; and his wife, Gennie.
The day started out clear and beautiful; there were some wispy clouds in the afternoon but they didn’t interfere with the eclipse. You never know whether you’re going to get lucky with the weather but we got lucky. We were lucky and thankful.
The afternoon of the eclipse we commandeered a picnic table near the Montreal Science Centre on the St. Lawrence River waterfront. Soon we were surrounded by thousands of people.
By 2:59 p.m., the moon had covered half the sun. In order to look at the sun and not risk blindness, it was imperative to don the eclipse glasses.
Gradually it became cooler (the temperature can drop almost 10 degrees during an eclipse).
I’m not sure why but the sun looked as if it had become brighter. At 3:26 p.m., there was just a sliver left of the sun. The crowd cheered.
At 3:27 p.m., the sun was gone, replaced by a full moon with a halo around it. It was worth crying over and I did.
I received a nice note from Rick Kreiser thanking me for mentioning him in the last column. He was gracious enough not to say he had already won the John Brock award in 2023. I had said that he ought to win the award for his contributions to the community and, lo and behold, he’d already won it and I didn’t know it. I have no excuse other than the fact that I was gone most of 2023. Rick is good enough to win it twice.