For some, it’s a total eclipse of excitement
The special sunglasses are packed and at the ready. Times have been noted. Locations have been calibrated.
For many people, today’s eclipse of the sun is an event as monumental as the Millennium Celebration of 2000 … or the Bicentennial Celebration of 1976.
They have planned trips to areas of the country where the eclipse will be total … where they can get the best view of this almost once-in-a-generation event.
For others, it may be a hohum experience. On the level of a full moon … on a cloudy night.
There are some people who just can’t get excited about an event unless it includes a marching band, cheerleaders in skimpy outfits, an open bar reception, butlered hors d’oeuvres and fireworks.
I probably fall somewhere in the middle.
It just so happens I am in one of the better locations to view the eclipse – Pinehurst, North Carolina. But I am there due to coincidence, rather than eclipseplanned design. We are shooting another episode of the Traveling Golfer television show that airs on Comcast SportsNet … and the eclipse is actually a major inconvenience. Instead of being able to shoot at the golf course today, we will have to go inside when the course goes dark.
Therefore, the excitement level is diminished.
But that is not the case for many Americans. Travel plans have been made months in advance. Hotel rooms in prime areas are scarce. Try to get a rental car. In some of the best areas, even a mid-size car will set you back $500 for the week.
But that hasn’t stopped some people.
They are ready for a near lifealtering experience.
Lafayette Hill native Malcolm Robertson, owner of Sand Barrens Golf Club near Avalon, NJ, is flying to Colorado. He has a house in Boulder, but that is still a long way to go to see someone turn off the lights.
“I just look at it as another excuse for a party,” said Robertson. He will be joined by some friends and the entire event will be book-ended by rounds of golf.
Another golf-and-eclipse party is planned by Chris Valianatos, owner of the Borderline Restaurant in Bethlehem. He is being joined by three other friends and they are flying from the Lehigh Valley, aboard Allegiant Airlines, directly to Myrtle Beach. They then plan to make the short drive south to Georgetown, South Carolina – one of
the other major gathering points for viewing. Expect a traffic jam for that one.
That group is staying the entire week in Myrtle Beach and playing golf every day.
“I don’t know whether I am more excited about the eclipse or the golf,” admitted Valianatos.
The husband-wife team of Greg Collings and Plymouth Meeting chiropractor Dr. Veronica Collings, are really making an adventure of it. They are packing up their recreational vehicle and making the 10-hour drive to their condo on the south side of Myrtle Beach. From there it is a short hop to the Georgetown epicenter.
“At first, I thought all of the hoopla about the eclipse was sort of silly,” said Greg. “Then I started to hear from so many who were excited about it. There is no doubt it has become a major event for a lot of people and I guess I am getting caught up in it.”
The excitement of his wife, Veronica, is many levels higher.
“I had an old mentor in my field (chiropractic) tell me: ‘When you come to work every day, bring your knowledge with you. But, in order to be successful, you must also bring your enthusiasm with you.’ I live by that code daily, so it should come as no surprise that I am extremely enthusiastic about being part of the eclipse viewing.”
Not satisfied with a very good view from their condo in Surfside Beach, on the south end of the Myrtle Beach area, they also will drive farther south to somewhere in Georgetown.
“We’ll find a good spot to park the RV, unwrap a picnic lunch, and make a day of it,” concluded Dr. Collings.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is running a special Eclipse Cruise. And singer Bonnie Tyler is onboard to sing her 1980s hit song, “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
All of this celebration is a far cry from the days when a total eclipse inspired a drastically different reaction. A few hundred years ago, before news of this rare natural phenomenon could be disseminated to the masses, a total eclipse touched off widespread hysteria and fear that the world is coming to an end.
Move the calendar forward a few centuries and the only event that inspires a similar reaction comes when a presidential candidate pulls off an upset of record proportions. Once again, hysteria about the end of civilization, as we know it, spreads.
Let’s see the media find a way to criticize President Trump over his comments about the eclipse. That will take an inordinate amount of imagination. But I have faith in the media of the Left.
In the meantime, for the great multitude of Americans, the eclipse is a time to lift a glass … toast the disappearance of the sun … then, again, toast its reappearance. No hysteria needed.