A few years ago I witnessed an incredible natural phenomenon. A total solar eclipse. For me, it was meaningful for several reasons, so I thought I’d tell you all about it. My hometown in South Carolina, where some of my family still lived, was in the path of totality, so the town registered as an official NASA designated watch site. If you aren’t familiar with the term 'totality', I’ll explain. When scientists chart the path of an upcoming solar eclipse, they identify the narrow path of visibility where people will be able to see the complete eclipse, at the right angle. That is called totality. Out of the path of totality, people can see what happens as the shadow crosses the sun, but they will continue to see some of the sun peeking around the edges of the shadow. I am not an expert in solar events, I just repeat what they tell me.
Because the town was in the path of totality, they set up many festivities and hosted an afternoon watch party for viewing the eclipse. I traveled to my mom’s house where my mom, sister, and I enjoyed checking out some of the pre-game activities. My sister, as a town resident and a science teacher, actually worked at one of the instructional exhibits, educating the public on astronomy topics. I’m not the most well-versed on the mysteries of the universe, but I can appreciate the magnitude of the sky and the complicated relationships of celestial bodies. I can be wowed.
At this particular time, my mother’s health was failing, and most of her time was spent within the walls of her house. On the special day, as the moment of totality approached, we helped her walk out into her yard, way out into the open area, clear of tree branches. We set up a portable chair for her, got out our special viewing shades, and turned on our smartphone cameras. I remembered when I was a kid in 1970, our family had driven a few hours away to stand in a parking lot with our homemade shaded glasses to see a solar eclipse. The weather did not cooperate, and all we saw was a heavy layer of clouds. That event was a dud.
This time, I was being a good sport, participating in the eclipse hoopla, just to see what happened. I was fully expecting to be underwhelmed. I couldn't have been more wrong.
The total solar eclipse was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Even though I knew what was coming, it was rather breathtaking. I had no idea how it would FEEL when the moon’s shadow completely blocked the sun. I was astounded by all of the elements—the darkening sky, the changing colors, the buzzing cicada chorus, brilliant beads of light, the corona, the sharpened shadows, the lowered temperature, the other-wordly feeling in the air, the power of nature, the majesty of the universe. For two and a half minutes, we watched, listened and felt totality. Then, the moon’s shadow continued its journey and daylight was restored. It was awesome to think of the scientific facts and the mechanics of the parts and pieces that traveled through space. It was humbling to think of our small place on God’s Green Earth. It was inspirational to think of all the philosophers, poets, and kings who might have witnessed a similar event through the centuries. I had never experienced anything like it before. That I was able to share it with my mama and sister was especially dear. It was totally worth the trip.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a story about me unless it had a crazy element. After the moon shoved on and the eclipse ended, I, like thousands of other spectators, left town to go home. My WAZE driving app showed dark red congestion on all the highway routes for 200 miles. What should have been a 3 hour car ride, became longer and longer as I sat in standstill traffic again and again. I decided to hop off the interstate highway and try for a less direct, hopefully, less crowded route. The one fault of my GPS system is that I cannot program alternate routes. If I venture off course, my GPS barks commands at me trying to get me to make a U-turn, or turn left on every street to circle back around to the original route. Only after I have driven so far in another direction does my GPS give up and start “recalculating.” It’s kind of irritating.
Armed with my GPS, I started driving down a backroad, and, eventually, my GPS gave up on the original route and got on board with me. I had to restart the route search a few times, which, when I’m not wearing my reading glasses, can be challenging. That little screen and those tiny words. That’s an important detail—I wasn’t wearing my reading glasses. The backroads route took me around a large lake, up and down roads weaving around coves and over multiple bridges. It was slow-going, but at least I WAS going, not sitting in traffic. At times, my GPS lost signal, and I had to push onward, going on instinct, until my GPS kicked back in to give me directions. After about 45 minutes of scenic driving, my GPS instructed me to make several quick turns down remote roads, and then promptly announced “You Have Arrived!” I yelled, “I HAVE NOT ARRIVED! WHERE AM I??!!” That’s when I pulled out my reading glasses, put them on, and looked at the screen. I had arrived at the address that was programmed. Some random address in a random town that had a slight resemblance to my actual address. With my poor eyesight, I had selected the wrong address. All that driving had been sending me nowhere near my destination. And, that’s when the GPS decided to loose its signal again. “Are you kidding me?!!!!!”
I tried to retrace steps until I found a signal, then restarted my journey with the correct address selected. It took me about 6 hours to make the 3 hour trip home. What a trip. If I had time now, I would go into a whole thing about the contrast between my heavenly experience of the solar eclipse, nature at its finest, vs the frustrations of depending on technologies that get me through my day. But I don’t have time for that. I will leave that for your own thoughts. I could also discuss the message of many a sermon or motivational speech: be careful of the path you take, for you might find yourself in a place you neither recognize nor desire. But, I’m sure you’ve heard all that before, and others can expound the meaning better than I. So, I’ll just leave that for you to ponder.
An interesting website called thegreatamericaneclipse
describes the eclipse experience like this:
Your jaw will drop when you first see the corona and witness totality. You will be transfixed by the ethereal vision in the sky and when the precious few minutes have passed, your first thought will be 'when and where is the next eclipse?'.
Well, let me tell you.....In the USA, the next total solar eclipse will be April 8, 2024. The path of totality will stretch from Mexico to Texas and up through Maine. I recommend that you make plans to go somewhere along the path to witness it yourself. I know it might not be your thing, but it sure is an incredible event. You won't know what you're missing until you have actually seen a total solar eclipse. I think you’ll appreciate it. Plan early, and safe travels. Maybe I’ll see you there.