I Can Die Now

Ten years ago some of you heard me say that I wished to live only until August 21, 2017, to see a total eclipse of the sun.  Most of you said, “What eclipse?” 

Darkness came over the land,
like first light before sunrise

Yesterday morning, the entire country was gripped in a fashionable act akin to the death of an actor, as if actors and great celestial events are of equal importance.  Here in Corvallis, Oregon, “Eclipse Mania.” turned out less than expected.  The mass of humanity we prepared for, seemed grossly overestimated.  

Darkness came over the land,
like first light before sunrise

While this part of Oregon is known for cloudy weather that could have severely blocked out view, quite the opposite happened.  We saw the Great American Eclipse in perfectly clear sky.

We walked to a country place where a few townspeople gathered in anticipation.  The predicted time for beginning of the moon’s encroachment into the sun was 9:04AM.  By 9:06 everyone agreed that it was really happening. 

We watched for over an hour as the moon gradually transformed the sun into a likeness of itself in crescent phase, like a man trains a great beast to become like him.  Only with eclipse glasses was it safe to watch. 

Totality hit me, not gradually as I expected, but like a cannon blast.  Suddenly, the sun was entirely obscured.  Its corona, like a ring of fire, surrounded a black disc, and the sky became dark, like first light before sunrise.  I became dizzy, threw off my eclipse glasses, and almost fell to the ground. I was Moses before a burning bush, a shepherd on a hillside when the angel appeared.  

Not my picture, but this is what I saw

I stood awestruck for one minute and 32 seconds.  That was the time totality lasted before a flash, like a diamond, appeared, and the moon moved on.  Suddenly it too bright to gaze on.     

I was standing alone beside a chicken pen and turned to see how the event had affected the chickens.  They glanced up from their scratching, then went on with life as usual.