Eclipse? Don’t Bother
I’m not going to Oregon to see the eclipse because I saw the last one in 1979. It wouldn’t be worth it. , and if you have seen one, …
I was working on a highway construction project a few miles south of Hood River, Oregon, on the Mount Hood Highway. There was a few inches of snow on the ground so there wasn’t much work activity on the project that day. I was in the job office trailer shuffling paper. I had heard about the coming eclipse and what a once-in-a-lifetime experience it was to be.
When the time approached, I left the job office trailer and walked across the road, out into a bright, snow-covered pasture for the best, unobstructed view I could get. There were some hills around, and trees, but the action was pretty much straight overhead as I recall. I think it was probably 11AM +/-. You could look it up.
Then the moon started to obstruct the sun. You could see that it was getting dimmer out, even though it had been a very bright blue day.
Just as the eclipse was nearing totality, I noticed rippling light waves on the snow, like the ones at the bottom of a swimming pool. This was the only special effect that I noticed. The other one was that at the moment of totality, some people reported hearing a “click.” I didn’t hear that. I can’t imagine what would have caused that.
It did get pretty much as black as night. I don’t remember seeing stars. I don’t really recall looking straight at it. The warnings had been out not to do that.
Totality didn’t last very long. The process started reversing, then it was over. I don’t remember how long the whole thing lasted.
That’s all there is to a solar eclipse.
Really, don’t bother.
Although it’s a rare event for us, eclipses have been happening since the beginning of the universe, predictably and consistently. Not as common as the sun coming up in the morning, but
It will be over and you’ll wonder, “is that all there is?”
