Total Solar Eclipse

This was a very unique and powerful experience. Celestial bodies aligning for a brief moment to create something so surreal and breath taking.

The states had one in 2017 and it was a big deal. The path of totality was north of Arkansas, but we saw the partial eclipse. I was a freshman in college and I remember going outside the Union between classes. I didn't have glasses to see it, but I remember the shade from the leaves being so alien. It blew my mind to see crescent shadows on leaves and still does today.

When I first heard about the one in 2024, I didn't give it much weight, and others I talked to also didn't. I think the one from 2017 made it feel these were more frequent occurrences, and globally they are, but my perspective shifted when I realized how long it would be until the next. The next eclipse through the contiguous US (not in Alaska) is August 23, 2044. I'll be 46. A lot shifted thinking about where I'd be and who would still be in my life in 20 years, so I knew I had to see it.

Daniel, Amber, and I drove to Jasper, AR, found a box of moonpies, pulled off on some random part of the road, found a hill and laid back. I remember we tried to find the perfect spot, we wanted a view, a field, whatever, and where we would up was just some rinky dink berm. But it was perfect.

When the eclipse started I remember everything started getting quiet. Birds and cars stopped and cicadas and crickets started. The view was magnificent and something I hope I never forget. It was fleeting, but it was so beautiful. For 10 minutes, you realize just how magnificent life is. Big spinning planets on a big rock floating in some even bigger expanse. It's easy to get overwhelmed, but it's also easy to just take a deep breath and realize that you're alive.

Time is short, but at least we have it.