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It was daylight.

Then it wasn’t.

Then it was again.

It’s no wonder our ancestors had superstitions about an eclipse. If you don’t know what’s going on, it can be scary.

Listening to all of these scientists (I believe them on this one. Isn’t it handy that nowadays, we can believe whatever scientist we want to believe.), it can be confusing.

I remember the eclipse in 1970. It was on a Saturday. I didn’t get scared, I was just sort of aggravated. There was no playing outside for a couple of hours, all the while mom is reminding us not to look at the sun, or the moon, or whatever it is you look at during an eclipse. In my developing mind (It’s still developing, by the way, it’s just going in a different direction these days.), if the eclipse sent me inside it really could be the end of the world if there was no more outside play.

Imagine what the cavemen (If you believe those scientists who say they once roamed the eath.) thought was happening when it got dark in the middle of the day. Their days revolved around the sun (That’s what the scientists say.), and they didn’t have local television meteorologists to explain it all.

Monday’s partial eclipse here was cool, though a persistent cloud made it difficult to see. I was at South Davie, where sixth graders had their own glasses to gaze upward. All over the county, offices and businesses emptied as folks went outside to look up.

We should do that more often. Go outside, that is. Look up, that is.

– Mike Barnhardt