Momming the Eclipse

Mom has been poorly, sleeping until 3 in the afternoon, but yesterday was different. Yesterday, she got up at noon, got dressed, and went to sit on the couch. She sat up for three hours, so we could watch the eclipse coverage together.

I have proof.

There’s her big TV I got her so she can see what she’s lookin’ at, her feeding/hydration pole, her oxygen mask, and her big ol’ watch that tells her the time and date out loud at the push of a button. She asked me if I had read A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT, which I have. In case you haven’t, the Yankee saved his own life by claiming an eclipse was his own doing.

We didn’t have a total eclipse here, but we did have ninety-odd percent totality. The sky got dim and the temperature dropped. Charlie had a set of certified eclipse glasses, and I looked at it for a couple of seconds. I preferred, though, to see it this way, which Charlie also showed me.

Everywhere the sun peeked through the shade, you could see the crescent of the partial eclipse. Isn’t that cool? Isn’t that pretty? That blue bit is Charlie’s jeans-clad leg. Wave at the camera, Charlie! ~he waves~

I’m posting today at Fatal Foodies about the Eclipse Eggs I made for breffiss. You know breffiss, right? It’s the most important meal of the day.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Have your main character experience an eclipse.

MA

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About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

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One thought on “Momming the Eclipse

    • Author

      Marian Allen

      August 22, 2017 at 4:25pm

      TV version. She was in no shape to go out. She enjoyed it on TV, though, very much.

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  1. Alana

    August 22, 2017 at 5:16pm

    I traveled some 800 miles to see the total eclipse, but I kept watching the shadows and no reflections – yet, a college friend who lives in New York City did. So wonderful that your Mom was able to know and to participate.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      August 22, 2017 at 5:51pm

      We had the eclipse glasses, and I looked very briefly through them, but I thought the shadows through the leaves was (were?) cooler!

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  2. Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt

    August 22, 2017 at 5:48pm

    But your mom got to experience it real time, whether she went out to look or not, and that was the exciting part.

    Here the light dimmed – in the bright sunlight. That was freaky. I’m used to clouds making everything dim, but not to the ambient light in the sun going down dramatically. Husband claimed he couldn’t tell!

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      August 22, 2017 at 5:53pm

      You’re exactly right, all around, and what a perfect way to put it: “the light dimmed — in the bright sunlight.” That’s JUST how it was! The temperature dropped noticeably, and there was a slight breeze. Weirdly wonderful!

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  3. Jane

    August 22, 2017 at 5:51pm

    Once upon a time I grannied a partial eclipse!
    Girl was born in the backwoods, finished eighth grade as a girl should, and she was fascinated and delighted to see the shadow of the little dot start getting et up (almost all the way).
    That day, the light grew sharper and cleaner. The air grew crisply cooler.

    This year, I saw the big tamale!
    Yes, I WENT TO SEE THE ECLIPSE!

    Boy, was it a challenge! But worth every hour of travel and roughing it 😉
    I went alone, via tour bus, but returned having befriended a bunch of people. The whole event was very collegial. No strangers in the shadow of an eclipse! None at all!

    Okay:
    We heard crickets start up as the light dimmed.
    There was already a nice breeze (thank god, because the day was brutally hot). Then the stinging rays of the sun lost their power, and we all poured out from under the trees to go stand together in the sun. Quiet fell over a crowd of thousands. The sun slipped into totality. The fields all around were silent in a deep twilight. The sky glowed with the faint pink of a 360 degree sunset in any direction I looked.

    There were sighs and shouts and cheers. Exclamations continued throughout the totality.
    Then something I didn’t expect happened. At the last second of totality, a bright flare of light flashed out from a single point of the edge in distinct rays, and then a shiny coin of white covered the sun, surrounded by holy-God style light. There were gasps and shouts. “You can look at it!” somebody exclaimed. I had automatically recoiled from the flash, but then I turned back and got to see all that heavenly glory. A few seconds seemed to pass.

    Then the hot crescent of the sun returned, a mere (but electric) sliver of danger. There was a wild cheer, and glasses went back up. WHEW!

    And the sun began to return.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      August 22, 2017 at 5:57pm

      OMG — Thank you SO MUCH for sharing that! What a fabulous experience! I’m so glad you went. ~dance dance~ Maybe next time, I can go, too. 🙂

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    • Jane

      August 22, 2017 at 6:07pm

      You can count on it!

      Oh, by the way……you will be experiencing totality from your own front porch.
      😉

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  4. Deborah

    August 22, 2017 at 6:45pm

    How cool that you shared the eclipse with your Mom and Charlie, and…it was 90% eclipsed there!

    It was only 75% eclipsed here. I love those shadows of the eclipse through the trees.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      August 23, 2017 at 10:43am

      Deborah, those shadows were the coolest thing! I have that photo as my cell phone wallpaper now. 🙂

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  5. joey

    August 23, 2017 at 9:38am

    I’m gonna eclipse some toast with some poached eggs here in a bit 🙂
    I’m glad y’all got to share that. I enjoyed the crescent shadow photos, we had none of that here.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      August 23, 2017 at 10:46am

      I understand the next one is gonna be right here! Or is somebody teasing me? 🙂

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      • joey

        August 23, 2017 at 10:55am

        I don’t know exactly, but it did seem most of Indiana was in the band when I saw the 2024 map. I’ll be free to travel then… but maybe I won’t have to!

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