Time to be

On a usual lazy summer day clouds are our playmates guiding us through imaginative games where cats turn into house, dogs into airplanes, horses into dragons, streaming by like mystical creatures on a carousel.  On August 21, clouds were to be scrutinized, studied, approached with apprehension, ultimately  avoided.

Early morning we packed for a day at the beach: food, towels, beach umbrellas, water, eclipse glasses, hoping first to greet the sun on its amazing journey as it poked above the ocean's horizon.

thick grey billowing clouds overtook the sky. The sun did not come out behind it's hiding place as dawn turned to day.

And so

Time to become

eclipse chasers
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Driving west, thick clouds hovered everywhere
Driving farther west  clouds turn to wisps of white
Driving west we reach Columbia, SC our safe haven to find other eclipse chasers from PA, MASS, GA, FL, NY and Hawaii
all joined in a spirit of  awe, sharing, laughing waiting, watching,
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1:13 The eclipse begins. Lying down with glasses on. Clouds, there are clouds we cannot see the sun. All are hushed.
1:16 A faint shape, a small crescent appears behind a thin cloud.A cry of delight: she's here, she's here. Excitement.

The clouds roll by leaving sky, pure open sky
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For 90 minutes
the moon gracefully glides across the sky to join with the sun
as dancers in an ancient ballet of the galaxy.
Bringing with them the grey tint of daytime dusk
A breeze, a chill



For 90 minutes
A ragtag tribe celebrates this breathtaking slow dance of the cosmos
Some with shared telescopes, others with  faces turned toward the heavens,  still  others with makeshift pin hole illuminations to delight the children in all of us.
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For 2 minutes 36 seconds
The moon and sun become one
For all to see with our naked eyes and souls
Dragonflies hover in manic frenzy
Birds fly forward, break formation scurrying westward
as the elegant, gorgeous, perfect pool of deephearted blackness,  with her partner providing the shimmering glow
stop to take a bow

A cheer, a gasp, and tears. All join in the spirit of sharing this glorious brief time of perfection
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