An Eclipse Review

The great countrywide solar eclipse took place this past Monday, and I am sorry to say I was pretty underwhelmed by the whole thing.  For months the news shows here in Denver were talking about what a once in a lifetime experience it would be for people in places like Casper, Wyoming and Julesburg, Colorado (located in the far northeast part of the state), where it would be a total eclipse.  However, they didn't say much about viewing it in Denver.  Then, a few weeks ago, they started the hype about viewing the event here, and how necessary it was  to have special glasses to watch it. This past weekend they were treating the eclipse like it was going to be the biggest event in Denver's history, but getting hold of a pair of those glasses was impossible.  Fortunately, most of the employees at the bookstore where I work gathered on the top level of the parking garage next door Monday morning and the employees who did have glasses shared with the have-nots, so we all got a look.

In addition to the glasses, people also cut holes in paper plates and watched the eclipse's progress as a shadow on sheets of paper placed on the ground. It reminds me of the last time I viewed an eclipse, back when I was growing up in the South Side Chicago neighborhood of Brainerd.  We cut holes in the back of boxes, put sheets of white paper inside the front, and put the boxes over our heads to watch the shadow of the eclipse. The glasses work much better, and I was able to watch the eclipse and take the photograph on the right through them. The eclipse's coverage was 92%  here in Denver, but even so it did not get very dark, and you would not even know an eclipse was going on unless you were told.  I must say, from watching the news, the eclipse looked much more impressive in Casper, where it was total, but you had to drive to Casper, where hotel rooms were going for $1,000 a night.  Plus, that afternoon and evening it took 7 hours to drive from Casper down to Cheyenne, and even then you were still in damn Wyoming.  Would it have been worth it? Not to me, but I am, after all, a curmudgeon.