April Awakening: Day Eight ☁️☁️🌞🕶️
2:45PM.
I’m currently outside occupying the little park across the street from me. A few other people in the neighborhood have the same idea and are utilizing their own eclipse glasses in order to prepare for the event. I have to say that I got my own set too and I’m shocked at how well they work. The moon is slowly but surely creeping up on the sun, something I cannot see without the use of the glasses, but something is certainly happening. The ongoing cloud coverage makes it a little difficult to view, but it’s no matter to me. Even if I don’t see anything for the rest of the time I’m outside here, I’ve got my spot. I’m partaking in the phenomena, and it’s the first time I’m actually seeing New Yorkers pay attention to what’s above them.
I’m dying to know what everyone else is feeling about it, because I’m hearing all sorts of strange theories; Ranging from apocalyptic atrocities to time speeding up. I, for once, am not subscribing to any of them. I’m here to enjoy something out of the norm, even if I have a hard time all-the-way believing in it.
2:57PM.
The moon is on the move as we’re approaching totality from our Manhattan perch. There’s a group of schoolkids on the other end of the park who are being loud and it’s annoying me. But more people from the neighborhood are starting to gather. The only anxiety I feel is that my back is to the street, so I cannot see anyone who may be coming up behind me. I’m finding myself wanting the sun to just get covered already so I can really experience it, but I just have to be patient, like for everything else in my life.
They tell you don’t look directly at it, but I keep trying to catch a glimpse with the naked eye. It’s actually slightly creepy with the glasses on, as it’s the only thing one is able to see. There’s darkness around it besides the bright ball of light, making me wonder just what it is these glasses are made of.
3:04PM.
It’s overcast, but I’m starting to notice the light fading, and not just from the cloud coverage. I wonder if the park lights are going to come on automatically in the four minutes we’re supposed to be in darkness. Everyone is being nice in this little park. Manhattanites are sharing stories and swapping glasses for those who don’t have a pair. There’s a breeze but the trees are barely swaying. I’m glad I got here when I did because more people are starting to show up. The light is really starting to dim now, feeling like a darkness I’ve never seen before. It’s permanent shade with no hope of a beam of light to save us.
3:10PM.
The phones are out for everyone. Not me though. I’ve got to keep you updated. I feel very much in the shade right now. The sun is approaching sliver status. Someone is getting close to shutting the lights off now. I’m having a little trouble seeing through my glasses because I keep looking directly at it. But a lot more people are here in the park. I’ve actually never seen it this crowded. Nothing like a little celestial event to get New Yorkers off their butts.
It’s very shady now. It feels artificial. Like it’s not supposed to be this way. It’s actually making me a little nervous as we approach totality. Someone nearby said “Our government isn’t telling us something,” and it’s taking me all I’ve got to not start theorizing along with them. A woman just asked me to take a photo of her watching the skies, which I happily obliged. “A nice memory,” she told me. And I’m inclined to agree.
3:18PM.
I haven’t seen much change over the past few minutes. It’s like it decided to stop moving. The shade is really pronounced right now; the sky an odd, off-shade of blue. It’s certainly darker but that sun sliver isn’t getting smaller. It’s only making me slightly nervous in anticipation, though I still don’t subscribe to the idea that anything is particularly going to happen. I know they’re turning CERN’s hadron collider again, but why in the world should that affect me?
A cloud is blocking the sun right now. It has gotten much darker. Feels like the Magic Hour, as they taught us in film school. Only slightly more artificial. Sinister, even. Like there’s something up there they no longer want us to see. “It’s just an overcast day,” an older man nearby says, “Just like it’s been for the last few weeks.” But is it really?
3:26PM.
This is when totality is supposed to happen for New York City, and a big cloud is ruining everyone’s fun. I can hear the chatter about it. The darkness remains. What little of the sun I do see through my glasses still looks like a ball, not one covered by a shadow. So now it’s got me wondering. The cloud in front of it is more like a shroud. Just a collection of smoke obscuring the process. It’s like they could tell how excited everyone was and just decided to put a damper on things for the heck of it. Bastards.
3:42PM.
My friend called me on his way to the hardware store to check in with me. I joked that he interrupted my creative process, but I was happy to hear from him regardless. He recalled a time from when we were in grade school when our school had us go outside to watch an eclipse. I looked it up and it was an annual eclipse on May 10th, 1994. We were in second grade. So new memory unlocked there for me. I described to him all that I saw and how we missed the totality, but it was still cool to see. He told me about the people across the street at an office park all outside watching, like they didn’t have any work to do. I then called my dad after who let the news describe things for him instead of experiencing it for himself. He’s far too excited about the prospect of fishing tomorrow to care about anything else. I went inside shortly after, even though the eclipse progress is not quite done yet, and whatever cloud was visiting during the totality had finally vanquished.
Home.
I checked a few news sites and of course it’s all front-page news. The lead-up to this event was probably more exciting than actually viewing it. That’s because everyone had a theory about what was going to happen. But in the end, it was just something out of the norm. A break in all our days. My life continues on with or without this natural phenomena. Whatever moments I felt out there has passed, just like the moon passing the sun for an hour.
It was neat. A ray of sunshine in a very dark time in the world. I hope you had a good eclipse day too.