Yesterday was fun. Not often does the moon move across the sun. We all guessed what would happen: Would we see the stars? Would pets go crazy? End of the world, maybe?
How about a T-Shirt? “I came, I saw, I got the ‘Totality’.” I wasn’t that fortunate; I settled for 93% at 2:44 PM in Durham, North Carolina. Not bad. I spent the afternoon at The Frontier in Research Triangle Park.
(If you’re not familiar with The Frontier, it’s a coworking space. What is coworking? A place where individuals and small business come together and work. The Frontier is acommunity. It fosters connections, ideas, creativity, and the opportunity to be around a diverse group of people.)
With homemade pinhole cameras, solar eclipse viewing cards, and eclipse glasses, we watched. The temperature cooled, strange shadows appeared, and sunlight dimmed. It was one of those rare moments when we took a time out and shared a common experience.
Kudos to the staff of The Frontier for putting this experience together for anyone that wanted to attend. Sharing eclipse glasses with your neighbor, snacking on items that began with Sun, Moon, and Star, and talking. This is the type of community The Frontier has become.
It was reported that the eclipse cost America $700 million in productivity. Let’s go for $2 billion in lost productivity during the next eclipse. In a country that works all the time and vacation days go unused, take a moment. Whether you were with co-workers or family, stood out on your front porch or found yourself alone in an empty field, it was a time to think about other things.
If you missed it—there will be more. April 8, 2024 in the United States. Or even sooner if you want to travel internationally. Perhaps more creative t-shirts next time (how about “Almost Totality”) or some frosted eclipse cookies.
In addition to the sun, there are clouds, trees, birds, and stars up there. Glad the eclipse could remind us all of that. Look up.
