On August 21, a total solar eclipse will cut through the entire continental United States. It’s going to be awesome!  This is the first total solar eclipse since 1979. At just 70 miles wide, the path of the totality will be quite narrow. For the rest of the country, beyond this slim trajectory, anywhere from 20 to 99 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon. The last time a total solar eclipse swept the whole width of the U.S. was in 1918, or nearly 100 years ago. The next one (scheduled) to traverse the entire U.S. continent should be around 2045.

This means that my husband and I are traveling to see one of our sons in Clarksville, TN – which is one of the prime locations in the mid-west to view the Eclipse.  We are driving nine hours to see a total of about 2-1/2 minutes of splendor.  Even if the entire eclipse only lasts 2-1/2 minutes, it will be dark for a couple of hours, and it will be a minimum of eight years before we have another one.  I can hardly wait!

I find it extremely interesting that this is really only an eclipse for the U.S.  Also interesting that the solar eclipse is sandwiched between two lunar eclipses.  I also find it extremely interesting that my boss seems oblivious to it.  He’s a scientist (an MD) – but he’s more worried about the bottom line at the office.  I kid you not, six out of eight providers, myself included, have called off to watch this spectacular celestial event, but he plans on running the clinic “business as usual”.  I have the feeling he is going to have a very bad day, one way or another.  Either the whole town will come in to the clinic, and he will have to manage mostly on his own, or, no one will come in, because they will all be off watching the eclipse.  Either way, he is not going to be happy.

I, for one, have decided not to let spectacular things like this “eclipse” my life.  Go get your fancy sunglasses and relish the experience along with me.  You only live once.