Eclipses and such

Reading about the lunar eclipse brought to mind a solar eclipse a few years ago on the Big Island of Hawaii. Our astronomer son in law, who has since died in a senseless skiing accident near Boulder, Colorado, led our “expedition” to Kona for a viewing from a lava field where we could look down on the ocean and watch the impending spread of darkness as it moved toward us.

While we were waiting, I began to wander around the lava field, curious about the rocks and the landscape. Suddenly I stepped in some loose shale and lost my balance. At first, I thought I could recover but then, I tumbled down an incline and found myself on my back.

More surprised than stunned, I stood up and mentally ran through my bodily checklist. Nothing seemed wrong on the inside, but when I checked my arms and legs, they were covered with large scratches. I lifted my tee-shirt and found several across my chest.

Then I cautiously made my way to our car where I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a minor cut across my chin and one on my cheek. I grabbed some Kleenex, wiped the blood off as beat I could, and re-joined the viewing party who by now were all arrayed in their canvas beach chairs waiting for the big event.

As I walked up to the group, my daughter said, “Where’ve you been, Dad? We’ve been waiting for you.” No one noticed my cuts.

Lesson Number One: When other things call, Dads fade into the background.

Without explaining my absence, I sat down and joined the watch. Then, someone said, “Look!” And as I scanned the horizon, I noticed a fast-approaching shadow. Soon, the shadow covered almost the entire ocean, and as it moved toward us, the light of the sun began to dim.

The shadow hit the landmass and steadily and quickly moved toward us, the sun’s light fading with the shadow’s approach until, without consciously thinking about it, we were enveloped in darkness.

And then I noticed a deathly silence. It took a moment for me to gather my thoughts. Before the shadow enveloped us completely, the air had been filled with the sounds of birds, the sudden twitters and calls of birds preparing for a night’s sleep when the sun sets naturally. The shadow had triggered the birds’ innate nocturnal clock.

We were all so enthralled with the eclipse we hardly noticed the return of the sun and the sounds of the birds.

Lesson Number Two: In politics, careers and ambitions and successes encounter sudden eclipses.

But there are no political astronomers to predict their arrival and none to predict a return to the light of renewal. Hillary at the moment is in the middle of a political eclipse. The shadow over her may or may not move on before it’s too late.

In the meantime, Hil, be careful. There are no lava fields in Texas, but there sure are a lot of cow patties.