Orel Family

The Diamond at the End of Totality I wore my shirt from Cedars of Lebanon in 2017 . That was my way of communicating I'd seen a rotal eclipse brfore. That invites the inevitable question, "how did it compare?" Look at the sun! (with eclipse glasses) For one thing, this time I knew it was coming. This time, it was reachable with a relatively short drive from home. This time, Aaron wanted to see it, and was willing to fly in from Baltimore to see it with us. This time, Ezra decided he wanted to see it too, wherever we were going with Aaron. This time, Lori's mother decided she, too, wanted to witness it, and would come with us wherever we went. This time, I somehow managed to convince several friends that pinholes and eclipse glasses are nice and it's pretty awesome to see a 99% eclipse, but really, there's just no substitute for totality. Beginning of partial, just before 2pm. But also, this time would be in early April. The eclipse path would come well within ...

1:29pm. Totality!!! Living in a mobile country. Sometimes it means that on Wednesday morning I have no definite plans, and just 5 mornings and 580 miles later, I'm sitting by a pool in a Tennessee state park, waiting for the sun to go out. All it takes is the will, a car that can get there, one old high school friend with an idea and another with an extra hotel room and  the willingness to let it be used. Oh, and a clear day, too! 11:18am. Still time until the start, but the signs are out: Don't look up without those glasses! Less than 3 months ago, I didn't even know it was coming. But I always liked the sensation of being in an eclipse. I'd even used a pinhole projector once or twice. But never a full eclipse. I wanted in. I read about the eclipse on various sites. I studied up on how to take photographs of the eclipse , and quickly decided that enjoying the show  would be the top priority. Nashville is about the closest "totality" city to our ho...