I live right in the path of today's solar eclipse. We've had sunny skies for many consecutive days, but during the eclipse we had clouds and much-needed heavy rain. But umbrella in tow, I went out to have a look anyway, of course, hoping for a break in the clouds.
(You should know that we don't have daylight savings time. First light is sometime after 4:30 a.m., and the sun is usually high up in the sky by 9:30 a.m. That's the time of the eclipse.)
And when the eclipse came, it was eerie and freaky. If scientists and news anchors were not around to tell us what was going on, like it was for people hundreds of years ago, I'm sure we would have all been running, screaming and thinking the world was coming to an end.
It got VERY, VERY dark as behind the clouds, the moon completely obscured the sun. It was blacker than the blackest night I have ever seen. I was standing outside on a grassy area, and it was so dark that I could not see to safely take a step. This lasted about six minutes. I could not get over how black it was. Usually at night, we have a little moonlight so we can see where we are going, but there was no light going on during the eclipse. It was oh-so goose-bump inducing cool! Everyone was quietly in awe, up until some pyrotechnic maniac a few blocks away decided to spoil the magical eerie moment by setting off fireworks.
I'm so glad I got to see this, the longest and best eclipse of the 21st century, and probably the only one for which I will live in its path.
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