A Great Small Difference

We planned and planned

And then the day came

But something was awry

We got up at 6, just like we had planned

But the weather had plans of its own

We looked at each other and then at our phones

Clouds here, clouds there

For a 0.5% difference

Was it worth the drive?

2 hours, at least, there and then back

Thousands of people, and the heat on top of it all

We’ll stay, we decided

The odds are far too slim

What if we went for a 2 minute event and a cloud passed over our view?

We nodded and separated, and they went to bed

I had class, so I dressed and went on my way

Classes went well, and then home I came

Still in bed, those lazy butts

But they arose and packed up

To Glick Park, we cheered, and drove across town

We found shady spot and made ourselves at home

We made sandwiches and ate snacks as we eagerly awaited the event

We were grateful that had attended a seminar the week before

We learned a lot about the eclipse and what it meant in the grand scheme of things

The moon just wanted to photo-bomb the Sun

No big deal except it was

We struggled with our phones to get pictures of what we saw

I even cut up an extra pair of eclipse glasses and affixed it to my phone

Trying desperately to capture the moment

But the human eye is not a camera

I could not get the same view

All 99.5% of the eclipse, burned into my brain

We whooped and hollered as it finished its slow pass

And went about our lives, starting the first day of seven years

When the next pass will come nearby

Our 99.5% was great in our own minds

But far greater was the satisfaction that Carbondale’s perfect view had been blocked by a wondering

Cloud