Seems like wherever I look I see stuff published on the upcoming eclipse. The science end, the mythology angle, the aspect of what it will do to our state when the influx of a 1000000 or so sun gazers hits the parched lands….

For your reading pleasure (admittedly I am too hot to write and am counting the hours to the advertised rain on Sunday) here are two links that offer an interesting slant on the event.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/annie-dillards-total-eclipse/536148/

Dillard’s essay is a lyrical report, if such a things exists, of a total eclipse she saw in Washington State in the 80s. Cannot think of a way to say poetry-like prose that doesn’t sound like a cliché, but suggest her words should be set to music. By Alma Mahler.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/kings-beware-the-eclipse-looms/536385/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-081017

Andersen, senior editor at the Atlantic, has a knack for writing about science and history as if they are inseparable subjects. His musings on the psychological power exerted by these rare celestial events are a worthwhile read.

And then there is Kentucky. Read here what they are expecting on 8/21 (In a strange coincidence, August 21,the day of the 2017 eclipse, carries a lot of significance for Hopkinsville. That’s the day, in 1955, that a local farmhouse in nearby Kelly received an alleged visit from a band of extraterrestrials and a fierce gunfight ensued. Local police and military police from nearby Fort Campbell investigated, and the incident received considerable coverage from the national press.) 

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-tiny-kentucky-town-that-eclipse-fans-are-obsessing-over

I, personally, think nature picked a particularly bad time to show off in this way. For one, the millions of superstitious people, some in the highest ranks of government, might just use an eclipse to dig deeper into their fantasies of being told “this or that” by a higher power. “This or that” being associated with heat and fury, no less. And darkness, no longer passing.

Secondly, the drought-stricken parts of our state will see so many people drive through, camp out, light their choice of inhalant, and then discard it or the ashes, that accidental fires are almost guaranteed. And not that many fire brigades are available given how many forest fires are already being fought, and how little water is around.

Tense times, then, which I will bravely try to overcome by getting myself a big dish of ice cream. Right now. Which brings me to Friday’s question.

Coffee, strawberry or vanilla?