At first, I wasn’t concerned that I’d left my eclipse glasses at home that morning. I figured there would be plenty of time to swing by the house and retrieve them. Then the day got too busy.
Finishing up my last meeting at my favorite coffeeshop, Breakaway Café, I saw two baristas, Leia and Hannah, taking turns ducking outside, trading a pair of glasses. On my way out, Hannah smiled and said, “Andrew, do you want to see?” I looked through her glasses. The dark moon had just taken a bite out of the bright sun.
I arrived at my children’s school to the soundtrack of Pink Floyd. Other parents had already congregated in front of the administrative office. They, too, were happy to share. As we passed glasses around, we sang an impromptu chorus of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
In her essay, “Total Eclipse,” Annie Dillard described the sheer terror of the wall of darkness that results from the moon overshadowing the sun like a death shroud. I read that Chapel Hill’s most recent eclipse was about 75% totality. Dillard: “Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him.” I’ll take her word for it.
Yet, whether it was the glasses, a familiar song, or a smile, I enjoyed the comradery of simple sharing. As the rare celestial moment took place high above, I was reminded once again that everyday acts of kindness make a difference here on Earth.
Before the kids poured out of the building, my wife joined me at the school. The temperature had dropped, so we sat close together on a warm boulder by the parking lot, looking up.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of “Little Big Moments,” a collection of mini-essays about parenting, and “Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems.” Both titles are available most anywhere books are sold online. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill where he serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines