The story goes that an American once sent a message to NASA: “Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968.”
1968 was a bad year. There was the assassination of Martin Luther King. And Robert Kennedy. There was the Vietnam War overseas and riots at home.
But, when Apollo 8 became the first spacecraft to successfully orbit the moon, millions of Americans and people from around the world watched in awe and wonder to bring a happy ending to an otherwise, very sad year.
Well, 2017 is shaping up to be a tough year as well. Political divides are deep. Racial tensions are high. Global relationships are strained. Nuclear war is a real threat. So is environmental devastation. Misogyny is prevalent, and LGBTQ rights are in peril.
But, for 90 minutes, on August 21st, 2017, millions of Americans and our friends from around the globe joined peacefully across the U.S. at events that started in the blue state of Oregon, and ended in the red state of South Carolina. From big cities to small towns.
It didn’t matter the color of your skin, or your country of origin.
It didn’t matter if you were young or old, rich or poor.
It didn’t matter what your political views are or your sexual orientation.
And during this time, instead of everyone looking down at their phones, they were looking up to the sky.
We were simply just humanity brought together by a truly ‘cosmic connection.’
Thank you Mother Nature. You saved 2017.
How about you? Were you able to participate in the eclipse? Did you see totality?
primal prosperity 
Mr. Picky Pincher was talking about this after the eclipse. I wasn’t big on it myself, but he thought it was very poignant that something could unite so many people at the same time.
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That’s cool that Mr. PP thought the same thing!
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I never thought of it like that. Makes me smile when thinking about how many people enjoyed and talked about this event. I was fortunate enough to step outside with my wife and see it. I also experienced watching her make a viewing device out of a cereal box for 20 minutes that ultimately did not work. But you are right, for 20 minutes by us, everyone was focused on this rare event. It makes you question why there are not more events like this or why events can’t normally be like that.
Thanks for the perspective!
Bert
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I’m glad you enjoyed the spectacle! It makes me smile thinking about it too. 🙂
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I didn’t get to enjoy it myself (Thanks, Karl the Fog!) but I loved how many people were able to come together and be excited about this very cool thing.
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Sorry you missed it! There will be another in the U.S. in 7 years. That actually isn’t that long to wait for an event as amazing as this. 🙂
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I didn’t see the eclipse, but this post gave me chills reading it. Thanks for that.
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I totally had chills seeing the eclipse, so I’m glad I was able to convey that!
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I really enjoyed this post, you said it so much better than I ever could. I hope it’s ok that I quoted you in my own eclipse post. If you’d like me to take down the quote and just leave the link, please let me know!
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That’s wonderful! I don’t mind at all! I’m heading to your site now to read your post. 🙂
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I really enjoyed this post, you said it so much better than I ever could. I hope it’s ok that I quoted you in my own eclipse post. If you’d like me to rather take down the quote and just leave the link, please let me know!
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