The Solar Eclipse is finally here!

I am over the moon excited for the total eclipse of the sun.

As I write this column, it is two days before it happens.

The next one will be in 2045, depending on whether I’m still alive (and writing this column) will make me 89 years old.

I plan to watch from the Little House on the Alley and document what happens and how it feels. Pictures will be taken, but I want words to explain my feelings.

Chuck plans to golf early so he can be home with me when totality occurs. He may be on the last leg of Stony Creek Golf Course as it begins.

My grandson, Matthew, and his girlfriend, Keerstin, experienced the total eclipse in August 2017. They traveled to Nashville, Tenn. Six hours to get there and fourteen hours to get home. Matthew said that the traffic was unbelievable. They ended up taking the backroads.

While we are encouraged to ensure our cars are filled with gas, many say it’s unnecessary. It’s kind of like when we are warned of a possible blizzard. Naysayers shake their heads and scoff at the warnings of trying to travel during the day on Monday, April 8^th. Time will tell. I don’t want any part of being on a major highway on Monday.

You might have noticed a significant jump in gasoline prices in the past few days. The powers that decide the prices may have timed the jump right before the eclipse – just my opinion. I’m sure they would give more complicated reasons. Pffft.

Days before the eclipse, the prices of flights into Indy went through the roof and to the moon. Out of curiosity, I checked the cost of Southwest flights coming into Indy from Tampa on April 8. While we usually pay $129, some flights are $640 to $665, and those are not nonstop. Leaving on Tuesday the 9^th, few flights are available. The cost is $565.

I’m not one to research a lot of scientific data; however, I did some Googling and found these statistics:

• In 2017, the path of totality was 62 to 71 miles wide. In 2024, it will be 108 to 122 miles. This has to do with the distance the Moon is from the earth.
• In 2017, 12 million people lived in the total solar eclipse path. In 2024, 31.6 million people live in the path. This has much to do with the eclipse being over larger populated areas.
• In 2017, the longest time of totality was 2 minutes and 42 seconds.

Central Indiana has some of the longest totalities, almost 4 minutes. If you think we aren’t the place to be, why are Lester Holt and NBC coming to Indianapolis? He will be at the Indianapolis Speedway broadcasting LIVE. William Shatner, a.k.a. Captain Kirk on Star Trek, will be in Bloomington. Janelle Monåe, who portrayed NASA mathematician and engineer Mary W. Jackson in the movie Hidden Figures, will also perform in Bloomington that day.

On Monday, I will have my eclipse glasses, my journal ready, and my phone in my hand. I might be heard singing, There goes the sun, or I can’t see clearly now, the sun is gone.

My curiosity is heightened. How will the traffic be? How will the birds and animals react? Just how awesome will it be to experience such a historical moment? Years from now, people will be asking, “Where were you when the sun didn’t refuse to shine but was hidden?”

The alignment of the sun, moon, and earth is said to impact people’s feelings. Will I feel differently? Time will tell.

I do know that I will be in a state of AWE. It is mind-boggling to be able to say I witnessed such an event.

Where will you be? In the crowds? Alone? On a highway needing to go to the bathroom?

Next week, I may share my thoughts on how this experience went down as I looked up. Until then, after the eclipse, I’ll be “Walking on Sunshine” as “Sunshine on my Shoulders” makes it a “Good Day Sunshine.” I couldn’t resist including those songs in this column.

Stay safe, and you’ll hear from me later, during the seasons in the sun, when we have joy and fun and let the sunshine in.

Janet Hart Leonard can be contacted at janethartleonard@gmail.com or followed on Facebook or Instagram (@janethartleonard). Visit janethartleonard.com.