THE ECLIPSE: A FOND LOOK BACK

So, the eclipse happened yesterday, maybe you heard. Here are some highlights:
– It started near Lincoln City, Oregon, and traveled diagonally across the United States at 1,500 miles per hour. It exited near Charleston, South Carolina.
– The total eclipse โ€” when the moon completely covers the sun, darkening skies โ€” only lasted anywhere from several seconds to up to two and a half minutes. But the 12 states it passed through on Monday enjoyed a partial eclipse for two to three hours.
– Crowds cheered and pointed.
– Carbondale, Illinois, and Hopkinsville, Kentucky, were in the dark for the longest, at 2 minutes, 38 seconds.
– Some cloud cover in Carbondale, Illinois, partially obstructed the view for several seconds, prompting some boos from disappointed eclipse viewers. But then the clouds parted, and the crowd gasped.
– Giraffes and zebras at the Nashville Zoo were freaked out by Mondayโ€™s solar eclipse, and went running wildly around their enclosures after the sky went dark. The zooโ€™s two young giraffes stampeded madly in circles, while some of the nearby rhinos bolted for their pens thinking it was time for bed.
– In Denver, Colorado, which only had 92 percent obscuration, there was also a significant temperature change The temperature dropped from 85 degrees to 77 degrees.
– A baby girl born in South Carolina, a few hours before the total solar eclipse, has been legally named Eclipse Alizabeth Eubanks by her mother, Freedom Eubanks. No surprise there.
– At least one couple got married. Samantha and Cameron Kuhn celebrated with their closest friends and family in the path of totality in St. Joseph, Missouri. โ€œBeing able to do the wedding on the day of the solar eclipse couldnโ€™t be any more perfect,โ€ bride Samantha Kuhn, 28.
– Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 hit, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” climbed to number 1 on the iTunes charts.
– The Trump family – Donald, Melania and Barron – watched from the Truman balcony of the White House wearing the cheap cardboard glasses. Being the rulebreaker that he is, the President even neaked a couple of peeks at the sun without wearing his glasses. Maverick!
* And always remember – you trusted your precious eyesight and that of your children to a flimsy piece of cardboard that cost about a half-cent to make.
* I keep getting the Eclipse and the Purge mixed up. Maybe I shouldn’t have killed those two guys who were handing out flyers at my front door.