Even Better Than The Hype!

Monday, April 8, 2024 was the day the Eclipse darkened a good portion of North America. Karen and I had been ready for this day for at least a couple of years. But we didn’t know if Mother Nature would be ready. After all, April in Northeast Ohio has its fair share of cloudy days. Not to mention the Cleveland Guardians home opener was scheduled. Baseball home openers in Cleveland have been known to have snow.

Not only was this the first time I had taken photos of an eclipse, it was also the first time I had ever done a composition in Photoshop. But I was asked to make this image available for print. Be may guest. You can download a full resolution PNG file here or a JPG file here.

We Were READY!!

We started real planning at least three months out. We bought super nice, heavy duty eclipse glasses and had them at least two months out. I bought a special lens filter for my camera and started tracking the sun and practicing with it for a couple of weeks. I even had a neighbor drive by one day to tell me I was a little early for the eclipse.

We bought special T-shirts, because, why not go all out for something like this?

We invited friends who were going to be in town from D.C. to join us on my shared front lawn in the condo community I live in. We smoked ribs, big chicken wings, and some mac & cheese. We made homemade coleslaw and Karen made her delicious German Chocolate cheesecake. We had no room left in the fridge.

I also spent nearly a month creating just the right soundtrack for the afternoon. It started just before noon with some lead up music with “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” finishing just as the eclipse was scheduled to start. Pink Floyd’s first two songs from Dark Side of the Moon started us off on a moon and eclipse inspired list, ending with Pink Floyd’s song “Eclipse” with the words “…and the sun is eclipsed by the moon” fading just as totality AND the first notes of “Sound of Silence” from Disturbed hit. I can’t believe how well timed that ended up being. I had a big smile on my face that nobody could see as we were mesmerized by the darkness and wonder of totality. You can hear the eclipse section of that music mix below.

The morning of the eclipse was cloudy and rainy, but the forecast had some promise. I was up at my regular work day time to start the smoker. Because of the chill and the drizzle it took extra time to get back to temperature after the ribs were inserted.

Funny side story. I was using my small glass patio table out by the road so we could have the best view. While Karen and I were setting up on the patio were heard a loud truck engine. I ran out of the enclosed patio just in time to see some guy in a pickup trying to load my table into his truck. I mean, the umbrella was set up but not open. The weight was even in its proper place. But nooooo….he had to have that item so carelessly sitting by the street.

The rain and clouds cleared about 11:30 or so. The day got warmer and we had the most beautiful view of the solar total eclipse during the entire process.

The Music Playlist

Most people think you should just play Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon to time the song Eclipse’s last words to end at the start of totality: “…and the sun is eclipsed by the moon.” While my playlist starts with the beginning of that classic album and brings in totality with those lyrics from that song, the list will showcase more eclipse/moon-themed songs from many different music genres. After totality, you’ll get to enjoy more sun-based music to bring you to the end of the eclipse, which will be capped by Satchmo’s What A Wonderful World.

By the way…I chose Disturbed’s version of Sound of Silence for totality.

No matter where you are along the path, if you start this 2024 Eclipse Music Mix EXACTLY 1 hour and 15 minutes before totality starts in your vicinity, the transition I just described should line up properly. You can see the playlist below the audio player.

Enjoy the show that nature is providing us backed by some great music.