The 2017 Solar Eclipse - a Personal Observation

August 21, 2017

It was a remarkable day  - words like awesome, incredible, magnificent were uttered .  Folks traveled via train and plane; some caravanned crowded highways and byways,  driving hundreds of miles with  motor home, motorcycle or van to reach the best location to witness Totality;  the Great American Solar Eclipse .   Many more stayed  home with their  extra special eclipse glasses  close at hand, ready to gaze up at the sun.

The last total solar eclipse spanning the US from coast to coast was June 8, 1918. President Woodrow Wilson was president, World War I was still engaged and the first U.S. case of what was to become the Flu Pandemic of 1918 had already been confirmed in Kansas .  In other  headlines were stories about a US Naval boat, Cycups disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle, the Russian Bolshevik party being renamed the Communist party,  debates about prohibition , and whether women should have the right to vote (President Wilson was opposed).  I'm sure Americans in 1918 , not unlike Americans today got caught up in  the excitement of such an extrodinary event because it was so extraordinary ;
it was also a unifying national event that gave relief from the strife and angst reported daily in the news.

Scientists will study the 2017 eclipse  event for years to come . And for  many of us , we'll  recall  exactly where we were  when we wore those special shades to stare up at the sky watching the
 Eclipse of the sun , and how for a brief time on that amazing day no angry words were
spoken , no unruly dissension ,  people gathered and talked together without contempt for one
another , or their differing  opinions ; political adversaries stopped being adversarial and Cable
news commentators weren't riling people up with their pointed propaganda.

Something special happened in our country, and we  were all part of it; Every creed, color, race and nationality. Young and old. Rich, and the not so rich. On the day of the Great American Solar Eclipse , citizens from sea to shining sea were filled with a joyful anticipation and excitement. We became lighthearted and happy.  We were having fun.

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    *   A special thank you to Josie Chapin, Phyllis  Christy,  Lauri Cooney,  Bill and Joyce  Eltz,        
 Brian Frazier, Norma  Sawdy, and the Seattle Seahawks for sharing their 'Eclipse' day photos

























                 





                 

                                 

                                                                       

                                                                                         

                                                             
                                                             
                                                                 

My Grandpa Cooney , President of Fish & Game & More

He washed his hands with Borax soap, soothed his sore muscles with BenGay, drank one cup of Sanka in the morning  (with  a bowl of Wheaties ), and  one Schlitz beer  after dinner each evening . He liked raspberries  and baseball, and smoked a pipe.   He wasn't a man of great wealth or prestige , but to me my Grandpa Cooney was everything good and grand; my hero. Loving, caring and fun to be around.  I felt secure and safe when I was with him , and special.  Grandpa called me his , "Little Brown Eyed Sweetheart”, and I never doubted I wasn't .

Grandpa was an upholsterer by trade . When I was still a toddler some of my earliest outtings was my mother taking me  to visit Grandpa at his  upholstery  shop on S. Main St. in Council Bluffs.  No matter how busy he was , he'd stop what he was doing to spend time with me. Some might accuse me of being bias when I tell them Grandpa was the finest upholsterer in the Mid West, but I don't think I’m being biased.  Well, maybe a little. But grandpa truly was recognized by his peers, and customers  as being a talented, first class upholsterer. 

An image, tender and endearing of  Grandpa leaving for work, backing out the long gravel driveway, and me pressing my face against the back bedroom  window to wave goodbye give me a happy feeling  as I remember him looking toward me, smiling and waving back.  Through the years  Grandma delighted in reminiscing , telling others  how I'd wait for Cecil to get home from work , and run like a bee line to take  Grandpa his bedroom slippers the moment he sat down in his old comfortable Morris chair.

A few days ago, a  letter from my cousin,  Lynn  arrived in the mail,  he enclosed a long ago newspaper article from the Council Bluffs Nonpareil about Grandpa Cooney being elected president of  the Council Bluffs Fish and Game club.  Seeing the picture of Grandpa and reading the article about him   warmed my heart, and made me wish I could reach out to touch his hand, and give him a hug ; for him to sit in the Morris chair again so I could take him his slippers. 

Besides Fish and Game , Grandpa  was also active with Scouting and served as Scout commissioner and Scoutmaster.  While serving as a Boy Scout leader ,  those who knew him well  said  his goal was to encourage Scouts to work toward becoming an Eagle  Scout. Something he proudly saw all three of his sons do, including my Dad.

My Grandpa was 65  when he passed away in 1962.  I was 11.  Many years have come and gone since then, and while memories can fade and dim lightly  over time,  one thing doesn't change, nor is forgotten. A grandfathers sweet love for his granddaughter , and her great love for him. 

                                                                 

                                                       

 * Cecil E. Cooney , my grandfather
In celebration of his birthday, August 3