Tula Drimonis: What is all the excitement about the eclipse? | Montreal Gazette

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I'm one to stop everything I'm doing to capture a beautiful sunset or full moon, so you can bet your bottom dollar I didn't want to miss the last total solar eclipse visible in Montreal until 2205.

Of course, I wasn't the only one excited. Accommodations in cities along the path of totality were booked months in advance as millions of eclipse chasers descended to experience the special moment. Even after reading everything I could about it, I know I'm not remotely prepared for what a total solar eclipse will look and feel like.

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The silence of the crowd, the sudden silence of the birds, the light turns this surreal sepia silver, and then the darkness engulfs you. Suddenly cool and the temperature drops, thousands of people look up to look at something otherworldly in a moment. And then, the spontaneous applause, clapping and tears of so many, the sheer, unabashed joy of a shared experience that made so many of us so small but so privileged to be there at that time, at that moment. It's perfect for one minute and 30 seconds of pure magic, something that a photograph or second-hand interpretation can never do justice.

If ever I had a “You should have been there” moment in my life, I think this was it.

But not everyone jumped on this heavenly joyride. To my surprise, I saw a few people watching the eclipse scoff and sometimes even mock people's enthusiasm. “It's for a few minutes of nighttime darkness,” said one person online. “Sorry, eclipses have always fascinated me,” said another. “Why All the Fuss About the Predicted Alignment of the Earth, Moon, and Sun?” someone else wrote.

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Maybe they found it eclipses are fun a littlele excessive and annoying. Or maybe they did unhappy error to believe is a total eclipse no difference partially. Spoiler alert: it isof noetc. In his 1982 essay “Total Eclipse,” elegant Annie Dillard explains “sseeing a partial eclipse is like seeing a total eclipse to kissing and marrying a man..”

Honestly, I think I needed that magical moment. Since the pandemic, I feel there has been a measurable increase in ugliness, unkindness, disconnection and polarization. Skywalking with friends and strangers on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, watching in awe as others gather at the same time at Mount Royal and Parc Jean-Drapeau, sharing that same experience with me, has made me more connected to my own life and the humanity of other people. It seemed to heal and unify in some strange way.

I know that the world is often very sad and people worry and feel sad. It is for this reason that anything that inspires wonder and joy, even for a moment, and reminds us of how deeply connected we all are to each other and to this Earth, should be honored. The world needs more childlike excitement, enthusiasm, and joyous sincerity to be confused with naivety. Why not make more room for whimsy and beauty?

Uunless you are travel to future eclipse destinations – I like it Spain, Morocco in 2026 in 2027, Australia in 2028 and Namibia in 2030; etcyes i found it on google – and the weather cooperates, youwill be most likely never reach see This a rare astronomical phenomenon again. He is was valuable temporarily stops on your way for it.

Just because we arewe are happy lives in a time where the eclipse alignment and timing may be scientifically predicted does not reduce it to a nanosecond special. As author Terry Pratchett writes, “Even if you know how it's done, it's still magic.”

Toula Drimonis is a Montreal-based journalist and author of We, the Others: Allophones, Immigrants and Belonging in Canada. He can be reached at X @toulastake

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