Photo Viewers cheered and howled as they took in the total eclipse in downtown Jackson, Wyo. Credit Celia Talbot Tobin for The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re The Moon Cloaks the Sun, and a Nation Gapes in Awe (news article, Aug. 22): Although I live in a reliably blue state that is home to Bernie Sanders, the national political divide is all too present here, too. Mondays solar eclipse, though, seemed to have no deniers.

Hurrying to court in Rutland, Vt., to represent a client, I came upon a group of 20-somethings outside our library, as I put my quarter in the parking meter. The sky had turned an eerie gray, from a morning of sunshine, and I realized that they just might be there for the eclipse.

Yeah!, one replied, smiling. Theyre handing out glasses in the library; go get one. I made my excuses and hurried off, only to come upon two members of the court staff on the front steps, offering a look through their glasses.

Stunning! And I had nearly missed it because of life.

It seemed as if our whole planet was spellbound, together, for a day. May that feeling of togetherness spread.

Excerpt from:
Seeing Unity and Enlightenment in Solar Show - New York Times