The eclipse captured the imagination of just about everyone in this country, and for once, we could collectively say that we were all interested in the same thing, for the same reason.
But read on. It wasn't all that hunky dory.
Eclipse Dazzles and Also Disappoints: Sure, the eclipse was the "real deal" in many of the states in its path.
It darkened the landscape for a few moments, and then, went away as fast as it came.
But in other areas, it fizzled, and really disappointed.
The hype around the eclipse in the New York Metropolitan Area, for instance, was almost unprecedented.
People took off from work, there were eclipse parties, and a frenzy was created by the media, who so wanted us to be part of this whole thing, even though we were hundreds of miles off the eclipse's path.
The time came, and well, the sun was still out, cars still whirred by my office, and well, nothing much happened.
At my work, people were standing at their windows, wanting to see how much the eclipse affected the sun.
They wanted to turn off the lights to see this phenomenon.
But there was no reason to do so. Nothing much happened.
The hype in this area was just that, hype. This was not South Carolina. This was New York. We were not in the path of the eclipse, so what could we expect to experience?
Tell that to the fools who wasted so much time buying into the hype.
Not me. I was at my desk working, which is where I should have been.
Now, back to reality.
Dick Gregory Dies: Lost in the hype--and this hype was deserved--about the passing of Jerry Lewis was that another popular comedian died this weekend, too.
Dick Gregory set the path for Richard Pryor and others to follow.
He was one of the most popular comedians in the country in the early to mid-1960, appearing on every variety show and in every night club imaginable, but then his social conscience took hold.
He morphed into a social crusader, and while you didn't always have to agree with what he said, you had to respect that he had the guts to say what he did, in the late 1960s, when Pryor was basically a pup.
He talked about racial injustice, turmoil in the inner cities, and just about everything that was on the front page of the newspapers back then.
He was less funny, but certainly more topical.
But even Gregory had limits to this topicality.
He veered into other areas, and toward the last years of his performing life, he was looked at as an oddity more than anything else.
He spoke about weight loss, and went on some somewhat historic fasts to prove whatever point he was trying to make.
He took up the cause of Michael Jackson; he said he was on a journey to find out just how Jackson died, even though it was quite obvious what the singer died of. He simply didn't believe it.
Again, you didn't have to agree with Gregory on anything, but you had to agree with him that he was the real deal.
And he was just that.
After-Barbecue Leftovers: We had so much leftover food from our family barbecue this weekend that I think I will be eating it into next month.
Yesterday, I had hamburgers for lunch, today I have hot dogs.
I know we also have chicken, but I don't eat chicken. If I did, I would be eating that too.
People ate at the barbecue, but I guess I simply made too much.
But it won't go to waste ... I made so much food, that it will certainly go to my waist.
And that is that, a Manic Monday going into a pretty normal Tuesday.
But I am prepared for anything today, except another eclipse.
One of those was enough ... and remember, it happens again in another seven years, so don't throw away those glasses ...
Even to those in the New York Metropolitan Area, who probably won't need them again, but will be so hyped up once again that they will think that they are really part of all of this hoopla.
Me, I know better.
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