POSTNOTE May 31, 2024:  Yesterday afternoon I listened as the verdict was read: 34 times, “Guilty”.  This morning at my coffee place I took a photo of the empty conference table next to mine.  It has ten chairs, like a dozen members of a jury, shall I say.  Shortly thereafter  were the usual church guys who meet there most every Friday.  One of them opined that Trump couldn’t get a fair trial in New York.  He’s normally loud.  He almost whispered it.  He knew I was sitting there, and while I don’t get into their conversation, I’d guess they think I’m “liberal”.  So it goes.

May 31, 2024

POSTNOTE May 24, 2024:  I published the Law Day section (below) on May 5.

On May 20, the prosecution rested its case in the so-called “Hush Money” case in Manhattan.  The final arguments and the Jury deliberations do not come until after Memorial Day, and I will update further after the verdict, at this space.

I highly recommend following the commentaries of Joyce Vance and Heather Cox Richardson for up to date and crucial information.  Click on their names for most recent links.  You owe it to yourself to follow what is going on currently, which will impact in the longer term.

I am an amateur on the block, but I’ve followed this very closely.  For the interim, I have followed the hearing largely through the expert commentators, including those above.

Most of my work career was representing teachers in a teacher union/contract/law context.  I worked constantly with, around and against lawyers.  As a citizen, only once did I get jury duty, and on that occasion none of my panel actually saw service – no cases for jury during our term of service.  In the 70s, I was a witness at the federal court level in a case that ultimately reached the U. S. Supreme Court, so I became intimately aware of ‘the weeds’ – things like discovery, cross-examination and the like.   Ain’t softball.  The blessings of the rule of law far outweigh the impediments.  (Our ‘side’ won, and the case had national implications for many years.  I must have comported myself okay – in a year-end gathering, the law firm “awarded” me their “Greek Grappler” award, to which was appended part of my testimony.  You take compliments any way you can get them!). The Rule of Law is not Perry Mason!

Re Manhattan May, 2024, I am satisfied to wait for the dozen citizens who make up the jury to deliberate and decide on the case.  And if their ruling makes sense – virtually a certainty – I will accept the ruling whether I agree with it or not.  I will try to imagine myself in a conference room with 11 other people who hardly know each other interpreting the law.  Most of us can translate this into our own lives – imagine any meeting on any issue….

Long and short, these trials (plural) are a master class for not only amateurs like myself, but invaluable to everyone in the legal profession.  The Rule of Law is being tested, and when this is all over assorted codes, etc., will be reviewed and quite likely modified to fit.  That’s what I feel.

Take the time to review what follows.  It’s worth your time.

*

LAW DAY

Last Wednesday, May 1, was Law Day in the United States.  It has been so since 1958, when first proclaimed by President Eisenhower and later became part of the United States Code (Public Law 87-20 April 7, 1961).  The American Bar Association  had a hand in its establishment, and again this year has proclaimed it; Likewise, President Biden has signed a proclamation recognizing it.

This years Law Day is in the midst of all sorts of citizen inservice education on how the Law works.  My only editorial comment: we are fortunate to live in a country which still follows the Rule of Law, tedious as it can be.

For many years I was an active member of an organization, Citizens for Global Solutions, which informally expanded the definition of Law Day to World Law Day.  I’m retired now, but still support the essential premise: Law is designed to mediate conflict.

(The group, originally named World Federalists, now Citizens for Global Solutions (national) and Citizens for Global Solutions MN (CGS), advanced the premise that if Law was a good system for working through problems in our country, it would be as useful for the nations of the world as well.)

In the course of developing the archival record of CGS MN.  I came across a very interesting booklet published by the American Bar Association booklet on the Rule of Law.  A pdf in four parts is here: Law Day Am Bar Assoc 1959 (c0ver through p. 17); Law Day (2) Am Bar Assoc 1959 (pages 18-24); Law Day (3) Am Bar Assoc 1959 (pages 25-43); Law Day (4) Am Bar Assoc 1959 (pp 45-52).

If I were to recommend a single page to read, it would be p. 49, “Law in a Treehouse World”.  The entire booklet is a timeless seminar for any novice in the law.

The world is a complex place, so is our country, so is every subdivision of our country.  The Law at minimum helps to bring some sense of order to the inevitable chaos that would exist if there was no Law, or law by fiat of an authoritarian dictator.

On April 17 I did an Earth Day post that featured a one hour talk on energy and the future. The focus of the post was a a thought provoking recent talk on the Energy/Climate Conundrum.  The talk itself was about an hour, with Q&A for most of another.  The YouTube link is here. The blog itself here.  I highly recommend taking the time to watch the film.

At Nobel Peace Prize Festival Augsburg University Minneapolis MN Mar 5, 2009

There were some very substantive comments, which are presented below.  Chuck summarizes the contents of the film for his own list.  At the end of these comments I offer my own thoughts about my own history.

COMMENTS:

from Larry: VERY interesting! His topics remind me of some of the things Bill Gates talks about but he presents more of a 360 view; it’s not as simple as building and using electric cars..his part on C02 is understandable and one learns something in Dr. Tinker’s talk. Thanks for sharing…LG

from Claude:  I’m sorry to tell you, Dick, that I was not a fan of this guy and his message. He seems to me to be a mild form of climate denier.

from J.:  I looked through my notes from yesterday’s view of his Zoom.

I really liked his mention that we need multiple generations working together on the climate problem. I also very much liked his caution that we “Don’t Blame!” and that we build coalitions that work together and are willing to compromise. I completely agree with him on those routes. Many climate advocates, including Fresh Energy, very much embrace all of these ideas.

However, the entire lengthy talk (over an hour!) didn’t give me any hope that anything could really be done. Many times he used very similar graphs designed to tell us that the human’s influence was tiny. It made me shudder that his main job is teaching students (indirectly). Yikes!

[Personal note: I am a strong supporter of J Drake Hamilton”s. organization, Fresh Energy, which has been and continues to make a great contribution to the conversation, including at the implementation level.  Take a look at their site too.]

from Chuck, a long-time advocate for social justice in the Washington DC area:  Thank you!  I needed this! 😉

My Rotary colleagues made me Co-Chair of our Districts Environmental C0mmitee.  And I’m regularly on our global environmental zoom calls with great speakers.

I’m certainly going to share this with both.

Below are my notes from listening…and some of my thoughts from working on all these issues for 45 years.

Hope you don’t mind my added narratives.  Any editing suggestion would be helpful.

*

Notes on the Energy/Climate Conundrum, with Dr. Scott Tinker [here, per Chuck]| HMNS Distinguished Lectures 

Speaker begins about 3 minutes in….main program goes about an hour…then Q&A.  The notes below reflect the key points he makes. (what is in parentheses are not).

We must reduce emission while improving human flourishing at the same time.  There is no binary option!

Fear is getting in the way!  Fear as a narrative that drives motivation and money!

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”  Aristotle

And “All the ill that is in us comes from fear, and all the good from love.” Eleanor Farjeon.

Energy’s global context is a triangle.  Environmental security (low emissions), Economic security (affordable), and Energy security (reliable!).

Energy needs to affordable, reliable, and low emissions.

Three primary variables:  Humans, Energy, Climate.

Poor people have optimism and Hope…(not so much in Haiti). In the rich world…the west…live in pessimism and fear.   Division and Anger pulling us apart.

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”  Mahatma Gandhi.

Some 60% of the world lives in some kind of energy poverty.  5 billion people?

The road out of poverty is fueled by energy.  Lots of it!

The cleanest air in the world is in the wealthy nations.  The worst…in the poorest. They can’t afford to clean up the environment. They are trying to do basic human needs kind of things.

Achieving zero emissions is not possible (without killing the economy and global security.  There must be trade-offs.  A balancing of needs and wants).

Energy is a basic human need. (it will also help build resilience for dealing with the problems to come because we didn’t start doing this earlier as we were warned by the bipartisan 1980 Presidentical Commission on ending World Hunger- see summary at bottom of emai).

Energy security varies greatly around the world and this is the great energy paradox:

Energy won’t end poverty!  But they can’t get out of poverty without energy!

It’s time to “power the people” of the world. Energy access for everyone!

We must provide energy affordable energy to those most in need, reliably. Because secure energy underpins solutions to all the global challenges.

Human summary:  Lifting the world from poverty is the critical issue of our time.  Everything else depends on that!

Secure energy is vital for human flourishing!  (When your electricity goes out or your car runs out of gas you quickly remember this fundamental principle.)

Energy security varies around the globe.  And demand for secure energy is increasing everywhere!

Energy Summary:  All forms of Energy have environmental impacts.  Asia emits more CO2 than the rest of the world.

CO2 has been much higher and climate much warmer in the past AND Humans are influencing modern warming!,

A portfolio of solutions are needed to address emission.  Different parts of the world need to do the things they are doing.  We did!

Energy demand is going up faster than energy supply!!!

Energy supply impacts Climate, air, land, and water (One system interrelated!)

Energy emissions!

We need a rational transition!!! Secure energy underpins solutions to global challenges!

We need more coalition building!!!!  Not the false competition between energy sources.  We need them all.  We need MORE energy! For a rational transition.

So let’s start building coalitions!!!

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point”. CS Lewis.

So what’s the answer?  (prioritizing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and Rotary International’s seven priorities by building coalitions to work comprehensively together).

Energy, security, underpins, economic security.  All the rich countries of the world have Energy security which allows us the choice of cleaning up the environment.

“The beginning of wisdom is to do away with fear.”  Yohannes Gebregeorgis.

Fear is only dividing us.  (If we accept this truth and other truths that we hold to be self-evident – taking care of nature and each other- we can find the options to get us out of this mess. Failing to do this will not work out well for anyone).

Emerging economies need affordable energy. Developing economies need reliable energy.  Developed economies needs sustainable energy.

And then emerging economies want to become developing. And developing economies want to become developed.  So we have to accelerate economic growth in each.  (And to do this we need to invest in people’s health and education -the twin engines of development- and we need to stop wars, corruption, and dysfunctional governments.)

We must advance human flourishing and reduce environmental impacts. (This is not rocket science.  Take care of nature and each other).

You can’t negotiate with physics (“the laws of Nature and Mature’s God – the golden rule. You can resist or ignore them, but that will get very expensive.)

We must end the binary narrative (driving fear).  (this is a non-zero sum game. Everything is interdependent and we will either win together or die together).

Also from Chuck: In 1980 a bipartisan Presidential Commission concluded and its commissioners specifically warned …“The most potentially explosive force in the world today is the frustrated desire of poor people to attain a decent standard of living. The anger, despair, and often hatred that result represent real and persistent threats to international order… Neither the cost to national security of allowing malnutrition to spread nor the gain to be derived by a genuine effort to resolve the problem can be predicted or measured in any precise, mathematical way. Nor can monetary value be placed on avoiding the chaos that will ensue unless the United States and the rest of the world begin to develop a common institutional framework for meeting such other critical global threats… Calculable or not, however, this combination of problems now threatens the national security of all countries just as surely as advancing armies or nuclear arsenals.”

They also stated “that promoting economic development in general, and overcoming hunger in particular, are tasks far more critical to the U.S. national security than most policymakers acknowledge or even believe. Since the advent of nuclear weapons, most Americans have been conditioned to equate national security with the strength of strategic military forces. The Commission considers this prevailing belief to be a simplistic illusion. Armed might represents merely the physical aspect of national security. Military force is ultimately useless in the absence of the global security that only coordinated international progress toward social justice can bring.”

Today’s world is experiencing the consequences of ignoring this commission’s warnings. It specifically warned of increases in “diseases”, “international terrorism”, “war”, “environmental problems” and “other human rights problems” (refugees, genocide, human trafficking…).

Combined, these global pressures have fueled the anti-democratic populist movements thriving today.  Independent governments’ “self-interests” can no longer be more important than humanity’s potential to thrive and survive in the face of these accelerating threats.

Dozens of other prestigious, bipartisan studies and academic reports have followed since that 1980 report. Each clearly documents the direct and indirect links between world hunger, human rights violations, global instability, and the growing array of other threats to our freedoms, nation’s security, economy, and political stability.

I  believe our failure to make the protection of human rights and our environment superior to the protection of national sovereignty and corporate power is the primary driver of accelerating chaos.   The chaos that elections will not stop or even lessen.   Our systems of government are failing us.  Without transforming these systems to prioritize “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” there is not enough money in the world to address all the suffering that’s coming directly linked to so many unsustainable local and global trends that are reactionary in nature, and not preventive.

Preventing these accelerating trends will require a comprehensive global action plan.  An affordable and achievable plan exists today:  the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  No organization has yet taken a leadership role in building a Movement of Movements needed to bring all progress-focused organizations and movements together.   Time is not on our side. The evolution of pathogens, weapons, war, corruption, environmental distresses, and growing economic disparities and debt are outpacing our will to voluntarily change our governing systems. This is literally…globally unsustainable.  Leadership on this is urgently needed.   Which organization will rise to the occasion?

*

from Dick, my personal thoughts:  April 30, the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and House Oversight  Committee released a bicameral report “Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change.”.  You can read the summary here, which links in turn to the entire report. .There is a great deal of information available.

The Tinker talk has caused me to revisit my own very limited history of engagement on this issue.  (I searched this blog for post referring to “climate change”.  There were 115 – of 1,994 – posts since 2009.  No, I’m not suggesting looking at them.)

I’ve never been a radical on the climate issue, but I haven’t been passive either.  I watched the Tinker video twice, and am glad I had the opportunity.

My first active engagement in environment was as a junior high geography teacher.  A group of us from two junior high schools got into a project with the University of Minnesota Department of Geography, which came to be called the Anoka Conceptual Geography Project.  As I recall, our first engagement was in 1968-69.  I recall it was called “Blue Lake” or such, for 8th graders, and  based on the taconite (iron ore) tailings problem at the Silver Bay MN plant of Reserve Mining, a major Minnesota venture.  (A re-counting of the longer history can be read here).  What made this a salient issue for we teachers, then, was evidence that tailings from the plant, dumped into Lake Superior, were contaminating the water supply of Duluth MN.  We put together a simulation for students.  It was sufficiently interesting so that we presented it at a national conference of the National Council for Geographic Education,  which several of us, including myself, attended twice, I think in 1968 and 71, in Houston and Atlanta.

While the curriculum wasn’t about climate, it certainly was about environment and the conundrum presented by competing priorities – in this case use of natural resources and their impact on human life.  It was a first step for myself.

Before going further, I admit to being a hypocrite.  This isn’t hard: I think most of us who live even reasonably comfortable lives are fellow travelers.  I drive too much; We don’t keep the thermostat low; we use too much water; on and on.  I think I’m pretty typical.  Richard Alley, in a 9-minute video (link below), made his point very well to young people, 15 years ago.  I was in the audience, then.  The kids paid close attention.

I vividly recall an early jarring reminder that came to my attention, and I still remember it: It was about 1980 and I saw an article on water conservation.  Unfortunately, I don’t remember author, magazine, date.  The essential point was this: There were drought conditions somewhere out west – California sticks in my mind – and a community called for cessation of watering lawns, accompanied by penalties.  Most people followed the rule, voluntarily.  The owners of the fancy houses in the hills simply ignored the rule, with impunity.  Not my problem, they seemed to say.

In a sense, the folks in the fancy houses represented all of us, including myself.

Here’s a few other thoughts I have about the value of the Tinker video.

My 5th blog, of now nearly 2000 at this space, April 9, 2009, was on the topic.   One of the first stops I made after watching the Tinker video was a 9 minute video by Prof. Richard Alley of Penn State, to children at the March 5, 2009, Nobel Peace Prize Festival at Augsburg University (then College).  Prof. Alley was one of the many co-recipients, along with Al Gore, of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.  His short talk speaks for itself.

Earlier, in June, 2005, we were among a large crowd who heard Al Gore give the speech and presentation on climate change that led to the 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth, a film which has survived the test of time, including receiving the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

A dozen years later we saw the sequel.  Along the way, in June, 2011, I asked a local climate scientist to ‘grade’ Al Gore’s conclusions.  Here is what Dr. John Abraham  said.  (Hint: he gave Gore 90 out of 100.  Not too bad.)

Pioneers, which Al Gore certainly was, have to deal with uncomfortable realities, including what is reality, which is why there aren’t many pioneers.  On the other hands, without pioneers – risk takers – there would hardly be progress.

Over the years I’ve basically come to believe there is no one-size fits all solution, mostly because we are a world of human beings, addicted to living beyond our means.  Richard Alley pointed this out to the kids at Augsburg extremely well.  At the same time, there are good things happening, including from the business and industry sector, which make it more likely that we can functionally adapt without destroying the planet we live on.

Tinker, as I recall, in his slide show describes near the end a  “Radical Middle” – a need to find some middle ground among competing interests – which can  make an incredible difference simply by doing simple things.  I resonate with that approach!

There is a downside, however.  The people who live in the most desperate economic realities – Tinker says 2.8 billion of us – do not have access to, and could not afford, the kinds of things we take for granted.  In my grandparents day, here in the U.S., it was not at all unknown to use dung (cow chips, manure) for fuel – I have it in my mothers history of growing up.  And burning inefficient wood as a primary fuel.  They use these fuels because there is no other choice.  And it exacerbates the problem.

This is not to say that there hasn’t been evolution in the poor countries.  When I last visited Haiti, in 2006, cellular communication was just entering the conversation.  Now I would guess it is almost universal there.  But cell phones and computers require lots and lots of energy.  And my guess is the average Haitian cannot even conceive of our utilization in the developed world.

My only mantra to myself is to keep on, keeping on.  Last October we had an energy audit of our house, and much to our astonishment we got a grade of 99 (of 100).  Mostly it was common sense changes which we could afford to make.  If you can, at minimum do an energy audit.  You might be surprised.

Scroll down for more comments.

POSTNOTE Monday, April 22, 2024:  Overnight, two commentaries relating directly to the below: Heather Cox Richardson and Joyce Vance.  Earthrise, eferred to in Richardson’s post.

Monday, April 22, is Earth Day.  Of course, every day is earth day, and has been since the beginning, but this particular day dates to 1970.  More here.

My nephew, Sean, who has been involved in energy finance for 30 years in multiple capacities, sent a thought provoking recent talk on the Energy/Climate Conundrum.  The talk itself is an hour, with Q&A for most of another.  The link is here.  I have watched the entirety, and recommend it as stimulating thinking about a controversial/crucial problem today.  I encourage comments, which I’ll post stand-alone, along with my own, about May 5.

I send this along specifically to encourage thought, and dialogue.  Not everyone is of one mind on earth issues, as you know, but change happens one thought, one discussion, at a time.

Whatever your bias might be – unfortunately, we all are accustomed to polarization – try watching the talk with an open mind, and reflect and discuss what you see and feel.  The future is ours, together.  Have a productive Earth Day, which is every day.

At Nobel Peace Prize Festival Augsburg University Minneapolis MN Mar 5, 2009, photo Dick Bernard

Separate topic: Defendant, Prosecutor, Judge and Jury.

Monday was April 15 and eyes have been and will be on the courthouse on Manhattan NY.

If that is your interest (and I think it is highly relevant), I highly recommend as an ongoing reporter on the legal end, Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse.  For history in general, Heather Cox. Richardson’s Letters from an American is another commentator I highly respect.   I link her post about history and April 15.  Both writers post frequently on their respective topics: Law and History.

As for the case in Manhattan: much is made of the fact that this is a Jury Trial.   It would take a unanimous decision to end the case. Any split decision would result in a hung jury, and the case could be retried if the prosecution wants.

…the difference between this case and all of the others is that every single one of us will have the opportunity to know everything the Judge and Jury know.  We will be able to see and hear all the evidence, if we wish.  And we are all affected by the outcome.

My guess is that there will be lots of lawyers, judges, professors and students paying very close attention to this trial.

In all cases, it is important to be informed.  Pay close attention.

*

I read a particularly interesting article in the April 3, 2024, New York Times magazine that seems particularly on point: check out “What I Saw Working at the National Enquirer…” by Lachlan Cartwright.

What seems a fairly reliable rendition of indictments of the former President is here.

COMMENTS:  Note any comments about Earth Day will be posted in a separate blog on or about May 5, 2024.

from Fred: Thanks Dick. Took a look and the Vance and Cartright articles and was most impressed. I read Heather Cox Richardson every day.

Last Saturday I attended the local (Senate District 47 DFL) Political Convention.  I’m Democrat, so it was the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) Convention.  This was the second Convention enroute to Election 2024.  Precinct caucuses, (Feb. 27),  elected delegates to the District Convention; Saturdays District Convention elected delegates for the upcoming Congressional District Convention (May 4 in St. Paul); then comes the State Convention (May 31-June 2 in Duluth); then the National Democratic Convention (Aug 19-22 in Chicago).

All the Conventions are open to those who participate beginning at Precinct level, and are elected as delegates ,   The process is designed to be orderly and inclusive.  On occasion local issues create local dilemmas and controversy, and of course these get publicity.

Controversy was not the case for SD 47 this year.  Everything went smoothly, and by adjournment in early afternoon, 17 delegates from my Representative District (47A) had been designated to represent us at Congressional District 4.

Our Senator, Nicole Mitchell, could not be in attendance.  She was on National Guard duty, in which she is an officer and long-time member.  My Representative (47A), Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, was in attendance, as was Ethan Cha, Representative for 47B.  Congresswoman Betty McCollum(CD4) stopped by, as did several others or their representatives making the rounds of District Conventions.  Here is a photo of the three legislators in attendance:

from left: SD47B Representative Ethan Cha, U.S. Congresswoman Betty McCollum; SD 47 Representative Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger. April 6, 2024

In addiition to electing officers and the like, including delegates to the next level, the other main task for delegates is to approve resolutions which will ultimately make up the party platform.  In our society, and within the Democratic Party, there are an infinite number of issues and points of view, but over the years the party has cobbled together a fair and efficient process to make sure anyone with a concern can get on the court with it.  This year 38 resolutions were approved in 12 subject areas, such as Consumer Protection, et al.  A Pre-convention committee assessed all resolutions submitted, dealing with duplications, and so forth.  The report and the ballot were clear and plenty of time was given to vote..

Here are the Resolutions presented to, and passed by, our Senate District (handwritten notes my own): DFLSD47 2024 Resolutions.  These will be further refined, included or dismissed, at later levels, ultimately making up the philosophical position of the Democratic Party.

The Convention itself was small this year.  Possibly this related to lack of controversy.

It is about 7 months to the election of 2024, and action will intensify.  Get on the Court, and stay there!  It’s about our future – all of ours.

Yesterday I did a post entitled Propaganda.  It is long, especially the Kanefield link, but I think it is pertinent

POSTNOTE: It is easy to forget that anyone elected to anything quickly learns a sometimes very hard lesson: they may have “won”, but their responsibility is to 100% of the people they represent, including possibly a majority of their constituency.  “We, the people” forget this too, at our own peril.  The blessing of Democracy is also the curse.  We have to work together to succeed.  If we don’t we all fail, to a greater or lesser degree.

The bag which held our Senate District delegate materials featured the most likely new Minnesota State Flag which will likely become Minnesota Law in a short while.  The design is below.  The right side of the real flag will be light blue in color.  This will replace a flag whose essence has been in existence for a very long time – since Statehood in 1858.  The process to this new flag was very long and deliberate in 2023.  As with any change, for some it was  controversial, to the point of hate mail.  This is one of the things every legislator has to reckon with, in every session, with every Bill on which he or she must vote.  The new flag misses the one thing I personally lobbied to retain from the old flag – L’Etoile du Nord.  On the other hand, I like the new design and I’ll get accustomed to it, as will all of us.  It’s government in action.

I was curious about solar eclipses in the United States since we became a nation.  Here’s the list.

Yesterday’s eclipse in Rochester NY, mid afternoon wasn’t directly visible to the locals.

Below photo by and of John Bernard in Rochester area on April 8….  The internet report about Rochester NY for April 8.  I knew my brother John was traveling from California to Rochester NY to watch the eclipse at our sister, Mary’s, home.

My requests were brief: “What some people won’t do to get free publicity.  Wave to the camera if you see one – I’ll look for you on the news tonight! Look forward to a full report” and
“I’m expecting a Pulitzer quality shot of the eclipse in Rochester.  Nothing secondhand!
I watched part of it today.  I guess there are no unique stories.  Every sighting is unique!
Hope you saw something.  Sounded like the odds were pretty good.”

About 5:30 my time came three photos from John: the first of overcast sky in Rochester; the last of a sunshiny afternoon in Rochester; and in the middle, this one, taken at the actual time of the eclipse, featuring John and his “sun”.  So, nobody actually saw the eclipse in Rochester on April 8, but everybody experienced it, and in a few minutes it was over, everywhere.

And John gets his Pulitzer from me.  Or whoever had the idea to take this photo of the real world.

In the eclipse at Rochester NY mid-afternoon April 8. John Bernard represents the sun, and the humans, outdoors at Fairport.

Our sister, Mary, hostess, wrote a little later and added her few cents:

Eclipse viewed in Houston April 8, 2024

Indianapolis IN April 8, 2024

from Nancy in Salt Lake City:  Thanks for the reports and the photos.  It sounds like a fun and interesting time, despite the clouds in Rochester (and Houston).  The corona sounds like it was the star of the show in places where it was clear.  It was relatively quiet and uneventful here.  

I appreciate everyone sharing their photos and experiences!

from Mary: I celebrated by doing three hours of a life drawing of five darkened sites transmitted by tv and filtered by nasa. Bob in speaker phone connection gave language to one corona.  equatorial….another was diamond…..another series of spots reflected light from moon valleys,,,,,,physicists are so much fun,,,,,text me if you want that work in progress photo…..

I celebrate that the sense of awe and wonder was directed by positive embracing of science and nature

Kathy in Mt Angel OR had an excellent view of the eclipse in 2017.  I think these photos were taken at the time the eclipse was occurring on an obviously clear sky.   Oregon August 21, 2017

Composite photo of the Oregon eclipse in 2017, from the area near Mt. Angel..

The same eclipse attracted my daughter, Lauri, who took a friend and several of their kids to  the St. Louis area August 21, 2017.  They had the same weather condition as Rochester, and ended up having lunch on the lawn at the Gateway Arch, closed at the time for renovation.

I think everyone in each of these vignettes found the time worthwhile.  And I’m sure it was shared.