I was in Texas last week, filling up on gas for $3.15 a gallon and reliving much of American history on display throughout the state. While most people immediately think of the Alamo as a fascinating destination to visit, Block's Museum of Texas History in Austin offers a wealth of interesting information about Texas' past. A tour of the state capital building revealed stunning architecture and design, as well as interesting conversations with state capital officials.
The highlight of our trip was a visit to Dallas' Sixth Floor Library Museum, dedicated to President John F. Kennedy. It was especially moving to stand on the “grassy knoll” on the very street where JFK was shot. His sixth floor of the building overlooks the parade route and you can see permanent markings placed on his road at the two locations where Lee Harvey Oswald's shots hit their targets. Although I was a very young child at the time, I remember clearly where I was and my reaction when I learned about the assassination of our beloved president. For many overseas, President Kennedy is a symbol of democratic freedom, and for a brief moment in history, many of the world's peoples were united in grief and sorrow, grieving with us. .
The Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin was a fascinating study of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, which dominated not only Johnson's presidential term but my own youth. My friends were too young to be drafted, but many of my older siblings were not, so the Vietnam War was always on our minds and in the media. I was there. Despite the great turmoil in our country caused by the push for civil rights legislation and disagreements over our actions in Vietnam, I was struck by the clarity of some of President Johnson's statements displayed throughout the library. I was shocked. “Until justice ignores the color of skin, until education becomes raceless, until opportunity becomes indifferent to the color of men's skin, emancipation is a declaration but not a fact.” LBJ, May 1963 30 days. This is in stark contrast to most of America. Today, championing “colorblindness” like Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon Johnson did is considered racist by some.
The George W. Bush Presidential Library is located on the beautiful and expansive campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. As an adult during the eight years of George Bush's presidency, I was keenly aware of the major events of the time covered in the Bush Library, such as the destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina and the terrorist attacks on our country on September 11th. Ta. The exhibit at the Bush Library is a giant piece of twisted metal recovered from one of his twin towers in New York. I remember every detail of his September 11th. As I relived the day through exhibits and videos at the Bush Library – where I was, how I felt, and what I did – I remembered it as vividly as if it were yesterday, and it brought tears to my eyes. . . My son had been sworn into service in the United States Navy less than a week before 9/11, so the risk that our country would soon be at war was very real to me.
Oh, and did we mention there was a total solar eclipse? While in Texas, we visited other interesting and beautiful spots, but the real draw for us was the impending solar eclipse. As it turns out, one of the best places to view the April 8 solar eclipse was almost anywhere in Burnett County, Texas, about 80 miles northwest of Austin. Fearing the stop-and-go traffic that all the newscasters were predicting, we left Austin early on April 8th and headed to our designated spot at the park in Burnett. In addition to our “eclipse glasses,” we packed chairs, food, and water for the day. We were expecting a very long day with large crowds and dead-end traffic.
Surprisingly, there was very little traffic on the way to Barnet and only a few people in the park getting ready to enjoy the day's events. Perhaps this was because the morning was cloudy and wet, and some forecasters were predicting doom and gloom as to whether we would actually be able to see the eclipse.
The eclipse began in Burnett at 12:17 p.m., with temperatures hitting 79 degrees. To my delight, the clouds parted a few minutes ago, and thanks to my “eclipse glasses” held firmly up to my nose, the moon slowly fades away from the sun as the sky darkens, the temperature drops, and the birds become quiet. I could watch it creeping above me. The wind shook. By 1:34 p.m., when the total solar eclipse began, temperatures had dropped 4 degrees. Maximum totality was reached at 1:37 p.m. When I took off my glasses, a spectacular halo of pure bright light appeared in front of me for 4 minutes and 20.3 seconds. It's difficult, if not impossible, to describe the visual impact of his four minutes in words.
The last path of a total solar eclipse that included the Austin area occurred in 1397, and the next eclipse that passes through central Texas won't occur until 2343, according to NASA. To say the experience was amazing (as in, awe-inspiring) would be an understatement. The time, money, and money it takes to travel all the way to Texas for an event that you may or may not even see, one that you could miss with just a blink of an eye at the wrong time. I had doubts about the value of logistics. But call it divine intervention or just pure luck, it turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget.
