Well, it’s finally beginning to warm up around here, now that the winter and springtime storms have left our area, much to the chagrin of folks in Texas and much of the Midwest where they have been getting drenched by record rainfall, devastating tornados and golf ball-sized hail. Too bad they can’t be here to enjoy our sunny weather.
This one is for Jack:
Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo-doo. Here comes the sun, and I say it’s alright. Little darlin’, it’s been a long, cold, lonely win. Little darlin’, it feels like years since it’s been here. Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo -doo. Here comes the sun, and I say it’s alright. (“Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles from their 1969 Abbey Road album)
Perhaps I should explain why this song is dedicated to Jack. Jack, as you may or may not know, is none other than Jack Cooperman who, as you may or may not know (Did I just here an echo?) is president of Mountain Meals on Wheels, an organization whose volunteers deliver meals to mountain area residents who are home-bound and have no other way to feed themselves. He is also past president of the Rim of the World Historical Society and Arrowhead Lake Association and president of Rim of the World Special Athletes Foundation, an organization whose volunteers work with disabled individuals – many of which are missing limbs – by teaching them how to use adaptive equipment that enables them to ski at Snow Valley in the winter and how to swim during the summer months. A hearty round of applause would be quite appropriate: Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
Speaking of the sun, which I just was, last fall I went to the Mountain Skies Astronomical Society’s observatory to watch an annular (less than total) eclipse of the sun. The eclipse was preceded by a so-called “ring of fire,” which appeared in the form of a hazy, orange halo that encircled the sun. Many viewers at the observatory came prepared with certified eclipse glasses or a hand-held solar viewer. This rare “annular,” partial eclipse is on track to repeat itself in 2046. Back on April 8 there was a total eclipse; however, it was not visible in California.
Back when I was a pimple-faced teen back in the OC, my dad, who was the district plant engineer for Pacific Telephone Company’s Orange Division – which included Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties – used to bring home films of the Bell Telephone Hour TV program, one of which was called Our Friend The Sun, and we would invite kids from the neighborhood over to watch them with my family. We learned lots of fun facts about the sun’s size, its distance from Earth, sunspots and how hot it is.
Inspired by the Bell Telephone Hour, I started my own backyard lecture series, where I would invite the neighbors over to learn interesting facts I found in the Encyclopedia Britannica about our solar system. At 50 cents a pop, it was a bargain.
Keep it flyin’,
Uncle Mott
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