Music Welcome to snoozecast. The podcast is on to help you fall asleep. Find us at snoozecast.com and if you enjoy our show, please share us with a friend. This episode is brought to you by glimpses of the extraordinary. Tonight, we'll read a snooze cast original about two sisters who experienced the eclipse of 1918 as it passed over their part of Kansas. In a quiet prairie town, Alice and Pearl find themselves caught in the path of a total solar eclipse. Together, they lay on a quilt in the farm field as day turns momentarily tonight. In this story, set in the year 1918, the sisters used smoked glass as a prudent way to protect the eyes to view the eclipsing of the sun as the moon moves over it. Now, we know that smoked glass is unfortunately not sufficient protection, and recommend eclipse watchers to wear specialized solar glasses. Smoked glass was invented during the first telescopic viewing of a total solar eclipse by King Louis XIV the France. This method remained popular through the early 19th century, but by 1932, smoke glass started to fall out of favor. Either way, if you are in the path of totality, you do not need to use protection

during the brief period of time when the sun is completely covered by the moon, referred

to ask the totality.

Let's get cozy. Close your eyes. Relax your body into the softness of your bed. Now, take a few deep breaths. Alice sat at the worn wooden table in her farmhouse kitchen. The morning sunlight filtered through the lace curtains and cast gentle patterns on the linoleum floor. The light also caused the silver strands within her otherwise brown hair to shine. The creek of her chair, as she knit methodically, and rocked herself back and forth, slightly to a melody in her head, provided rhythm to the bird's song outside. The boys were now at the schoolhouse, and her husband was away for the day gathering more supplies for their livestock with her brother-in-law. Alice always kept herself busy, but it was nice to suddenly find herself alone and to mostly caught up on her chores. With a sigh, Alice sat down, the baby blanket she was creating for her younger sisters first up coming child. She picked up the morning newspaper that was tossed down their farms long, dirt, drive before the sun rose and unfolded the pages. Its crisp edges rustled softly between her hands. As she perused the headlines, her hazel eyes settled on one in particular. Path of eclipse of sun today, Kansas is in the line of totality. The words seemed to leap from the page, igniting a spark within her. With furrowed brow, Alice leaned forward, absorbing the details of the rare celestial event, right where she was. She read the following. day will be a historic day for astronomers from all parts of the country, who have spent many years of labor and much money in preparation for viewing the solar eclipse which will pass across the United States, including Eastern Kansas.

The moon will get between the sun and the earth, casting a black shadow at the rate of half a mile a second across the United States from Washington to Florida. Alice looked up for a moment to absorb this, then she looked back down and continued. While the eclipse is total only in a narrow strip, it will be a partial eclipse to the rest of the nation. The totality of the eclipse in Kansas will be on a line drawn in southeast, northwest direction, from near the middle of the southern boundary of Barbara County to near. She skipped ahead. Astronomers have been looking forward to this date for many years, intending to take full advantage of the opportunity that means so much to science. For it is during the period of a total eclipse that astronomers may be able to detect certain stages in the life of the planets. Science today has three problems which may be studied to advantage during this time. They are the search for a planet or planets between Mercury and the Sun, the study of the corona and the making of observations which later may prove the truth or the falsity of the Einstein-Doktrin of relativity. Slowly rising from her chair, and from what she had read, Alice turned to momentarily gaze out the window, where the rolling expanse of the prairie stretched out before her. But for the fresh green foliage, now filling out the branches of apple and cherry trees dividing their property, she could almost see the distant silhouette of her sister Pearl's farmhouse. Alice set the newspaper aside, and entide her patchwork apron that was almost always found to be tied snugly around her waist. The pockets filled with the odds and ends of a farmwife and matron. A hingerchief, a stray button, a sprinkling of metal jacks and toy soldiers scooped up before they were stepped on. She began to gather the necessary equipment for viewing the eclipse. A woven picnic basket stood ready in the corner of the room. Grisquely, she prepared and packed up two ham sandwiches, a jar of her pickles, and some of her gingerbread cookies wrapped in a cloth. Then she took her bulky, folded picnic basket out of the pantry, and tucked the picnic provisions around it. Finally, she placed the newspaper on top, closed the tabletop lid of the basket, and headed out, placing her wine-brimmed straw hat on as she went. familiar sights and sounds of the form greeted her, the distant lowing of cattle, the rustle of brazes through prairie grasses. But today there was an undercurrent of excitement, thrumming beneath the surface, a sense that something extraordinary was about to unfold. Alice's brisk footsteps carried her along the familiar dirt path, each step bringing her closer to her sister Pearl's foremouse. She bounded up the weathered porch steps as if she was a youngster again. Alice pushed open the door, the hinges squeaking out, a greeting as she entered the quiet quiet home. Alice knew she would find Pearl in her bedroom if she wasn't already up. As she opened the door to peek into her sister's bedroom, she found that Pearl was awake, but still in bed. Alice smirked to herself at how little things change from when they were little. Pearl lay nestled in the embrace of her mountain of pillows, of book in her hands,

the soft glow of morning light filtered through the curtains. Shining on her blonde hair, twisted up in little strips of rags on her head. Alice took off her shoes and climbed in next to Pearl, placing the newspaper on top of the book and pointing at the headline, her eyes sparkling. And eclipse is going to pass right over us today, Pearl. Alice exclaimed, we need to prepare to view it, it's going to start in just a few hours. At first, Pearl seemed slow to catch the fervor that had ignited with Alice. She regarded her older sister with a quizzical expression, her brow furrowing and confusion, as Pearl began to entie the golden hair from the rags. The prospect of witnessing a celestial event seemed to pale in comparison to the simple comforts of a rare quiet morning alone in bed with a book. Undeterred, Alice sensed an opportunity to sway her sister's opinion. With a knowing smile, she disappeared into the kitchen. The clatter of dishes echoing in her wake. Moments later, she reappeared with a tray, laden with steaming mugs of coffee. The invigorating aroma, filling the room. As Alice handed Pearl a mug with a smile, she settled on to the edge of the bed, her eyes a light with excitement. Together they poured over the newspaper, the words dancing before them, like constellations in the night sky. Pearl red slowly out loud, absorbing the information as she read it. A total solar eclipse occurs when the sun, moon, and earth line up perfectly so that the The moon appears to block all of the sun's light from certain places on earth. Though the sun is about 400 times wider than the moon, the moon is about 400 times closer to earth, allowing it to sometimes block out the sun. The places on Earth where people can see a total solar eclipse called the path of totality can stretch for thousands of miles in a narrow band. The totality or time of total darkness will last about four minutes through many localities of eastern Kansas. See map for details. She turned the page and exclaimed, goodness gracious, look at us Alice, right in the middle of the path. Alice then pointed at the section of the article titled, Phenomena and Uncanny, and read out loud with dramatic emphasis. The phenomena of a total eclipse are uncanny. The darkness gathers. Persons take on an odd look under the blue beams of light. Strange waves of light go shooting by on the ground, as though the Earth were moving swiftly from under you. At the moment when the black disc of the moon wholly covers the sun's surface, darkness settles, much the same as night. Az Alice continued to read, Pearl checked the big cuckoo clock in the hall for the time. She came back unconsciously, cradling her growing belly in one hand and asked what they needed to prepare. She had always turned to her big sister for advice when the future wasn't certain. I already packed us up a picnic pearl, so all you need to do is get dressed. Alice said, Oh, and we need to smoke up some glass to view the sun before the totality comes. What do you have around I might use? Hmm, thought Pearl. Oh, would you be a deer and run out to the shed while I get dressed?

There's a pile of window-pains on the bench that should do the trick. Alice got to work and carefully hovered one pane of glass at a time over a caracene lamp were, by her estimate, sufficiently darkened. Pearl arrived in the kitchen, just as Alice was tucking the pains in between the folded blanket and the basket. The younger sister slung the picnic basket into the crook of her elbow, with a wide smile, as she grinned at her sister. The two women hurried outside. The sun shone down upon them with late spring warmth. They walked, side by side, and frequently glanced around and up at the sky. Is it getting somehow dimmer out? Alice? Just a little, Pearl asked.

I do think so, laughed Alice, since it was a queer thing to say on such a blue sky with no clouds kind of day. Cow's load in the distance, their voices mingling with the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze. As they walked, Alice thought about the cosmic coincidence that would soon unfold before their eyes. The moon perfectly positioned a two obscure of the sun, but just from their perspective. Finally, they reached the spot they always chose for picnics. A grassy knoll overlooking the fields below. With practiced grace, they each took a hold of opposite sides of the blanket and lay it down smoothly before sitting down side by side. Pearl lit out a deep, contented sigh as she entied her bootlaces and pulled off her socks. She then lay down and stretched her arms overhead as she wiggled her toes in the soft grass. The sky above was still blue. As Alice took out picnic food and jam jars of iced tea. The sun still seemed as full as always, despite the hint of dimness. After some nibbling biallus and hearty enjoyment by pearl of the meal, the sisters peered through the smoked glass viewers and exclaimed as they watched a dark crescent, slowly encroach upon the sun's brilliant disc. Shadows, recently of the typical shortness found at noon time, started to stretch out, as if time was speeding up towards night. As they sipped tea, Alice pointed at the line of apple trees bordering the field below. The lengthening shadows dancing on the ground beneath them, spangled with small crescents of light. It was a sight unlike anything they had ever seen before. A reminder of the sparkling magic that lay just beyond their horizon. Alice and Pearl now both sat on the blanket, around their bent knees. as they noticed the sky shift to sunset hues on the horizon, which then transitioned up to white, and then a dark twilight blue above. Around them, the form seemed to hold its breath. The usual sounds of life fading away as if in reverence to the spectacle unfolding in the heavens. The chickens, sensing the onset of night, retreated to their coops, their soft-clicking, a distant echo in the darkness.

The dairy cattle, load softly, seeking shelter in the barns as the air grew cool and still. and then as if by some unseen hand, a world grew dark, the sun disappearing behind the moon as totality descended upon them like a shadow. They were enveloped in darkness, as the sisters lay there on their quilt, hand in hand. They watched as the corona of the sun shimmered round the moon, like a crown of fire, casting a soft, ethereal light upon the world below. Under the velvet panorama of the sky, they were faced to face with the splendor of the universe. As the moon glided away from its magical moment, and the sun reclaimed its place in the sky, Alice and Pearl still lay side by side on their quilt. Their fingers now intertwined. The blue sky came back, and the trees swayed gently in the breeze, casting dappled shadows on the ground below. The farm slowly stirred back to life around them. The chickens emerging from their coops with soft clocks. The cows returning to the fields with a lowing of condentment. And the songbirds filling the air with their sweet melodies, surrounded by the beauty of their everyday world. They knew they were exactly where they were meant to be. the soft smile. I'll us turned to Pearl. Her eyes shining, seeing this mother to be a new. She squeezed her sister's hand. Pearl returned to smile. whether life seemed bright or to grow suddenly dark. They had everything they needed in themselves and their families to navigate, and he changes in their lives. Yn yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n yw'n y