Eclipse

  There was to be a total eclipse of the sun pass over Columbia.  To see it, you had to get protective glasses, and they had them all over town.  I got mine at Mast General Store.  I thought about where would be the best place to experience it.  Back when I was a kid, there was a solar eclipse.  We all got shoeboxes with a pin hole in it to see the shadow of the eclipse.  I briefly looked at it with my naked eye.  That wasn't too smart.  Now, I wanted to get the best place, and I decided on Riverbanks Zoo.  After all, I had heard that animals kind of freak out at an eclipse.

 I first stopped by Wendy's to get an early lunch.  It was kind of warm that day, so I had on a long sleeve shirt.  All polyester (first mistake).  I then walked down to the zoo, which was a couple of miles (second mistake).  I got to the zoo early and walked around to see the animals.  I started sweating profusely.  I looked for a vendor selling water, but there wasn't any.  Because many people had the same idea as me, the restaurant at the zoo was too crowded to get water.  I did find a water fountain and drank a bunch there.  

 While I was walking around, I found a crew from WIS TV that were doing live cut-ins to their news coverage of the eclipse.  I knew the people there, so I just hung out with them and trying to get some shade.  They had water in an ice chest for the crew, but I didn't feel I needed any.  There were other people around the TV people.  About 30 minutes before the eclipse, I felt very dizzy and took a slow fall to the ground.  I remember mumbling something and down I went.  A man caught me as I was falling.  It turned out that he was a missionary that was at the zoo visiting friends. There was a zoo security man with the TV crew, and he called for help for me.

 A couple of first aid people came and wheeled me to the infirmary at the zoo.  It wasn't far from where I had been.  They gave me Gatorade and some cold compresses to put on my neck.  I really wanted to go back outside to see the eclipse.  After a few minutes, somebody came in to ask how I was doing.  I actually was feeling better, so they let me go outside.  I saw the eclipse and heard the monkeys squealing in the background.  I thanked the missionary for helping me, as well as the TV folks.  I wished someone had asked me if I needed a ride home, but no one did.  So, I left the zoo feeling a little weak and dizzy.  I got up to a bus stop and sat on the bench to wait for the bus.  Dehydration is not fun.  I seem to be prone to that.  Ever since that incident at the zoo, I try and carry water or Gatorade wherever I go.  I have had a couple of incidents since then, and neither time did I have water with me.  It turns out that some prescription medication I take for depression has a dehydration side effect.  I have to have that medication. One good thing that came out of that experience was that the TV people used what happened to me as an example on their report of the need to hydrate.  Thankfully, they didn't use my name.  They just identified me as someone at the zoo.  Water anyone?