The solar eclipse was about to begin, and I’d forgotten to get dark glasses. The local libraries in Los Angeles were all out of them. Rumors that 7-Eleven might have them turned out to be false. But outside the convenience store, gazing upward, was a group of strangers sharing a single pair. As they passed it from person to person, I got up my courage and asked to join in, catching the strange crescent in the nick of time.
On the way home, I chatted with others gazing upward. My neighbors and I looked into alternative viewing methods involving holes poked in paper. I returned to my apartment to texts from friends who used colanders to view the sun; Instagram was full of acquaintances claiming the path of totality had changed their lives. In work chats, people described gatherings with strangers on New York rooftops.
