Date:         Mon, 9 May 1994 21:07:02 -0400
 
 
Toronto?
    Hey! You can't let a momentus occurance like this pass by without
saying something.
 
(I must confess to composing this on the spot so ignore any roughness :-) )
 
 
 
 
The Celebration of the Eclipse
 
 
by L.D. Steele
 
 
 
 
     Rrrring! Rrrring! Rrrring! Rrrring!...click
     "Yeah, Nick Knight. I'm either in bed or incommunicado so if you
want to leave your name and number, go ahead."
     "Nicky!  Nick!  Wake up this instant!"
     The voice on the phone got gradually louder and louder.
     "I'm going to stay on the phone yelling until you pick it up!"
     "Un!, Deux!, Trois!, Quatre!, Cinq!, Six!, Sept!..."
     "Get out of bed you lazy, no escuse for a...."
     "Janette?"  Nicks' voice sounded sleepy which was appropriate as he
had just been quite rudely woken up.
     "Um, Janette, what do you want?  Sunset isn't until 8:30 and it's..."
     (Slight scuffling sound as a clock is almost knocked over in an attempt
to bring it close enough to read with sleep blurred eyes.)
     "...1:00 in the afternoon?  What are you doing up?"
     "Nick, I know you work <very> hard at your little policeman's job,
but I thought even you would be awake today."
     "sure...hmmm.."
     "Nick! Are you going back to sleep?"
     "No...I didn't get to sleep at all yesterday and last night was hell."
     "Why do I even bother to remind you?"  Janettes' voice had gone from
sounding irritated to faintly indulgent.
     "Today at 1:20 in the afternoon we will be able to enjoy a beautiful
annular eclipse <right> over Toronto.  I'm at the Raven getting ready for
the celebration."
     "An eclipse day?  Oh.. Oh!  Thanks for calling Janette. I probably
would have slept right through it."
     "Bad, bad luck Nick.  It's worse than breaking 10 mirrors in a row
or eviscerating a black cat on a full moon."
     "How are the preperations coming?"
     "Just fine, everything will be ready on time. I'm giving out free
drinks to everyone.  We're all going to run out in the street and toss a
few rocks at the sun.  Very traditional."
     "I hope you have a great time.  Thanks for calling Janette."
     "It's all right Nick.  I know you can repay me <somehow>."
     "Happy Day of the Eclipse, luck and good hunting till the next."
     "Now who's being traditional?  Luck Nick"
     "Goodbye Janette"
     "Au Revoir"
     click.
 
     Nick hung up the phone.  It was almost time. Janette had really cut
it close.  He bent over and picked up the remote.  It seemed heavier than
normal.  Walking across the room he sat down in the couch.
    1:21
    The shutters rose quickly.  Nick had a beautiful view of a darkened
sky.  Glowing beautifully the sun was almost blacked out by the moon's
shadow, making it a brightly glowing ring.
    Steaming faintly Nick stood in the daylight.
    "Luck Janette"
    "I hope it's good luck for me as well."
 
The End.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Don't miss the annular eclipse happening tomorrow May 10th!
--Times vary depending on where you live in N.America but almost everbody
gets to see at least 40% of the suns surface eclipsed.
--Our favorite cast, crew, and vampire personas get almost 90% of the
suns surface blocked off.
--The next big one isn't until almost a quarter of a century into the next
century. So don't miss it!
:-)
Dawn