Total Eclipse of the Son

Sitting here on a fine Monday morning, feeling quite small in the grand scheme of things, a not-so-freshly mown stem in this vast haystack. Sharing thoughts as best a mere stem can, knowing daylight plans to take a catnap in a matter of hours.

Writing last week about plunging into darkness wasn’t done in anticipation of the coming solar eclipse, wasn’t thinking that far ahead. Now that it’s nearly upon us, thoughts oddly turn to fatherhood.

Strange how something so important, so impactful, can be undertaken with so little preparation, so few requirements. No training, no credentials, no equivalent of the Hippocratic Oath—first, do no harm—that medical professionals swear. All that’s needed is the motivation and ability to act on natural urges, and a willing partner similarly inspired and equipped.

As light is obscured in our nation’s politics, two men and their fathers come to mind. Both men were traumatized as children to one degree or another, both are damaged beyond repair. Both wish …