When the Light Goes Out

Regina, Saskatchewan

At 10:35am on Monday February 26, 1979, I was driving westward along College Avenue, toward Broad Street in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Two blocks east of Broad, the sky began to go dark. By the time I turned off College Avenue, it was like nighttime. The streetlights came on and stayed lit for several minutes.

The sun gradually reappeared as I parked my car in a stall at United Dominions Corporation, where I worked.

Total Solar Eclipse. Photo taken near Brandon, Manitoba, February 26, 1979.

The morning of February 26, 1979, was the start of a momentous day for me. The Regional Manager of United Dominions called me just after I arrived at work. Stu Wilkinson informed me that there was a vacancy in the Manager’s position in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and he was offering me the job.

I took a short drive to ponder the offer and was returning to the office when the sky went dark. Back at my desk, I called Stu and accepted the promotion.

Two weeks later, at the grand old age of 24, I was sitting behind the Manager’s desk in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

I don’t believe the two occurrences are connected, but it seemed serendipitous that a life-altering event happened simultaneously with a total eclipse of the sun.

There will be an eclipse tomorrow, just after noon in Alberta. My career has gone full cycle since the last total eclipse of the sun, but I wonder what other life-altering changes might occur …

… when the light goes out.