We have 91 supporters!  Welcome new signatories, and thank you for your support of the Eclipse Escapade.  Once we get into triple digits, it will be time to notify the possible change-makers, politicians and community leaders that could potentially make Escapade happen.

                                                         OOPS!

 I should not say that politicians and community leaders will make it happen.  I SHOULD say “ALL we Escapaders are making it happen.”  Yes, of course, the Eclipse Escapade is of the people. However, the involvement of politicians and other community leaders will in all likelihood be necessary.  For example, let us suppose, hypothetically, a plan could be worked out whereby Erie County would grant tax credits to county citizens willing to invest in the renovation of properties, renovation for the specific purpose of making domiciles for umbraphiles.  (Remember, “umbraphile” is a fancy word for an eclipse tourist.)  Does it seem far-fetched that Erie County would grant tax credits to citizens willing to invest in home renovations so that umbraphiles might find domiciles?  I admit this proposal is sketchy and hypothetical.  My main point in putting forth this sketchy, hypothetical proposal is to show that we should notify politicians and other community leaders of our basic goal; that we would like to see vacant houses in our area turned into hostels for eclipse tourists.  We notify potential administrators of our dream not because we expect these leaders to do all the work. We are all welcoming citizens, and we will quite willingly do the work required. Rather, we notify the officials because there will certainly be administrative considerations in getting the Eclipse Escapade going.  Plus, I want the county to give tax credits to those citizens who invest in renovating properties so that eclipse tourists have places to stay.

But, make no mistake, if the Eclipse Escapade is really to happen, it will need involvement from all kinds of people, many, committed people willing to see this rarest of all moments as not simply a splendor from the sky, though a total solar eclipse certainly is such a splendor. What the physics of the solar system present to us is not simply a spectacular celestial show from the skies; it is an impetus and an opportunity to work hard on the ground, to work hard to enact hospitality and to make our city truly resplendent.  Indeed, it will take commitment from groups and ipseities all over Western New York, working in accord, to make the Eclipse Escapade happen.   

                                                            OOPS!  

I just used the word “ipseities.” That’s a rare word.  Skilled rhetoricians would advise me to be careful about using rare words.  Fair enough.  But then, astronomically speaking, we are in the rarest of all moments, a moment betwixt and between two Great American eclipses, a moment that will not be repeated in our lifetime, in several lifetimes, if ever.  If any moment calls for the use of rare words, this moment is one of them.  Let us therefore increase the sophistication of our vocabulary in order to recognize the astronomical significance of the distinct moment we live in.  The word “ipseities” is the plural of “ipseity,” which is a fancy word for “selfhood.”  Your ipseity is your individuality, your fundamental self, who you are apart from all the groups.  Thus, when I assert that the Eclipse Escapade “will take commitment from groups and ipseities all over Western New York,” I mean that both your affiliations and your selfhood will be necessary to make it happen.  For this utterly unique project to come to pass, both your communities and your uniqueness must be involved.  In other words, bring in the friends close to your heart and bring in your very selfhood.

If just one-tenth of you recruit just one more person to sign the petition and become an Eclipse Escapader, our numbers will be in triple digits, and that milestone will be the moment to poke the politicians, let the leaders know, and muster the media.  I am confident we can be in triple digit territory by the end of this weekend. So, let’s let our leaders know about our dream.      

How exactly will the transformative work of the Eclipse Escapade transpire?  I admit, I don’t have a detailed methodology worked out.  For the last three years, I have been straining my brain to come up with an organizational strategy that could make the Eclipse Escapade happen.  Now that we have ninety-one signatories saying the Eclipse Escapade should happen, I recognize my attempt to play the role of a strategist was not very smart.  I am not a strategist; I am a dreamer, a minister, and a writer.  I should not have tried to play the role of the strategist, because strategy is not my strength.  Instead, I should rely on the mysterious might of many minds getting mustered.  In other words, I implore you to share your ideas.

With nearly 100 signatories on this petition, many minds have been mustered, and it is time for our mysterious might to be manifest.  In short, I am counting on all of you, drawing on whatever experience you have, to start generating ideas.  Please, reach out to your friends and seek signatories.  Furthermore, come up with dynamic ideas to drive this most distinct endeavor ahead.  We will never have a chance at this again.

I don’t expect your proposals to be perfect.  My idea, that Erie County could give tax credits to investors in renovation, is sketchy and hypothetical.  I admit the possibility that my half-baked proposal might yield only one, big OOPS. If your own proposals are sketchy and hypothetical, that is okay.  But please, contact community movers and shakers, those you have good rapport with, and mention both this petition and your provisional plan, even if that plan could be a big OOPS.  Why tell important about the petition in particular?  Because the petition is a sign that we have a community, and that we speak from a community, and for it.  WE are the thoughtful, committed citizens Margaret Mead told us could change the world.  We, the signatories are a community, and thus, we should talk about the petition and grow our community.  So, that is why you should mention the petition.  Why put forth your inexpert plan on how the Eclipse Escapade might actually happen, even if your plan is sketchy, hypothetical, and potentially an OOPS?  When you share your idea with a leader of our community, you will be showing him or her that you are bringing your very selfhood into this endeavor; you are applying your own, distinct mind to the project.  Mentioning the petition brings in the community, and increases us.  Mentioning your proposal, no matter how rough, brings in your ipseity.  In summary, present the endeavor of the Eclipse Escapade as both a mission of a community and an initiative of your ipseity.  Show the movers and shakers that both the community and the individual minds are dedicated. 

After all, we big-brained bipeds of Planet Earth are not simply communal beings or individual beings; we are simultaneously communal AND individual beings.  Bring the whole human experience to this endeavor, the experience of belonging in a community, and the experience of believing from your ipseity.  

I, Fred Harold Jensen, invoke the mysterious might of the many minds mustered to one mission.  All y'all minds out there; tell the important people with whom you have rapport about the petition, and offer whatever provisional plan you have, for whatever it is worth.  Let this weekend be a weekend of sketchy and hypothetical ideas presented to make the Eclipse Escapade happen.  

P.S.  Feel free to email me your ideas, however rough, at fredharoldjensen@eclipseescapade.org.  Pretty soon, I will need to contact the politicians with some kind of plan, and your input is welcome.