Total Eclipse Of The Bark

Paul needed a black shirt for soccer practice. It's why I was coming out of the Goodwill on Clinton Plaza around the same time one of the groups was walking by from the local day care. I was about to get on my bike when I heard the word "ghost."

"Oh, look," said one of the workers. "It's Lou! He can tell us if there's a ghost here."
It was my friend April. She said,"Look at his badge, kids! He knows all about the ghosts."

The kids looked at me. I held up my LHPS badge on my jacket. I said,"Have they been seeing a ghost?"

"All morning," said April. "They've been running around saying a ghost is coming."

I took a moment to consider how to handle this professionally and without scaring the kids. Then I went with the truth.

"The ghost here is named Ken," I said. "He was a really nice guy who used to work here."

"Ken, the friendly ghost," said April.

"He worked in that store over there. And he had a cool go-kart that he used to ride around the parking lot sometimes. He'd have loved you guys." All of this was true.

"See?" said April. "I told you he'd know all about it."

"I'm here," Zach said.

It's our code---Every workplace has them. At the library, at the changing of the guard on the front desk, that's the signal that the new person is ready to take over: "I'm here."

I stood up. "All yours, man."

"Anything exciting going on?" he asked.

"Not on duty," I said. "Got a message from my friend Norman---He's gotten an influx of dogman sightings recently, and I may look into that."

Zach frowned. "Dogman? You're gonna have to explain that."

"Half man, half dog. Like the South Carolina Lizard Man, or the Mothman, except---"

"Okay, I get it. And these are around here?"

"Some of them were. One seems to be in a picnic area west of Renovo, which maybe isn't there anymore. One was down in Sugar Valley---The eastbound I-80 rest area near Greene's Gap. I may check them out; it's been a little slow lately."

"Isn't the county's official monster some sort of dogman?"

"I do have a type."

The phone rang, and I picked it up. "Ross Library. No, we're out of the eclipse glasses. Maybe more are coming in Thursday. I've heard City Hall may have some. Yes, have a good day." I hung up.

"I fielded five of those calls earlier," said Zach.

"Yeah, people are dying for those glasses to see the eclipse Monday," I said. "Paul's school is going to take the kids out to see the beginning of it. We'll be here at work."

"We saw one from work a few years ago," Zach pointed out. Zach and I are the two longest-lasting employees in the library.

"I remember it well," I said. "Probably be the same this time around, too."

When Michelle's phone rang after work, it was Paul. At nine and a half, he'd been growing a bit more independent lately, and he'd spent the day hanging around with one of his little friends. 

"Can I have a sleepover?" he asked. "We're at our friend's foster home."

Michelle glanced at me. I shrugged; no reason why not. I said,"We'll pack you a bag."

"Bring pajamas. And shorts. And bring my Stanley," he said.

"Can do. We'll be there in a bit."

"And bring my ghost-hunting stuff," he said. "The kids want to check the house for ghosts."

I smiled. "Okay, buddy. Be right down."

Ten minutes later, I was handing over Paul's bag at the door to the foster home. One of the girls said,"I recognize you---You do the ghosts---"

"That's me, I'm a ghost hunter." I nodded to Paul. "I brought you my spare chest rig. It's got two thermometers and an EMF detector. That be enough?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

I kissed him on the head. "Have fun, little man. I'll see you tomorrow."

With Paul away on a sleepover, I found I had nothing to do particularly. I sat down and worked on an article for a while, wrote about Millbrook Playhouse. I wandered around the house and finally stopped to talk to my wife, who was watching TV.

"You gonna watch the eclipse with Paul?"

"When he gets home from school, yeah."

"Got anything red and green to wear?" I asked. "I've read about an effect called the Purkinje Effect that changes the tones of the colors a bit. I figure I'll wear my green alien shirt."

"That's interesting," said Michelle. "I'll have to check."

"Eclipses cause all sorts of effects," I said. "Color, temperature, animal behavior...."

I trailed off. Michelle returned to watching TV. I went back to my laptop and did a little research on animal behavior during an eclipse.

People often don't get it, about paranormal investigation. The TV shows make it appear as if it's just a bunch of screaming and running around. But to do it correctly requires a lot of information. It helps to have a certain understanding of history, biology, astronomy, geology, and other subjects. 

Animals react differently during an eclipse. With the sun going dark mid-day, it's confusing for them. (Some humans don't have much of a grasp on it, either, apparently.) So it was reasonable to expect some odd activity from animals.

And maybe dogmen.

Next I checked to see what kind of a view I was going to be able to get. While I was working, I wasn't going to get anywhere near the locations of dogman sightings during the eclipse, even if I wasn't working the desk. But thanks to the dubious magic of technology, I might still be able to check things out.

I did a search for webcams in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. Hey, the Loch Ness Monster has its own webcam, why not check for a dogman on one? Hot damn, there was a site that listed a bunch of them. I checked through the list---One was right where I needed it to be, in Greene Township along Interstate 80. Better and better. I clicked on it and played it a bit. Good view. It could even record and play back. This was just about perfect.

I copied the link and e-mailed it to myself. I was going to be able to look for a cryptid instead of working.

The day of the eclipse, I wore my green UFO shirt and a red bandanna. Purkinje Effect. I sat down at my desk and opened up the I-80 Webcam, and let it run. The cam was run by PennDOT, which had apparently done something right for a change.

Then I went to cover the main desk. "I'm here," I said to Jenn.

"I have the viewer I made outside," Jenn said. "Do you want me to cover for a while so you can go look?"

"Nah, I'm okay," I said. "We got a while before it really starts to get underway."

I alternated between glancing out the window, and checking the webcam. Nothing on the cam. It had probably been a long shot anyway. It was cloudy, which blocked the eclipse somewhat, but after a while, I could see it beginning to get darker outside.

Paul and Michelle came in, and I smiled. "Hey, buddy! How's it going?"
"Not good," said Paul. "These eclipse glasses the school gave us don't work."

"Don't work?"

"I couldn't see the eclipse."

Jenn came back. "Would you like me to take him outside to use the viewer?"
"Sure, thanks. Paul, go on outside with Jenn."

Michelle followed them out, and I walked to the back window and tested Paul's glasses. They were fine; he'd just not been able to see because of the clouds. When he came back a few minutes later, he was grinning.

"Did you see it okay?" I asked.

"Yeah!" he said.

"I checked your glasses; they're okay. Want to check it out through the back window with me?"
"Okay."

We walked to the back of the building, where there were tall, narrow windows facing southwest. I put his glasses on him, and said,"Look up, between the clouds. There."

He grinned. "Cool!"

"You see it?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, we've gotta get going," said Michelle. "I still have some work to do."

"I'll walk you out," I said.

It was getting darker when we got out into the parking lot. I hugged Paul and watched them drive off. Then I pulled on his glasses---He'd left them with me---And I stood for a moment, looking up at the sun. It was entirely covered at this point.

Totality.

I went in and checked the cam. No dogmen, no cryptids of any kind. That meant I was still going to have to get to the site sometime to check things out.

But it didn't matter. I'd gotten to watch the eclipse with my boy.

I wonder what other cryptids I could look for via webcam?.....

Paul was getting ready for bed. This always takes far longer than it should; kids drag bedtime out incessantly. While he unrolled a sleeping bag on the floor, I asked,"Forgot to check. How was your investigation the other night?"

"Great," he said. "We got an EMF in the back yard."
"Really? Did you check for power lines?"

He nodded. "There was no reason."

"Good work."

"I liked the eclipse," he said. "It was fun."

"Well, you know, there's a lunar eclipse coming up in September," I said. "We can stay up to watch it."

"Yeah. That'd be good."

"I'll mark it on the calendar, little man," I said. "Sleep well."