With Vicki at the wheel of our Avenger, we made the 54-mile drive from Greeneville to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in a little over an hour. As we got close to our first destination, which was the Comfort Inn and Suites at Dollywood Lane where we had reservations, it was obvious that country music star Dolly Parton had a huge influence on the city. It seemed as though everything we saw had the word “Dolly” attached to it, although to my disappointment I didn’t see anything associated with Dolly Madison. By 3:30pm on Sunday August 20, 2017, we were unpacked in our motel room for the last time on our trip.
Over the years, my photographer and his wife had heard others say that they had spent their vacation in Pigeon Forge and it was wonderful. As we headed north on the Parkway towards the Titanic Museum, I heard what Tom’s opinion was as he gazed out of the car’s windows: “This reminds me of Las Vegas without the casinos. Everything here looks like a tourist trap with a carnival atmosphere. There’s a wax museum over there, a miniature golf place there, thousands of souvenirs and tee shirts; and we just passed the Castle of Chaos back there – this is unbelievably sad to see thousands of people walking around just throwing money away on that junk. Now I’m worried – I hope the Titanic Museum lives up to my expectations and has some authentic artifacts.”
When we pulled into the parking lot of the Titanic Museum, I was stunned to see the front half of the ship with an iceberg near its bow. The ship was huge; and it looked a lot like the real Titanic; but at thirty bucks each to get in, my photographer had some criteria that needed to be met. We walked up to the ticket booth and Tom immediately saw a sign posted that prohibited photography inside the museum, which at first was a deal breaker. Another factor was the fact that the Pigeon Forge museum was not allowed to display artifacts brought up from the wreck site in the North Atlantic; which made my photographer ask the woman in period clothing: “If you don’t have authentic artifacts brought up from the Titanic wreck site, what do you have on display that would make me want to shell out sixty bucks?” The young woman said that they had debris from the ship that was found floating in the ocean in 1912 and other items that had washed ashore in the weeks following the tragedy. She also mentioned that there was a room where my camera guy could take pictures of costumes that were worn in James Cameron’s 1997 movie ‘Titanic’. I had to laugh to myself because Tom couldn’t get his wallet out of his pocket fast enough.
As I was carried through the museum, I knew that my photographer had enjoyed himself. There were artifacts that surprised him, such as clothing, luggage, and personal items that some of the survivors had donated over the years. But for Tom, one of the best artifacts of all was a deck chair that was recovered floating in the Atlantic; and there were several pieces of woodwork that had broken free as the ship sank. But perhaps the best of all, the piece de resistance, was a life preserver that was used by one of the survivors. The priceless life preserver was suspended in the air with a wire hanger, which gave everyone a great view of it from all sides. At that moment, when we were standing close to the life preserver, a seven-year old boy who was sitting on his father’s shoulders did something that shocked the three of us. The kid grabbed the life preserver and spun it in circles; almost causing it to crash to the floor. The father said: “Now Billy, you shouldn’t do that.” I heard my photographer tell his wife: “Did you see that kid, he just nearly wrecked a life jacket that was used on Titanic. That priceless life jacket was worn by a passenger who was on Titanic in 1912 and the boy was spinning it around as if it were a worthless toy. If that was my kid, he would’ve gotten a blistered butt because he was old enough to know better. But then again, maybe the father should have had his butt blistered for being so stupid!”
Once that near-tragic event with the life jacket was over, we came into an area that featured costumes used in the movie ‘Titanic’. I knew that Tom enjoyed that area because ‘Titanic’ has been his favorite movie since it was released in 1997. As a matter of fact, he owns a first-class dinner plate that was used in the film; as well as a piece of authentic coal that sunk with the real Titanic. Both artifacts were on display in his memorabilia case. In the area of the museum that was dedicated to the James Cameron’s movie, there were a few costumes on loan because of the movie’s 20th anniversary. We saw outfits that Kate Winslet had worn during a handful of scenes; and each one brought back vivid memories of the movie. Once my cameraman had photographed the clothing of Rose DeWitt Bukater, our tour of the museum was finished. As we left Titanic, I was happy it wasn’t via a life boat; instead we walked out to the car and headed for dinner. We found a restaurant that was recommended by Russell and Amber Emmette; it was a place called The Old Mill Restaurant. There was a long wait to get a table, which gave the three of us time to meander around the West Prong Little Pigeon River where we had a very picturesque view of the mill. As a matter of fact, the photographs that my camera guy captured of the mirror-like water and small water fall in the foreground of the mill were postcard worthy. When my photographer and his wife got worried that we wouldn’t get a table before the place closed, we headed for the Wood Grill Buffet for dinner. While Tom put fried shrimp on the endangered species list at the All-You-Can-Eat buffet, Vicki wasn’t impressed by the cuisine there. It was about 8:45pm when we made it back to the Comfort Inn and it didn’t take long for the lights to go out. I stood in my usual place alongside of the television set where my thoughts quickly focused on the next day’s event – the total eclipse of the sun. I knew that my photographer had planned on purchasing protective glasses for himself and his wife, but I figured I wouldn’t get a pair. I spent the entire night wondering if the harmful rays of the sun would damage my painted resin eyes.
It was Monday August 21, 2017 and our alarm clock went off at 7:00am, which was about an hour later than usual. After my photographer and his wife packed their stuff into the Avenger and had a quick breakfast at the motel, we headed for Sweetwater, Tennessee. There were three reasons why Tom selected Sweetwater as where we would observe the eclipse – the town was very close to I-75 and that’s the expressway we had planned to take home; Sweetwater was almost directly in the center of the totality shadow; and lastly, the town had a seemingly nice festival planned in celebration of the event. We made the winding 65-mile drive and arrived in Sweetwater around 10:50am. We were lucky as my photographer’s wife was able to find a parking place on a side street that was only a few blocks from the city’s center. I had to laugh because some folks were renting out their yards or parking lots for $20 and up for cars; and we parked for free. After the three of us walked to downtown Sweetwater, we had some time to kill as the start of the eclipse was at 1:04pm and totality didn’t begin until 2:32pm. At one point during the day I heard my photographer tell his wife: “Here’s the plan: as soon as the ‘diamond ring’ appears at the end of the blackout, I will snap a couple of final pictures and we will quickly make our way to the car. Hopefully we will beat everyone out to the expressway and begin our drive home before the traffic gets too bad.”
The three of us spent our time walking around to the different vendor booths in town; which was easy as their main-drag, Lee Highway, was closed to traffic in the downtown area. Tom was able to buy two pairs of official eclipse glasses for five bucks each, but he struck out on the official Sweetwater eclipse tee shirts that he and his wife liked. In the center of Sweetwater, at the Historic Downtown Sweetwater Gazebo, songs that were associated with the eclipse were played over huge amplifiers. Two of my photographer’s favorite songs, ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ by Bonnie Tyler and Elton John’s ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, were played a few times. We also heard lesser hits, such as Bill Withers’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ as well as ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ by Frank Sinatra – a singer that my camera guy can’t stand.
Shortly after Tom and Vicki had a quick lunch in town, the moon began to cover the disc of the sun at four minutes past one o’clock. As my photographer snapped a few images of the spectacle, clouds started to fill the once pure blue sky; which began to concern the three of us. Around 1:30pm, we walked back to the car to get out of the 95-degree heat; at which time I heard Tom tell his wife: “These clouds are starting to concern me. I need to decide right now if we should go to another town west of here and try to get out from beneath the cloud cover.” Then after a short pause, I heard him say that it was a crapshoot wherever we would go, and he was willing to roll the dice with Sweetwater. After a half-hour respite from the heat, the three of us wandered back into the center of town where we found our place to watch the total eclipse. Tom saw a flagpole at the Regions Bank whose American flag hung limp in the dead air and he thought Old Glory might make a good prop to photograph with the blackened sun.
For the longest time, my photographer grew more concerned about the cloud-cover over Sweetwater. But roughly twenty minutes before totality, the clouds dissipated and the sky once again turned pure blue. I couldn’t believe it – Tom rolled the dice and won the jackpot. During the final ten minutes or so before the sun was totally covered, the anticipation of the eclipse could be felt throughout Sweetwater. Streetlights began to come on; the air temperature dropped about twenty degrees; the sunlight that was cast on the pavement through the trees looked like little crescents; and bats began to fly above the spectator-filled streets. But the most eerie scene of all came towards us from the west; which was when I heard Vicki say: “Oh my God, look at the sky over there. It’s pitch black – it looks like a major storm is brewing.” Tom replied: “It’s the shadow of the eclipse headed this way and that’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”
But my cameraman hadn’t seen anything yet. With his camera aimed skyward, the moon covered the sun entirely at 2:32:35pm and at that precise moment, nature’s majesty came to life. The sun’s bright glare was replaced by a pure black circle surrounded by the pulsating corona; the Sweetwater crowd cheered at the moment of totality. I heard Tom say to his wife: “This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen anywhere. There are no words that can describe what my eyes are seeing right now.” For two minutes and thirty-seven seconds, day had turned into night in Sweetwater, Tennessee.
The 2017 total solar eclipse had been billed as “The Great American Eclipse” as the 70-mile wide shadow not only travelled through 14 states from our country’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic, totality was only visible in the United States. That’s right; the path of the eclipse fell solely on U.S. soil, which meant that people living in any other country in the world would not be able to view the total eclipse unless they came to America or watched it on TV. How rare was that? The last time that exact scenario played out was on June 13, 1257 – 760 years ago.
Tom had stuck to his plan. As the sun’s surface reappeared from behind the moon, my photographer snapped a couple of images of what’s known as the ‘diamond ring’ and then he said to his wife: “Let’s get out of here.” Seconds after my cameraman had slid his camera into the case alongside me, he and his wife took off at a good walking pace towards the Avenger. Everything went according to plans; that is until we drove onto the main road leading out of Sweetwater. What should have been a five-minute drive to get to I-75, quickly became a nightmare. We were detoured several times and it took two hours to get onto the expressway. It appeared that everyone else had the same idea that Tom had; only they were quicker to execute their scheme. A radio report also shed some grim news on our travel plans; there was a 34-mile traffic backup that began south of Sweetwater and ended near Knoxville, Tennessee.
Had our trip north gone according to my photographer’s original plan, we would’ve arrived home around midnight after making the non-stop 600-mile drive from Sweetwater. However, five additional hours were tacked-on to the journey; which forced my photographer and his wife to notify their workplaces that they each needed an additional vacation day due to unforeseen circumstances. Tom and Vicki had set a new goal of reaching Ohio before finding a place to stay for the night. It was roughly midnight when my photographer and his wife physically ran out of gas; and ironically, the Quality Inn that we found was located on Sharts Road just outside of Springboro, Ohio. I’m no Einstein bobble head, but there’s only one thing that pops into my resin-filled mind when I hear the word ‘shart’ and I had hoped that my photographer didn’t try to pull-off one of his famous one-cheek-sneaks during the night. As I stood in my usual place next to the television set in the room, I could see the total eclipse in my mind’s eye. At least I had hoped it was in my mind and not burned into my resin retinas. But as I thought about what the three of us had witnessed that afternoon, which was by far the most amazing event I had ever seen, the words of one song kept going through my mind: “I can’t light, no more of your darkness. All my pictures seem to fade to black and white. I’m growing tired, and time stands still before me. Frozen here, on the ladder of my life.” Although the sun did go down on me that day, it came back with a roar of exuberance that I had never felt before and likely will never feel again anytime soon. At least not before April 8, 2024.
For the first time on any trip that I had been on, the alarm clock was not set on Tuesday August 22, 2017. By the time my photographer and his wife rolled out of bed and got packed, it was after 10:00am. Our ride home from Ohio was uneventful, but somewhere north of Detroit, I had eclipsed the 25,000-mile mark during all of my Presidential-site trips. In comparison, that’s slightly more than driving once around the Earth at the equator.
I had finished two big trips during the summer of ’17 and since those were my last adventures of the year, I thought for sure I would face more surgery to have my broken left leg repaired. But that wasn’t the case. I was placed onto my usual shelf and I stayed there until the Spring of 2018. Although an eighteen-day California trip had been planned for late July and early August, there was nothing else for me to look forward to. Perhaps if I searched hard enough, maybe President Trump would invite me to Washington. But what were the odds of that happening to a free spirit with a passion for history and a broken leg?
“But these cuts I have, oh they need love to help them heal. Don’t let the sun go down on me. Although I search myself, it’s always someone else I see. I’d just allow a fragment of your life, to wander free. But losing everything, is like the sun going down on me.”
