We Were United.... In Darkness! Sometimes, the hype preceding an event places such high expectations on the outcome, it's difficult to ever be completely satisfied. I would not put the solar eclipse of 2017 in that category. Of course, Mason was only on the periphery of this particular event. Bridget Langdale had organized a viewing party out in front of the News office, and for several hours, we followed the progress as little bits of the sun were covered by the disk of the moon.