Black Hole Sun

I went out for a smoke at the lobby area of my office building just now and was surprised it was crowded. And everyone was staring at the sun.

"The end is near", said one of the cleaner leaving the scene mumbling.

I looked up and lo and behold, there was a distinct ring around the sun. A complete ring. One smartly dressed guy said something about the summer solstice while yet another young smartly dressed fellow said it could be the recent incessant rain we just experienced the past week. "It doesn't normally rain this much in June. Never! This is a sign!", he said. The scene had enough end times sooth sayers to start a nation wide emergency.

I saw the photo shop man from down the street adjusting his SLR's and so I took my camera and started clicking. But the most depressing comment I heard has got to be from Pakcik Talib - 60 something, married three times and the building chief security guard. Sitting on his chair, puffing away on his ERA, he was oblivious to all the noise and chattering. He had a haunting anxiety about him today which was unusual.

I was standing near him and asked what he thought. He looked at the crowd and said, "That's the black hole". I nodded and finally lit my Marlboro.

Black hole or not, what we all just saw, my fellow country men and women, was just the sun halo. A fairly common sight occurring when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny ice crystals cover much of the sky. I learned that in science class when I was 12.

Oh, by the way. Happy Solstice everyone.