105-year-old Texas man gets ready to witness his 13th solar eclipse: ‘I always want to see the next one’

A 105-year-old Texas-based man is officially gearing up to see his 13th solar eclipse on 8 April.

LaVerne Biser opened up about the upcoming opportunity to see the highly-anticipated event from his hometown during a recent interview with People. His comments came as a total eclipse of the sun is set to plunge a stretch of North America into darkness on 8 April, with the lure of up to four minutes of midday darkness in Texas and other spots.

Speaking to People, Biser looked back on all the trips that he and his late wife, Marion, took to see the eclipses, including his first one in 1963 with their three children.

“I guess before we went to Maine all of ‘em were so far away we couldn’t go. We can’t drive to China,” he said. “But in ‘63 when it was in Maine, I said: ‘We can drive there!’”

He specified that during that trip, he and his family made their way to a farmer’s field and unpacked all of their equipment, before waiting to watch a solar eclipse together. He then recalled that since that trip, he’s not only driven to different parts of the country to see the eclipses, but he and his wife also went on a few cruises.

“We drove to Santa Rosa, New Mexico, Beatrice Nebraska, we drove to Alabama. We made it part of our vacations,” Biser said.

Although he won’t be doing any travelling to see today’s eclipse, as he lives in Plano, Texas, he still has his concerns about the event. More specifically, he’s worried that spectators won’t be able to notice much of the eclipse because of the weather.

“I’m afraid we won’t see it because of the clouds. I’ve seen 12 of ‘em and I always want to see the next one,” he explained.

As reported by People, Biser’s love for astronomy goes back to his childhood, which is when he spent hours looking up at the different stars and constellations in the sky while on his family’s farm in Ohio.

“Back on the farm, it was really dark so you could see the Big Dipper, Orion, all the constellations,” he said. “We were well acquainted with the sky. I hate that kids nowadays have never really seen a sky like that.”

Following his teenage years, Fisher went on to study mechanical engineering at Ohio State University and spent some time working in San Diego. He later moved to Texas, which is where he met his wife and started their family.

During an interview with The Washington Post earlier this month, Bisher’s daughter, Carol, opened up about her father’s interest in seeing solar eclipses. She said that when scheduling her wedding in 1972, she had to make sure it didn’t fall on a day that an eclipse was happening, so her father would be at the nuptials.

“I told my parents about two possible dates for my wedding — one on June 3rd and one on July 8th,” she said. “My dad said: ‘If you want me to give you away, you’ll have to pick the earlier date. I won’t be here on July 8th.’ He had an eclipse to get to.”

Biser told the publication that on 8 April, he’ll be watching the eclipse with Carol. He also expressed how grateful he was to have another opportunity to see such a rare event.

“It’s really something — there’s nothing like that dark sky in the middle of the day,” he said. “I always feel like a lucky man when I see it. It reminds me that no matter where you are in life, we’re all just a little spot in the universe.”

The Independent has contacted Bisher’s daughter, Carol, for comment.

Today, North America will experience a total eclipse, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, meaning the face of the sun is completely blocked out.

When the eclipse hits Earth, those located in the centre of the moon’s shadow will experience the total eclipse. Experts say that at first, the sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk, and people in the eclipse’s path will be able to see the sun’s corona, which is its outer atmosphere.

A total eclipse is the only type of eclipse in which people can momentarily remove their special eclipse glasses and observe the phenomenon with the naked eye. Apart from this very brief time, people need to wear certified eclipse safety glasses.

The eclipse is expected to be much longer than the previous one – with the darkness lasting up to four minutes and 28 seconds, almost twice as long as the total eclipse seen in the US in 2017.