In Latin, “lux” means “light.”
Lux was also the last name of a much-loved Long Lots science teacher.
Yesterday — nearly 2 decades after his death — Norbert Lux got a shout-out in the New York Times.
Melissa Kirsch — who writes the paper’s “Morning” newsletter every Saturday — wrote about tomorrow’s eclipse.
She said:
The first time I heard of an eclipse, I was in sixth grade. My science teacher, too aptly named Mr. Lux (“light,” in Latin), described the mechanics of the event, but what stayed with me, an anxious child, was not the idea of a world plunged into daytime darkness but the risk of permanent retinal damage posed by looking directly at the eclipse.
I couldn’t believe I was permitted proximity to this much peril, this much responsibility over my safety. One glance skyward and I could damage my eyesight forever. Why was I just learning about this now?
Norbert Lux
Staples High School Class of 1975 graduate Doug Davidoff spotted the Times piece, on SHS ’77 grad Dawn McCabe’s Facebook page.
“I’m glad Mr.Lux made it to the New York Times,” Doug writes. “He would have so enjoyed the eclipse on Monday.”
Doug adds: “As Mr. Lux taught, don’t look directly at the sun. It might cause permanent retinal damage and harm your eyesight forever!”
The weather report for tomorrow is “partly cloudy.” Unfortunately, there may not be all the “lux” we need to appreciate the show of nature Mr. Lux taught so well.
(For Melissa Kirsch’s entire story on the eclipse, click here.)
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BONUS ECLIPSE FEATURE: David Pogue no longer lives in Westport, but the “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent is never far from our hearts.
Here’s his piece today, on what to expect from tomorrow’s eclipse:
(Nothing eclipses “06880” ‘s Westport coverage. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
