If you are lucky enough to live in Wallowa County, well then, you’re pretty lucky.

Doubly lucky in fact because on Monday, Aug. 21, we are going to be in the direct pathway of the heralded solar eclipse.

But what is a solar eclipse? When the moon gets directly between us and the sun, it can “hide” the sun for a bit and so “eclipses” the sun out of our sight for a couple of minutes.

So, what do you see? Well, since the sun is covered up, it goes dark (you knew that part was coming, right?) except for a sliver of light halo around the edges of the moon, especially if you’re in the path of totality.

That being said, you would think it would be fine to look at the sun directly, but you’d be wrong. In order not to singe those rods and cones in the back of your eye that are constantly helping you to see color and motion, you need to be smart. And as much as optometrists and ophthalmologists would love your business, it’s best not to have to come in for a completely preventable retinal burn. Nobody likes those.

Especially you, when you can’t see this weird round spot right in the middle of your vision for some undefined period of time. Even though the moon is covering up the sun, there are still plenty of light rays from that exploding hydrogen ball in the sky rocketing out around the edges of the moon and into our sky.

So, should you just pretend that this eclipse isn’t the coolest thing ever and not go? Nope.

Better to show up to the party with your very own set of “solar eclipse shades” that you can get at Wallowa Valley Eye Clinic for $2. If that’s not in your budget, feel free to rock a grade 14 welder’s glass in front those eyeballs.

However, if you’re one of those innovative types like me, you might think that a regular pair of sunglasses (or five) stacked on top of each other would do the trick. Unfortunately not. If you do, you’ll be at the eye clinic sooner than either of us would like.

We hope you enjoy the eclipse as much as we will with those crazy awesome eyes of yours. Maybe we’ll bump into you somewhere, gazing intently towards the sun and who knows, maybe we’ll have matching shades ta-boot.

If you’re interested in more in-depth reading material on this topic check out perkins.owu.edu “Solar Viewing Safety.”

Erica Bailey is a Wallowa County native and second-year optometry student at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore.