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42 venus transit party A herd of telescopes has gathered in the park to watch the dark boat of Venus set sail upon a sea of fire. It won’t happen again for a hundred and five years, so we try to pay attention, peering at the sun like welders through handheld filters. Children stand at eyepieces saying Venus again and again, then go back to freeze tag on the lawn, while the men and women of Earth sip their wine coolers and consider in the summer dusk the planetary tug of strangers. Then they fold their picnic blankets, pack up the mustard and buns, pour lemonade on the steaming coals and gather the children into the cars. ...

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