105-year-old North Texan catches 13th solar eclipse | "As good as any I've ever seen"
PLANO — Watching an eclipse doesn't get old for Laverne Biser, who's just a couple of months shy of his 106th birthday.
"Oh, I'm excited," Biser said. "I'm glad to see those clouds opening up. We may see this thing yet."
As he set up cameras on the driveway of his daughter Carol Barlow's Plano house, the skies cleared so he and his multi-generational family could watch what would become his 13th eclipse.
For his first solar eclipse in 1963, Biser drove his family from Texas to Maine.
"When I saw we could drive there, it's close enough to drive to that I could take a vacation," said Biser. "We're going to see it."
Anticipation grew as the moment of totality arrived.
He said he was glad to be with his family.
"It turned out almost perfect, as good as any I've ever seen," Biser said. "It makes me feel good that we were able to do it and that it turned out a whole lot better than what I thought it was going to be."
Biser's daughter, Carol Barlow said sharing this eclipse was as special as their family's first one nearly 61 years ago.
"It was practically perfect," said Barlow.
Barlow choked up in the moment, saying, "It was pretty neat, pretty cool, sorry."
Viewing eclipses became such a serious hobby for Biser that when his daughter got engaged, there were two potential dates for the wedding day but only one would work. Barlow said her soon-to-be-husband hoped for a July wedding.
"Our birthdays are in July, three days apart and so we thought it would be neat to get married on July 8," said Barlow. "Daddy said, 'If you want me to give you away it'll have to be in June because in July, I'll be in Prince Edward Island watching the eclipse.' So we had our wedding June 3."
"I had already planned to go see that eclipse so when she said the wedding dates, I said, 'Don't conflict with my eclipse day because I want to go," Biser added.
After traveling all over the U.S. and the world to see solar eclipses throughout the decades, the lifelong astronomy buff said this celestial event proved fitting.
"This eclipse came to us in Texas," said Biser. "Lucky 13."