There are a few days I remember with complete clarity. The births of my children (but not my wedding day!), 9/11/01 and January 28, 1986. I remember I had been sick and my mother was in town (this was before she moved here) helping me with my then only child, who was about to turn one in March. Normally, I would have watched the shuttle launch live but I had forgotten so as we put Shannon in her high chair for lunch, I turned on the TV. When it became clear that the Challenger had exploded, 73 seconds after blast-off, there was hope against hope that, somehow, the astronauts -- including Teacher-in-Space Christa McAuliffe -- had survived. But they had not and the country was thrown into mourning. It was weeks before they found them and every news item pierced my heart. Most of these brave souls had young children, as I did, at the time and I ached for their loss. Now, those children are grown and they -- and we -- have moved on, though the disaster with the shuttle Columbia (2/1/03) brought back many of those sad memories. Many people believe the space program is a waste of time and money. I do not. Fly on!!
Along with Christa, the other crew members were: Ellison S. Onizuka, Greg Jarvis, Judy Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair.
God bless them, the crew of the Columbia and all the other astronauts at NASA.
Along with Christa, the other crew members were: Ellison S. Onizuka, Greg Jarvis, Judy Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair.
God bless them, the crew of the Columbia and all the other astronauts at NASA.
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I remember this day also. My kids were home from school - snow day I think - and they were mad because they couldn't watch their favorite shows. I tried to explain what was going on, but they weren't interested.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching in horror as the rocket exploded.