Where were you Jan 28, 1986?
Would you believe I was in Orlando Florida? I'd just graduated from bootcamp and was going to school there. The Challenger had been schedule earlier for take off and they kept canceling take off because of problems.
I honestly believe the Lord was trying to tell them something but they wouldn't listen.
I was in the commissary shopping when people started rushing to where the t.v. were on display. We didn't know what was happening. Someone said the space shuttle had exploded. We all were in denial until we saw for ourselves.
I'm grateful I didn't witness it first hand as we had planned. I don't think I could have handle seeing it explode. Seeing it on the t.v. sent chills down my spine. It still does because I knew there were people on that shuttle and how much their families lost that day.
My sympathy goes out to the family and everyone who was touched by this tragedy.
I'm glad we are keeping their memories alive and hopefully inspiring others to want to be astronauts. I think they would want that.
2 comments:
It was really surreal when I heard about the Challenger disaster... My husband and I were recently married (about two years) and we'd finally got time and some money to go on a vacation together. He wanted to visit his friend who was working in Las Vegas, so we drove out from Texas to Vegas in late January...
We woke up late and went walking on the "strip" when I saw the newspaper headlines shouting from a newspaper rack. I thought it was a joke at first--after all we were in Las Vegas, known for its playful atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was the truth.
Suffice it to say, it put a bit of a damper on our vacation.
The recent Columbia explosion also brought back the memories. I've always wanted to travel in space but these events show that it's still a pretty dangerous activity.
I wish they'd bring the Apollo program back. In spite of its few mishaps, those memories are much more optimistic for me.
I'm one to believe that no matter how guresome, and dismal tragedy can be, we all grieve in different ways. How can we forget this aborted attempt? I remember vividly on that day what I was doing and what my reaction was. It was a brisk cool morning just before 12 noon. I was working at a retail marble distributorship off of John Young Parkway in Orlando. I was helping a customer load her marble in the sky when suddenly the sky was filled with the white flumes of congealed smoke. My co-workers and I knew that Challenger was launching 68 miles to the east of us at Cape Canaveral. "Could it be?" I half said aloud not wanting to think the inevitable, but ever so mindful of how reality can slap you hard enough to jolt you into a sad state of melancholy blue.
I remember taking the rest of the day off, heading back to my Deltona home north on I-4 numb, speechless, and with a heart so heavy. I remember Sally Ride and her exuberant euphoria of being the first woman to challenge space, and in the process allowed God to create a space of her own! I remember with remorse and regret...here's hoping that YOU won't forget!
Alvin C. Romer
The Romer Review
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