It was one of those moments ingrained in your brain. One I will never quite understand but will never forget.25 years ago today, I was a college sophomore in my dormitory room, blow drying my hair to get ready for class. It was morning, I remember, and I had the TV on. I had my head turned upside down as I was drying my hair, almost routinely watching the screen.
That's when I saw it.
That inexplicable, tragic poof that happened right before our eyes. From down here, on my TV screen, that poof looked like nothing much. I'm almost sure the people reporting on the space shuttle take off weren't immediately aware of what had just happened also.
Those are the moments that unite us as a nation. Tragedy has a way of doing that.
Twenty five years ago, we lost seven innocent people, an entire crew of pioneers, in the name of science. I know I'll never forget it.
Count you blessings bloggers. Happy Weekend!
I don't really remember where I was at the time but I do remember being glued to the TV set and not really feeling the impact of what had just happened....until the media replayed it.....
ReplyDeleteI was in junior high, but I don't really remember where I was when it happened. I'm pretty sure I was in one of my classes when I heard about it, which is strange because I skipped school all the time.
ReplyDeleteWe had to watch it my sophomore year in high school, Chemistry class. It was unbelievable, and unforgettable.
ReplyDeleteMy experience was much the same as yours. I was a sophomore in college in my dorm room reading. I hadn't watched a shuttle launch in a while, and for some reason I had the television on. Something I normally didn't do during the day. I remember looking up from my book just seconds before the explosion. I couldn't believe what was happening. After seeing it replayed over and over, I heard a voice over my shoulder. Three of the guys from down the hall had been watching from the hallway. They wanted to know if that was real. It didn't get any more real.
ReplyDeleteI was working in tech support at a computer company up in Boulder. Nobody could believe it, we ran to a conference room and turned on the TV and sat their ignoring the phones for a couple of hours.
ReplyDeleteI had run home from work for lunch, and flipped on the tv just to have something to listen to. They were still unsure what all had happened, and were even still speculating whether someone might have survived. Kept showing that damn video footage over and over . . . very sad.
ReplyDeleteA moment like that kind of slaps our pathetic little technology back down, and gives all scientists a little humility . . . and the rest of us a reminder of the frailty of human life.
XO
There's obviously been a lot of discussion about this tragic event today, and I gotta admit, I don't remember where I was when I heard the news. I have no idea why.
ReplyDeleteTruly one of our country's darkest days.
I was playing cards in my neighbor's dorm room. (It was our J-Term, we had one class, and it started much later.)
ReplyDeleteI remember this so clearly, surprisingly. I was only 12 years old but the tragedy seems so fresh. I think because at that time my imagination was still caught up… thinking that we’ll all get a chance to go into space (by now), and after that, I wasn’t so sure.
ReplyDeleteSo sad.
first time I saw it was in the lunch room at one of my jobs. That was the only time I can remember that room ever being absolutely quiet and still.
ReplyDeleteI was 19 and at work, the second time I was in a Tom Thumb in Gulf Breeze Florida.
ReplyDeleteI was in my 8th grade Science Class watching it happen live on tv. My teacher burst into tears and threw himself onto his desk sobbing and yelling "why? WHY??" and we kids just sat there in horror not knowing what to say or do.
ReplyDeleteSo sad. :-(