This day in history

One somewhat random Tuesday two dozen years ago I was sick. I was nine years old, in third-grade, but sick enough to stay home from school. Funny, in a weird way, that I'm sick again today. . .

I was in that semi-hazy state where I was alternating between snoozing and watching cartoons from the couch in the basement of our home in Pittsburgh. I don't remember if I was home alone or if dad was working from home that day, but Mom called me on the phone to tell me to turn on the television to a particular channel. Thinking back, maybe it was on all the channels since I'm sure we didn't have cable at that point. I turned on the t.v. or changed the channel, I forget which, and waited excitedly to see the space shuttle take off. I remember being pretty excited to see it, and I didn't understand enough about what I saw to realize the tragedy that occurred as my nine-year-old eyes watched.

On this day in 1986, the Challenger Space Shuttle Exploded at 11:39 AM, EST. "The space shuttle Challenger STS-51L exploded, 74 seconds into its flight and about 10 miles above the earth. Hundreds of millions around the world watched television replays of the horrifying event that killed seven people."

It was later, as the news played and replayed on all the stations, that I started to understand what happened. When I returned to Miss South's class later that week, we talked about the explosion. We talked even more about the 7 people on the Challenger, specifically about Christa McAuliffe, the first member of the Teacher in Space project.

My mom remembers where she was when she heard that Kennedy had been shot. I guess every one has their own list of tragedies they remember being played out in the media, and this is one of mine. Two others that leap to my mind are Princess Di being killed in an accident and the Twin Towers falling on September 11th. I think I'll end this entry and just go sit in silence for a moment. Praying for peace in the hearts of those affected by such tragedies. Praying thanksgiving for my life and my loved ones.