The first headline I saw this morning was Challenger: 25 years later, a still painful wound. My memories are are still so vivid from that day that I wanted to share. Normally, my memory is terrible. But this day, 25 years ago, I could play back on my iTouch. Of course, I’d have to download the Hipstamatic app first to properly recreate 1986.
I was 10 years-old at the time, sitting in my elementary school classroom. My music teacher went to school with Christa McAuliffe. Maybe every school in America was as excited as we were, but it didn’t feel that way. We had a connection; our teacher knew her - the first schoolteacher in space. It was a special day. Banners and posters of enthusiasm and encouragement plastered the hallways. Televisions weren’t a classroom staple then, so three or four classes piled into each room. The chairs stretched out from the TV in the shape of a baseball diamond, all eyes focused on the screen. When the Challenger blew, there were no cries and no screams, just silence. No one could immediately comprehend what had happened. The teacher in front stammered something and that’s where my memory ends.
There aren’t hundreds of these days that become etched in our brains, maybe only a handful. What do you remember of that day? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
I was in high school…I just remember the flames.