Twenty years ago today................
Twenty years ago I was 23. I was working the grave yard shift. I came home exhausted and collasped into bed. I don't remember what awakened me. But the radio went off and I heard something about Challenger exploding. I raced downstairs to see the horific images of the shuttle exploding. Two pieces broke away from the main explosion and almost looked like they were going to collide. I remember the camera on the faces of Christa McAuliffe's parents; her mother clearly disturbed, her dad smiling- not understanding what he had just witnessed. I thought of Christa, the first civillian in space. She was a teacher. I always thought it was wonderful that a teacher was going first. It was a hugh honor for her as she was chosen from thousands of candidates including a teacher from Maryland who taught at a school not far from my home. I followed the story leading up to launch. I recall she almost didn't make it because of air motion sickness. That was something I could relate to. Christa, to me, represented the common man. She wasn't a scientist or trained pilot. She was a teacher, an extraordinary teacher, but a "regular" person who was given this great opportunity and was going to make the most of it. When she and the other astronaunts died in front of the whole world watching-a part of me died. I can not explain this feeling except that what she could have taught us- that space is for everyone and we could all maybe experience it one day gave way to a tremendous grief. I can not imagine how her family felt; her husband, her little kids, her parents and the students at her school that were sitting in an auditorium watching what was to be a joyous event turn into castastrophe. But Christa did teach us something. She gave the ultimate gift to tell us that space and space exploration is dangerous. We had become complacent at that time. So many shuttles had gone up without incident that the news barely mentioned them if at all. But that was a wake-up call. It taught us more about the structure and the function of the craft and it made us more cautious to send people. Christa, her life and her quest to be the first to teach a global class from outer space, stayed with me and that is why I named my daughter after her. I hope for my daughter what Christa hoped for her students, a curiosity and never-ending,child-like wonder for the world. To strive beyond your limits and reach for the stars. Her motto was "I touch the future. I teach".
She certainly did.