Monday was January 28th. On January 28th something terrible happened. It was the culmination of many human errors, lack of judgment for those in leadership and a day that took my breath away. It was a day that an explosion rocked my world. I was just going about my normal routine when I saw something and got a sick cold feeling in my stomach.
On January 28th I experienced something that I never experienced before. It was a deep sense of loss. A profound shift in my way of viewing life here on this earth. A bone chilling realization that I was not in control. I was helpless to stop it and yet so desperate to do so. People that I didn’t know had conversations that I would never hear that determined my fate and the fate of others.
On January 28th I stood in unity with my friends as well all experienced the shock and horror of the situation. The loss of words, the dryness of the mouth, the lump in our throats and the pain in our chest as we saw something explode. It was something we couldn’t prepare for, and yet, it was something we all knew could one day happen. Should it really have caught us by surprise?
On January 28th, 1986 the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded… and I’ve never been the same since. January 28th, has always been a solemn, somber day for me and this year was no different. It was a hard day remembering what it was like to be a little 6 year-old kid and see people explode right there on television. This was no cartoon it was REAL… I had watched them wave goodbye and get on the shuttle. And I knew the instant it exploded, that they were all gone forever. Later I would watch as the President comforted me and the entire nation. I felt comforted as he spoke about them touching the face of God. I believed in God and knew He loved people. I hoped that He had taken care of them when they died. And then I began to wonder what would happen when I died…
i remember that too. i remember watching from the elementary school library. and i remember instantly knowing no one would survive. and it was strange the way they silently shuffled us out of the room.