25 years ago

[cornerofmadness]

The space shuttle blew up. I remember it so distinctly. I had come back into my dorm room from class and turned on my little TV. It was naturally all over the news. I fell back onto my bed, hitting my head on the cinder block wall. I wouldn't notice that until the next day. I couldn't believe it.

From the time I was a little girl I had wanted to be an astronaut. I knew by then, of course, that wasn't going to happen but I was still very interested in the space program. Every year in middle school/high school I put my name in the hat to go to a NASA space camp. That never happened either but I did end up belonging to a few NASA sponsered clubs. Somewhere on Mars is a capsule with my name in it because of that.

I didn't know any of the astronauts naturally but the emotional blow was just as strong as if I had. I remember later from other clubs, tributes to the Challenger. For the life of me, I can't remember if Wendy Pini herself (i believe so) drew this or not but it was a picture of Skywise watching the news and seeing the shuttle, crying. One of my Star Trek magazines had something similiar.

evil_little_dog mentioned that she and I used to stand outside in her back yard and watch the shuttles going up. My very first in person viewing of a shuttle launch was very cool. I pulled off next to an orange grove outside of Oveido and just watched the jet stream. So neat.

Tonight was going out for beer and pizza bitchfest. I had a pitcher of beer in me before the pizza even made it out there. Toward the end of the night, someone bought us a pitcher. We thought it was our coworkers who left first but that would be so out of character. It was turned out that it was a group of former students. Half the bar started chanting for me to drink another. Um no and you're freaking me out. We ended up just letting them pay for the one we had finished (they're graduated so...)





That tiger bedspread? yeah that's the one I collapsed on 25 years ago on my dorm bed... Also, notice the furballs? They don't belong on my bed. Soul got a panicked look suggesting he KNEW that or that maybe I was back to take him to the vet again. he did go today. They looked at me and said you got up this long (dirt) road in a CAR? The truck ran off it. I came here from WI and grew up in Pittsburgh. I can handle a little snow