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

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Cats on the forbidden bed...OOooooo.

I think Pini did that piece of art. I know there were some gorgeous ones for Doctor Who, which was my other big fandom at the time.

[marynachaotica.livejournal.com]

I distinctly remember where I was. I had been home sick with double pneumonia for about a week, and had felt well enough that day to sit up with my legs dangling over the edge of the bed. Gerry was discussing with me what I could possible eat that wouldn't tire me out...and I turned my head as the TV went from a program to the new breaking news. The first thing I thought of was about the teacher's schoolkids were watching this, and her husband.

The phone rang, and it was one of my professors from college, checking to see if I was watching the news. She told me that the entire college had come to a standstill, every TV on campus was turned to the news and counselors were being brought in. But the paramedic students were doing exactly how they had been trained to do, checking on everyone...making sure those in shock were being tended to first etc. I was so proud of my classmates.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

nods nods

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

they are so proud of their badness

yeah I'm pretty sure it was wendy in the official club zine.

[a-big-apple.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize the anniversary was today until I saw you posted this...I was four and a half at the time, but I remember it vividly. My mom and I were watching the launch on the news while I was waiting for the bus that would take me to afternoon kindergarten. I was very upset about Christa McAuliffe, since at that age a teacher was much more within my realm of understanding than astronauts.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

4 1/2? (well that's better than some who weren't born yet...) I was also very upset about Christa since she was living all our non-astronaut dreams by going up.

[a-big-apple.livejournal.com]

Yup, I was just a tyke...though I was surprised when I did that math, the memory doesn't feel quite so old to me. Maybe just because it was so memorable.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

i'm sure. I still have vague memories of the lunar landing. I would have been 2

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

*nod nod*

[a-big-apple.livejournal.com]

That's awesome!

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I remember walking into my apartment and turning the radio on, just as a choked up commentator said he was "giving the news I'd hoped I would never have to give". A minute later I turned on the TV, and left it on for the next few hours.

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

You're such a youngster! I remember watching the lunar landing on a TV in a window in a shop in Sitges, Spain. I was 21, on my honeymoon..
Oh, so long ago.

[a-big-apple.livejournal.com]

And here I thought remembering the Challenger disaster made me not a youngster! ;). It's all relative, I guess!

[seatbeltdrivein.livejournal.com]

That's one of the cool things about where my best friend lives in Florida, down in Cocoa. We can stand in her yard and watch the shuttles launch. Hell, her house SHAKES when the shuttles launch!

I find it funny that everyone seems to have been drinking tonight. I was dead passed out from beer consumption and pizza until about ten minutes ago when my dogs decided they needed out, and needed out NOW. Damn. There goes my sleep.

How's the site you were worried about from his surgery? Is it looking any better?

[bob_fish.livejournal.com]

That's so young to remember it so well! But I guess it's a memory that would stick with you. I don't actually remember the disaster itself, although I do remember reading about it in the paper after.

I already told this story on ELD's journal, but my best bud saw the launch live on TV. She was eight, obsessed with becoming an astronaut, and very excited that there was a girl astronaut, still more that she was a teacher because her mum was a teacher. She and her friend were having a special space-themed tea party while watching. I guess you can imagine how that went, poor dudes.

I actually didn't realise the scale of public mourning in the States over the Challenger disaster until hearing this post and ELD's. It wasn't quite on the same scale over here, although of course it was all over the news and people were shocked and sad for the astronauts' families. It sounds like it was one of those national moments like the Kennedy assassination where everyone stops what they're doing and hugs each other and stares at the TV in shock.

[a-big-apple.livejournal.com]

My impression is that it was one of those moments--or at least, I know it was talked about for ages afterwards, and that most people who were alive for it can remember where they were when they heard, or were watching it live. My view of it is a little skewed, given how teeny I was at the time.

[bob_fish.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was a bit less so here, although we did care about it.

[havocmangawip.livejournal.com]

I was in the fifth grade. We'd all gone through the lunch line and all the intermediate teachers were in the school library (which you walked through part of), in the little kid's book section, watching TV. Walking down the hall I saw the TV and Miss Macaluso's mascara (she wore a ton of makeup) running down her cheeks.

Back in our classroom I said to the aide, "I think something happened to the Challenger."

I was shushed.

Then I did what kids do, ate my lunch and went to recess. There was an announcement when we got back in.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

yeah that would be about right for kids that age

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

oh definitely. it could be different if you were say my age

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

wow your poor friend. That is another reason as I mentioned to Big apple that it hit me hard. Christa was living out my dream. Women astronauts were rare indeed then and to have that happen was pretty devestating.

But it was definitely one of those moments where the country came to a stop

[silvrethorn.livejournal.com]

The furballs look contented, even if they are in forbidden territory.

I came home from class at Flagler ("home" being the house on Marine Street where I roomed) and found my roommate glued to the TV down in the sunroom. We couldn't figure out at first what had happened, since the explosion had just occurred. Even the TV announcers were confused. It took awhile to figure out that the space shuttle was _gone_, and we were looking at fragments, not a funny-looking fuel-tank ejection. My roommate and I went around stunned for the rest of the day.

We always used to go out on the catwalks of my high school and watch the launches. Then we got blase and stopped interrupting class for routine stuff like shuttle launches. They're not that spectacular from this far north of Cape Canaveral anyway, though the one night launch I saw from my house was beautiful. The fireball was very bright, and I watched it travel all the way into space, getting smaller and smaller until it just winked out.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Oh I bet it does. I have friends and family in that area.

haha dogs, what can you do. Their needs trump drunk pizza induced sleep

Soul is in the kitty hospital for observation

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

age is so very definitely relative

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

now that is a cool memory

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

yeah it was harsh. I don't think i went back to class after that but honestly I can't recall the rest of that day

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

oh so very content.

Yeah by the time i saw it, they already knew.

the night launches were always so very cool.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

You try to keep cats off the bed? Hee hee hee. Yeah, just keep telling yourself they don't get up there. :-D

The day the Challenger exploded is one of those days that's forever stuck in my head. I'm still amazed how crystalline the details are.

[ljgould.livejournal.com]

I was at work. My mom, who loved to watch the launch of any space craft, called me. She said to turn on the TV at the office, that Challenger had exploded. I think I screamed before running into the break room to turn on the TV. I know everyone in the office ran in to see what was going on. We spent the rest of the day in front of that TV watching.

I would love to know how you keep cats off a bed. My cats keep me off the bed.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

i can believe that

I shut the door

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

usually they don't. usually i have th door shut

same here

[ljgould.livejournal.com]

I tried that once...that's when I found out that Natasha can open doors. Oh well, at least they're warm and purr sweetly while taking up most of the bed.

Get well, Soul!

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

hahaha, Iktomi, one of my formers was such a big mouth shutting him out meant you were gonna hear about it. Kanda and Soul are pretty quiet. They're accepting of the fact that they aren't getting in.

thanks.

[ishte.livejournal.com]

But don't you know? Cats DO belong on the bed. It's one of their natural habitats.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

not on mine