Can't take the sky away from me

[sigma7]

Has it been eighteen years? Really? Wow. I'm...stunned. That was our generation's JFK moment, of course. I remember taking my boom box to the lunchroom with me so my class could listen to the radio reports during lunch. Note that our school was most non-lenient about anything like this and would've grabbed it away from me, never to be seen again, on any other day. But, of course, it wasn't any other day, and we listened and ate and that afternoon we had a basketball game to play. Surreal? Yeah. For someone whose collective memories are turning into tapioca, that day remains etched. Another mitigating factor might've been that our teacher was one of the local finalists for the Teacher in Space program. He was never the same.

NASA's official site has a Flash intro featuring the day of remembrance (d'oh, yesterday) if you get there soon enough.

"Some of us find a safety net when we fall through a crack. We are somehow able to grab hold. Others fall right through -- and nobody even notices." Of course, part five of the Mike Webster story. I'm very impressed at how this transcends being a football story and becomes a very human story, almost a Greek tragedy. Oedipus was less blind than Webster, and he had the luxury of an epiphany. Webster could've had an epiphany every day of his post-football life and never been able to hold on to it, a thoroughly depressing idea. No less than the time of Webster's death, nor the fate of his four Super Bowl rings, or even the Merril Hoge moment, and the implication for hundreds of other players.... (ETA: ESPN's been posting some of the feedback they've received on the series. Wow.)

Okay, mood swing. Under star-crossed lovers, file goat and goose. Yeah, you read that right.

Comments

Shuttle

[bishop282.livejournal.com]

I remember that day. I was in science class and the teacher returned to the room with the news that the shuttle had blown up. My first reaction was "Yeah right.", after all, the teacher was always joking so this could have been another one of his pranks. But no, it was all too real, and we headed across the hallway to a room with a television.

A girl was home sick and called her mom, a teacher, to let her know the news. Thinking back on the day, I don't know why our school wasn't watching the launch, because of Christa McAuliffe. A lot of students at that time remember it because they were watching the teacher take off. Found out this week that Judith Resnik is from Ohio, as I saw her picture at an Ohio History Museum.

Re: Shuttle

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of us remember it a lot differently than our fellows because we had a more personal investment in the space program. Instead of simple tragedy it was the world falling out from beneath our feet. Not good times, those.

And welcome to LJ!

Re: Shuttle

[bishop282.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of us remember it a lot differently than our fellows because we had a more personal investment in the space program. Instead of simple tragedy it was the world falling out from beneath our feet. Not good times, those.

You're right about how some of us remember it because of our investment in the space program. I hated those jokes that came out (NASA - Need Another Seven Astronauts; ...I'll feed the dog, you feed the fish; etc.) and how my classmates relished them. Not good times at all.

And welcome to LJ!

Thanks. Glad to be aboard.

[kateshort.livejournal.com]

I didn't believe it was that long ago, so I did the math-- it's been *19* years. Oy.

I was in middle school, going from class through the halls when a guy friend of mine called out to me, "Hey, the shuttle exploded!" Yeah, right. Until I got up the stairs, turned into my classroom, and saw my life science teacher hanging over the radio, her face just ashen. Didn't see the images until I got home and watched the news.

I still get goosebumps every time I remember it. It's weird. But yeah-- our parents had JFK, we had this, and the current MS and HS and college kids have 9/11. Powerful stuff.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

it's been *19* years. Oy.

I play my "liberal arts degree" card. Math is hard. (Maybe this is why I'm not getting hired as a programmer....)

The worst thing about '86 was that I didn't have anything to do back then except dwell. I'd only been home in bed a few hours when 9/11 started, which bolted me to work for a few very rough days. Even when we lost Columbia I got to put up stories and links which were positively noticed. But without even the illusion of being productive -- that's sheer suffering.

It wasn't really a loss of life or even money or data or progress that defined the shuttle losses, I find...something a lot less tangible. Each time it felt like a dream died. On 9/11, it felt more like a nightmare coming true.

[motteditor.livejournal.com]

I also remember it vividly. Like you all, I was in elementary school, fifth grade with Mr. Wheeler to be exact. I think our class felt especially close to the flight because Christa was from New Hampshire. It's not a big state, so while I certainly never met her, we were all proud of her.

I remember being in the library and watching a television that had been set up there. When I saw it happen, I wandered back into our classroom -- where a few people were sitting -- and announced the shuttle blew up. And then I laughed, because I didn't really think that was what had happened. It couldn't actually be real. So sad.