“Remembering Challenger 25 Years Later ; Where were You?”
January 28, 1986. I was in Mrs. McClean’s first grade classroom at Reed School. I had just turned 7 years old. We were, along with most other school children across the country, watching it live on tv. I believe the moment it exploded was the first time I really recognized and understood that grown-ups get scared and sad. The world disappoints. The magic and inspiration of taking a female teacher into space was now a disaster that my teacher had to, somehow, account for to a room full of wide-eyed 6 and 7 year olds. I don’t remember what she said. I just remember that morning and how it solidified a fear of space travel that has now escalated into a feverish desire to make t-shirts that read “Fuck NASA.” It was my first experience of national tragedy. And in every subsequent one I have several seconds where I relive the first and feel like a scared 7 year old.
“Remembering Challenger 25 Years Later ; Where were You?”
January 28, 1986. I was in Mrs. McClean’s first grade classroom at Reed School. I had just turned 7 years old. We were, along with most other school children across the country, watching it live on tv. I believe the moment it exploded was the first time I really recognized and understood that grown-ups get scared and sad. The world disappoints. The magic and inspiration of taking a female teacher into space was now a disaster that my teacher had to, somehow, account for to a room full of wide-eyed 6 and 7 year olds. I don’t remember what she said. I just remember that morning and how it solidified a fear of space travel that has now escalated into a feverish desire to make t-shirts that read “Fuck NASA.” It was my first experience of national tragedy. And in every subsequent one I have several seconds where I relive the first and feel like a scared 7 year old.
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