JulieAloha

January 28, 2017

I’m grateful to a friend who reminded me that today is a sad anniversary we should never forget. 31 years ago I was a junior in high school, just at the beginning of first period, when we heard that the space shuttle Challenger had exploded 73 seconds after launch. This trip was particularly significant to us as one of the crew was a teacher, Christa McAuliffe, but it was almost our own Mike Jones, science teacher at our Kellogg Middle School, who had been in the running for the privilege of joining that crew. Sorrow, shock, grief, and guilty relief rocked us all on that day and we clung to each other for comfort. Seven people lost their lives that day: Michael J. Smith, Francis R. Scobee, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory B. Jarvis and Judith A. Resnik.

Challenger

me

It wasn’t the 4th of July today, but an explosion bloomed overhead;
they say that the space shuttle Challenger is gone…and her crew, all dead.

Seven lives lost in pursuit of a dream, a tragic event, not in vain,
for we who are left behind on the ground will remember and learn from this pain.

They’ll not be forgotten, their lives nor their end, nor the dream to which they aspired,
scientific discovery, knowledge and truth – their legacy leaves us inspired
to continue their mission, continue their dream, and continue our reach for the stars.