Where Were You 32 Years Ago Yesterday?

Yesterday marked the 32nd anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. That is one of those days that you will always remember where you were when you first heard the news. Just like the horrible events of September 11th, 2001, and other sad historic events like the assassination of JFK or the day John Lennon was shot.

January 28th, 1986, I was a senior in high school. I remember we were just getting back from lunch when our teacher called us into a room with a TV. We could all tell by the tone of the teacher's voice that something serious had happened. One of my classmates tried to crack a joke about something to break the tension, but my teacher wasn't having any of that. I remember him saying; "sit down, shut up, and watch the TV". He turned the TV on to continuous news coverage of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. We sat there in silence as we watch the space shuttle take off and moments after takeoff explode in the sky. At first, you could hear a pin drop in the room, after the explosion there was confusion in the classroom as to exactly what happened. Then, we heard the news that the Challenger had exploded and all seven astronauts on board were presumed dead. We sat in the classroom watching the news for about a half hour before the TV was shut off and we returned to our class work. It was a somber feeling the rest of the afternoon as we all went about our business very quietly.

I will never forget where I was that day. Where were you when you heard the news?