The space shuttle launch this evening brought back several memories. As most of you know, I lived in Florida for a while. During that time I had the privilege of watching several shuttle launches. I'll never forget January 16th, 2003. I was working at Mayo Clinic at the time and many of the employees went outside to the top deck of the parking lot to view the launch. Watching Space Shuttle Columbia blast off was an amazing experience even from so far away. I could just imagine the exhilaration the astronauts on that fateful flight were feeling at that time. On February 1st my Dad (in Texas) was working early in the morning and knew Columbia was supposed to be making it's re-entry so he was specifically watching the horizon knowing where the shuttle should be appearing. He had seen several re-entry's in the past so he knew exactly what to look for. This time of course things were different - and he new something wasn't right. When I learned of the tragedy that had occurred I felt an overwhelming sadness. All I could think about was that I had witnessed, in a manner, those souls last minutes here on Earth. Very sobering. Fast-forward a few years and I got to experience watching the first night launch since the tragedy. That was awesome also. We drove out the the beach and parked, then walked almost to the water. It was freezing that night and the wind was unbelievable. There was a fine, salty mist blowing in from the ocean that chilled us to the bone. But watching that huge fireball appear to rise out of the water was absolutely amazing. This time I was watching with my two favorite people, David and Jacob. As the shuttle rose higher and higher in the sky there was much celebrating on the ground. Sweet memories.
Jacob and I trying to stay warm as the cold, salty wind was blowing in our faces.
That bright light in the center of the photo is the space shuttle. This picture does no justice to the sight we got to behold.
We went back out to the beach the next day - it was still cool, but the day was beautiful.
4 comments:
Can you believe Jacob was ever that little? He's a little man now! I do remember seeing the white streak of Columbia. A day that will stick in my mind. We were up in the Woodlands going to Sarah's baby shower for Weldon and we saw what we thought was a streak from the airplane. Imagine our surprise when we found out what it really was. Horrible, horrible. If you ever get an inkling, come on down here...NASA (Johnson Space Center) is about an hr. drive and it's worth it to learn all about space travel. The shuttle will be retired next year.
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a benefit of living in the South, eh? Pretty neat.
I remember the Challenger disaster- I was in high school and in the library at the time, so saw it on live there... it was horrifying.
I remember the Challenger disaster very vividly, the entire school had gone into the auditoriam to watch the launch. Very sadening.
How great that you were able to view the launch with Jacob and David. I can't imagine what it is to see live, amazing I'm sure.
Very interesting! Can't imagine getting to see it, but I sure remember hearing about it.
I LOVE the bottom picture of you and Jacob. How cute!!
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