20 years ago...

on january 28, 1986 at 11:39am i was in architectural drafting class at Amelia High School. my teacher, mr. shimp, let us listen to the radio at full crank while (as long as) we did our work. that's when we heard that the space shuttle challenger exploded during take-off.

it was one of those really stunning things. i'm not old enough to remember things such as Nixon resigning from office, wasn't born when Kennedy was shot. this was the first BIG thing that happened - the kind of thing that people say you'll never forget where you were when it happened. i never have.

the shuttle program has been around so long now that no one really pays attention when this or that shuttle is launched, but at this time in the history of NASA, shuttle liftoffs were still televised. a good part of the rest of the day was spent listening to the radio or watching the TV and seeing the explosion shown over and over and over and over again.

nothing profound to point out here. just remembering the awe and shock of that event. you hope that there might only be one of those kinds of events in your life, but then other things inevitably come along, both on a national / worldwide front and a personal front.