The Blaisdell Blog

In truth, I had forgotten about this anniversary until I saw the story in the paper.   In that instant my coffee cup was suspended before my lips, my eyes looked without seeing and I realized that, had I had my way, I would be looking at the anniversary of my death.              On January 28, 1986 the Challenger space shuttle lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11:38 a.m.   Seventy-three seconds later it blew up in a starburst of destruction, killing all the crew members on board.   They did not die instantly, and were probably alive during the ever accelerating plunge toward the ocean.   It is the impact with the water that killed them—that would have killed me. On board was a crew as diverse as American itself.   Included in the group were America’s first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe, a 37-year-old teacher.   As far as I was concerned, she had taken my place.   I had applied for the Teacher in Space Program and had been sorely disappointed when I was not chos

With the start of the playoffs it is time for me to become conversant in football.   Perhaps a bit of background is in order.   There were no sports played, discussed or promoted in my house.   My father did watch the Wednesday and Friday night fights and I, being the Tom-boy in the family, watched with him.   I was probably the only nine year old girl in Denver who knew what a 10 point must scoring system was.   But boxing has long ago lost its charm. That leaves me with trying to catch up to football.   It will be a stretch.   I once commented that when it came to football, I was lucky to know there were ten men on a side—only to find out there are eleven.   Whoops!   But I am intelligent and know how to dissect complex things.   The theory of relatively makes sense to me, how challenging can football be?   Right? [Pride goeth before the destruction; and a haughty spirit before the fall.   Proverbs 16-18] In a sensible and well-constructed battle plan I get my ho

John Lewis says he isn’t going to President-elect Trump’s Inauguration because Lewis does not consider Trump a “legitimate” President.   Lewis also says this is the first time in 22 years that he will miss an Inauguration.   For dramatic effect, Lewis conveniently forgets that he also boycotted George W. Bush’s first Inaugural—also because Lewis did not consider him to be a “legitimate” President.   Lewis wants us to think the problem is Trump or the Russians.   He knows this is not true.   Here is part of what he does know:   Obama won Michigan in 2012 by 350,000 votes, Clinton lost by roughly 10,000 . In Detroit and Wayne Counties more than 75,000 Motown Obama voters did not bother to vote for Clinton. They simply stayed at home. If even 2% of these louts had voted for Clinton, Michigan would have stayed blue. In Wisconsin Trump received exactly the same number of votes as Romney did in 2012.   But Clinton got 230,000 votes less than Obama did. She lost by 30,000 votes.