An Anniversary I Try to Forget, But Shouldn't
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 chose