http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/28/tech/challenger-disaster-space-shuttle-anniversary/ Where were you? I was in Economics class at the University of Montana. Our professor had a kind of wisecracking manner and so when he came into the room and announced it, at first I did a nervous chuckle thinking it was a bad joke. When it became clear he was serious, the class went into stunned silence. We were stunned because at that point, the shuttle had gone up 24 times and it had become somewhat "ordinary" to have shuttle launches. Challenger shocked us out of our sense of security about space flight similar to the way 9/11 shocked us out of our sense of security living in America. And it became a flashpoint of history for those that witnessed it in the same way the JFK assasination and 9/11 have become. Anyways, our classes were cancelled and we all went to watch news coverage. Sad, sad day that only improved just slightly when Reagan made his memorable speech...still probably the best speech I've ever watched a president deliver live.
World History class in 6th grade. The principal came over the loudspeaker and made the announcement. Aside from the shooting of Reagan, when I was in 1st grade and vaguely remember, it was the first event that I have a "where were you when" feel about.
I was in HS typing class. (yes, we actually used to have typing classes with actual typewriters) Principal announced it over the loudspeaker. He was known for being an unforgiving hardass...but his voice was cracking while he was talking. It was totally surreal. I'm glad we weren't one of the schools watching it live. This was pretty much my first "where were you when..." moment.
I was in the 5th grade. As I remember remembering it, we were watching the launch on television in the school library. But, like many of my memories from so long ago, I only remember remembering it and don't exactly remember it directly anymore, and I'm always left wondering if that was real (being in the library, not the Challenger exploding since obviously it did), or did I manufacture the memory long ago and forget that I made it up.
Honors Engrish class in 8th grade, I believe. The teacher was crying so hard she scared everyone to death. We didn't even understand what had happened while watching it live.
It was stunning and the first thing that popped into my head after processing the shock, and wondering what went wrong, was that NASA should have never decided to treat those launches as damned near routine. They never were. Every launch, manned or unmanned, is a possible failure. Ask the veteran astronauts that came from the military, often involved in testing new aircraft (something that's also very dangerous), whether they ever considered shuttle flights "routine." My guess is that the reply would be something akin to, "Are you crazy?? None of them are routine and they are all dangerous."
I have an unrelated question... Why do some people feel the need to cry when someone they don't know passes away? I can understand famous musicians or actors since you listened to their music or watched their movies growing up so you feel you are attached to them. But I never understood why people would cry when they see terrorist attacks or accidents involving people you don't know at all. Do I simply just have no empathy (which I know I don't) or are people expected to cry and get upset about stuff like that. Sure it is sad and all but I don't feel deeply saddened or moved to the point where I will cry. Now if someone I know dies then yeah I will be pretty sad and miserable.
6th grade reading class. We weren't watching it live but the class across the hall was. A couple of kids freaked out and were making so much noise in the hall our teacher went to investigate. She came in told us what was going on and then turned it on in our room. It was a very somber day, followed by a couple of days with immature junior high kids making up inappropriate jokes about the situation. Sadly I remember the jokes, as well as, the incident.
Tragic deaths of people I don't know remind me how capricious and unjust death is, and sometimes how vicious and evil people are. I'm usually not too sensitive, but that's what bothers me about it -- not the strangers, but what it implies about how I will die a capricious, mean, meaningless death, as will you.
Crazy to think that 30 years has passed. I was in 7th grade at Lanier middle school and we were unveiling the Texas sesquicentennial monument we had bought through fund raising the past year. Then-governor Mark White was giving a speech and during the speech he was interrupted by one of his assistants, he wrapped-up his speech and that was when we found out the shuttle had blown-up.
We had been living in Austin for 6 years after moving from Houston. Yeah, it's weird. Don't mention seeing the Moon landing covered live by Walter Cronkite, or events earlier than that. You'll feel even older.
4th grade. Watching it in class. Explosion. The rest I can't recall. I don't know if it's because it didn't register, blocked it out, or simply don't remember. Feels similar to 9/11 actually. I remember watching the news, but everything else is a blur. That also didn't even really register until much later.
