Guest Dave(WA) Report post Posted February 2, 2003 I live just north of Spokane, WA, and the shuttle disaster hit even closer to home than I had thought it had.Last Wednesday, the day after my wife's former Father-in-Law died, his widow, Gen, was in line at the credit union in Spokane, on some business and noticed a familiar face in line next to her. When she inquired from where they knew each other, the woman said that she and Gen had worked together at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane some years ago. (Both are retired)Gen said, "Yes, but what was your name?"She replied, "Anderson."Gen answered, "That's right; have things been going well for you?"Mrs. Anderson said, "Everything's been great; you know, you remember my son; he's on the space shuttle and will be back on Saturday."Like the rest of us, Gen turned on the TV Saturday morning and learned of the Columbia tragedy.Kinda makes you stop and think, doesn't it?I hugged my 17-year old son and told him that I love him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelC 160 Report post Posted February 2, 2003 Hi, Dave. Yes, this was an awful tragedy. We always take things for granted, and the safe completion of another NASA launch is no exception. This was a painful reminder that things sometimes go wrong, and do so in the most unexpected ways on occasion.What can we do or say? We shake our heads, we shed our tears, and we try to make sense of the chaos that is the World. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave T 0 Report post Posted February 6, 2003 My wife's nephew is an astronaut. His first mission was on the Atlantis in April last year. We found out a couple of days ago, that he was "short listed" as a mission specialist on the Columbia. Fortunately, because he is EVA qualified, the powers that make the crew assignments decided to reserve him for a later mission when a spacewalk would be needed. Yes, it does hit close to home. I nearly cried too, when I realized how close we came to losing one of our family members in that tragedy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Chris Report post Posted February 6, 2003 I DID CRY..... As I drove down the street to see all flags in my town at half staff.One thing is true there is a great deal of confusion and the world is off balance sometimes but, one thing you need not forget is the Human Soul is a strong one and people do care. Last note: 9/11 I drove home from work at 6pm to see the lines down the street of people (strangers) in line to give their blood to another stranger. The Human Soul is a strong one. With all the bad things and all the fighting we do what we need to when we are called upon. GOD BLESS AMERICA Chris-FL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
