Retired Biker

January 28, 1986

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Do you remember where you were; who you were with and what you were doing on January 28, 1986?

I was in the midst of teaching recalcitrant first and second graders that, yes, there was a better way to decode those letters on the page; and yes, those letters and words did mean something. I had been invited to a luncheon that afternoon to be inducted into the American Red Cross Twenty Year Club. In those days, there were few televisions in the elementary school, so in spite of the launching of the Challenger, the school day was business as usual.

The luncheon at the ARC site was quite nice; each of us was introduced and presented a certificate. A slide show showed our volunteer activities. I was the only water safety instructor to be honored. In the background, a television was showing, as news casts still do, the disintegration of the Challenger over and over again. There was no audio, so I thought it was a Red Cross training film. It couldn't have been the Challenger, not with the first teacher - astronaut on board.

Upon my return to school, I learned differently as I was greeted with questions of, "Did you see what happened?" "Did you hear what happened?" as my colleagues were struggling to grapple with the enormity of the event.

Do you remember where you were; who you were with and what you were doing on January 28, 1986?

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