{January 28, 2011}

25 years ago I watched in horror, as did many other people around the US, as the space shuttle Challenger exploded. I was 9 at the time, yet the memory of that exact moment has not faded, even though I learned today that my recollection of where I was is apparently wrong. In talking with my dad I learned that I was not at my grandma's house, sick and missing out on watching it with the rest of my classmates, glued to the TV when that fateful moment happened. For now I have no idea if I did indeed view it at school, or where I was, but I do know that I saw it live. My aunt was a teacher at the time, so the excitement of having "one of her own" going in to space was palatable. Caught up in the history-making, I watched with wide-eyed wonder as a "regular" person was chosen to become an astronaut--if only for one mission. We followed Christa McAuliffe's story closely and when the day came for her to finally head towards the stars, we all felt as if a friend was on that shuttle. And up until that moment we all felt as if space travel was fairly safe, so there was no reason to think that anything would go wrong. That day changed everything for many people. When we moved here I was not aware that Christa had been a teacher at Concord High School. After learning that she had not only taught and lived here, I discovered she had been buried at a cemetery not too far from our house. I wanted very much to visit her gravesite and pay my respects to the woman who touched not only my heart as a child, but the hearts of many, many others. Today I did just that. I drove to the cemetery, unsure if I would be able to locate her marker (the cemetery is quite expansive), yet after a couple of turns I found her. Before I got out I wrote her a short note, grabbed my camera, then placed the paper at her grave behind a wreath. I took two photos to remember this moment. Whenever I look back at this picture I will recall the day I was finally able to thank the teacher--who died far too young--for teaching us all to dream. Thank you, Christa McAuliffe, for your bravery.

On to the pic...{click to view full size}