When we were young, and through out our childhood, most of our lives revolved around our church and our faith.  Friends from church were the friends we grew up with.  Friends who shared our faith were the girls we shared our lives with, giggled about first loves with and stood up with when we married.  The activities we were involved with during the week were usually on Wednesday night at church when we would have choir practice and missions study.  And another afternoon for piano lessons.  Sometimes Mom or Pop would have a class meeting or Brotherhood group.  They had other interests, as well,but the main focus of our lives was Jesus Christ.

Therefore, from the time we knew what was going on…we knew Sunday was church day.  We went Sunday morning and Sunday evening and that was that.  There was never any plans made to do anything different.  Unless we were sick, we were there.  But, that wasn’t a BAD thing…we loved church and the people there.  And, all our friends were there, too.  It was where we wanted to be.

There was one night, however, every year when we were allowed to stay home on Sunday night.  It was for the yearly showing of “The Wizard of Oz”.  Now, in those years, this show was THE show.  It was a big deal when it came on.  There were no DVR’s or DVD’s or BluRay or anything.  You saw it when they played it once a year.  They would begin promoting it early, so there was never any idea as to when the one showing for the year would be.

Pop would stay home with us.  Oh, but it was much more than staying home and watching a show together.  It was a ‘tradition’.  Mom would fix us supper early before she went to church.  And, she would set it up in front of the TV so we could watch while we ate.  That was a treat in itself.  Then, when the show started Joy and I would sit and watch and try to sing the ‘Rainbow’ song with Judy Garland.  Pop sat back in his recliner and watched with us….and watched us.

Joy would start off beside me but when things started getting scary with the witch and the flying monkeys and the hour glass…Joy would be gone.  And, Pop would have a little body in the chair with him.  And, she would be crying.

I was never really scared…it was just make believe…and I knew it wasn’t real.  And, so did Joy.  But, there was always that point in the show when her feelings of fear for Dorothy would take over her sense of reality.  And, she believed.  And, she cried and Daddy was there for her to remind her that it wasn’t real and that she was just fine.

And, the next year…the same scene would play out.  And it did until we quit watching.  (Betcha Joy would still cry today, though, if she were to watch)

I don’t remember when it was that we stopped.  I suppose we grew out of it and had other things going on at the time that we were involved with.  Perhaps, they just stopped showing it.  But, we watched it long enough that it became a special time between Pop and us that was etched forever in our hearts.  We mention it all along when something brings it to mind.  And laugh, again, at Joy’s tears.

I was unable to attend church today because I was sick, so after Charles Stanley went off, I was flipping through the channels.  I came upon ‘The Wizard of Oz.’  It was stuck on an obscure channel…and there were no special announcements telling the viewers it was coming on.  It played through and they showed the credits and started it over immediately.  No big deal…just play it over and over.  I suppose that kids today would probably not find it very exciting.  The very primitive special effects would seem boring, I’d imagine.

But, for two little girls and their daddy, just hearing the words ‘The Wizard of Oz’ brings back sweet memories and cherished time together.  It reminds me that my daddy knew what was important.  Our first allegiance was to the Lord and that I knew well.  But, he knew that little girls need a little fantasy.  They need the excitement of looking forward to spending a special evening with their daddy.  And, they need a safe place to run to when the flying monkeys of the world show their ugly little heads.

Joy and I and Adam and Pop will be leaving on Tuesday for Birmingham.  Pop will have surgery on Wednesday morning, and after seeing the doctor again on Thursday morning, we will be coming home, God willing.  This eye that will be operated on is Pop’s good eye.  He has no discernible vision in the other eye, so he is understandably nervous.  We are putting our trust in the doctor’s capable hands…but our faith is in God.  He has led us to this point…He has put no stumbling blocks in our way, as we prayed He would if this was not wise…and He has given Joy and I peace in our hearts about the procedure.  Please keep us in your prayers.

I just watched Forrest Gump…for the fifty-second time…at least!   Isn’t that just the best movie?  Every time I watch it, I see something I didn’t notice before.  I think, maybe the reason I like it so much is that so much of the things that ‘happened’ during the movie, I remember really happening.  And, even though Forrest is there only through ‘movie magic’, we somehow feel as if he could have been there.

 I had a smiley face  T-shirt!  I remember Watergate, even if I didn’t understand it at the time.  I remember when Nixon resigned and gave the Peace signs as he entered the plane.  I remember Viet Nam, and hippies, and when marijuana became a big thing.  I remember Kennedy and his assassination,  I remember when we first started hearing about AIDS, and the hysteria that followed.  I remember when Reagan was shot.

So, maybe the reason I like it so much is that it reminds me of my ‘formative years’.  That, and I always like the way he and his son sat on the riverbank together.  And, you know, you just KNOW, that boy is going to have a great life.

Another movie I can watch over and over is Shawshank Redemption.  Such amazing performances.  I love the way good finally triumphs over evil…even though it took many years.  I like to imagine those two guys growing old together by the sea in Mexico.

One of the funniest movies ever is The Princess Bride.  Well, maybe not so much funny as it is clever.  You have to watch it several times to even get all the jokes.  Wonderful writing.

And, naturally, those tried and true ‘girly’ movies…Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, and Fried Green Tomatoes, and Ghost and Steel Magnolia’s are always running on some station somewhere.  And  Under the Tuscan Sun…great!  I have to stop and watch anytime I flip past them on the TV.

And, I can’t leave out Somewhere in Time…perfect!  And, the music!  Oh, it’s such a beautiful, beautiful movie.  And so romantic.  Along those lines…Chocolat…not too well known, but such a beautiful picture and story.

I do not like movies that are full of stress and nonstop excitement and heart stopping action.  I guess I have enough stress in my life already.  When I go to a movie, I want to laugh or at least smile.  I don’t mind a serious subject or a movie that is sad.  But, I really like to have that ‘uplifted’ feeling when I leave the theater.  One of the movies that fits into this category for me is Awakenings with Robin Williams portraying doctor, Oliver Sachs, who discovers the drug L-dopa and ‘awakens’ patients who have been in catatonic states for decades.  Based on the memoirs of Sachs, it is sad and touching and sweet, and heart warming.  It also plays somewhere on TV every month or so.   Shawshank fits here, as well as, Schindler’s List, which everyone should have to watch, and Rain Man, which gave us all a lesson in compassion and acceptance.  One more…Cast Away!

I recently watched a movie, a few years old, but new to me.  I knew it would be a little bit terrifying, just from the reviews I read.  But, it so intrigued me, I watched it anyway.  I had the TV controls in my hand and could fast forward if necessary.  The movie was Seven Pounds,  starring Will Smith.  What a movie!  I had to watch it twice to get it all straight in my mind.  But, so powerful.  No, I could not watch about 5 minutes of it…but just imagining it is close enough.  I love a movie that plays over and over in my mind.  The more it is pondered, the more is gleaned from it.

Little Miss Sunshine was a movie that is hard to forget.  First of all, the language is atrocious…very bad.  Second, this is the most dysfunctional family ever…including their extended family.  But, through their journey to the little girl’s beauty pageant…we learn to see much deeper into each character and begin to understand them.  Excellent movie…great lessons…a little kooky…awful language.  As Good As It Gets…tops, too!

Of course, I suffered through all the Star Wars movies, and the extended versions.  I know all about Luke, and Leia, and Han, and Chewbacca and Lando, and Jabba, and the stormtroopers, and the droids, and R2-D2, and C3PO, and…Yoda.  And, I could give you about 20 or so more names, but I’ll spare you.  All my boys loved The      Lord of the Rings movies, and watched them again and again.  Me, not so much…too dark.  The best of all the ‘other worldly’ movies…E.T….the best for all the reasons a movie can be called great!  Somehow the Harry Potter stuff escaped us…and that’s fine with me.  Those vampire kids, too…never saw them…never want to.

 I thought I wanted to see The Help, but I read the book, and I’m afraid the movie may not match up.  You know when you read a book, you put a face to your characters, you build the town they live in and you create a face and life for the friend and acquaintances.  They are alive as you read the book, with features just as the author dictates.  But, if you see a movie after you have read the book…it very rarely looks like you saw it in your mind.  So instead of seeing the characters for the first time, it is actually for the second time and they may be nothing like you built them.  My niece, Tara, said that is what bothered her a lot in the movie.  We both have a deep affinity for reading.

I confess I don’t go to movie theaters much…just wait for them to come out on TV or whatever it is now that we play on our TV.  What movies have you committed to memory?  Which ones can you watch over and over?  Which ones made a real impact in your life or taught you a lesson?  I’m sure I’ve forgotten some really important movie, but perhaps you will jog my memory.  Love to hear your answers.

Are you as happy to see Autumn as I am?  Seems as though summer went on forever!  And, it was so hot…scorching hot…unbearably hot!  I still like it better than winter.  But now, here in the deep South, the heat has lessened and the leaves have begun to ponder whether they will fall again this year.  It’s still pretty warm up in the day, but a little cool in the mornings and evenings.  I love it.

I like everything about fall.  Do you feel that way?  I like to wear a sweater occasionally, and I love the festivals and fairs, and the feeling of celebration in the air.  I have never been much of a Halloween fan.  The boys went trick or treating and we always handed out candy…but it’s never really been that big of a deal to most of the folks we know.

The fun part of it has always been OK, but I do not go in for all the dead things and gory pictures and accessories.  In my opinion, there’s too much violence in the world as it is…..why promote something that gives kids a chance to pretend they are involved.  Now, I know others view it differently, and that’s just fine by me.  Isn’t it a blessing that we live in a country where we have choices about the things we support or not?

By the way, this was not my intended topic for this post, but sometimes things just seems to write themselves.  Does that ever happen to you?  Please say it does, because I already feel a little bumfuddled!

Now THESE are the things I like about Fall!  Well, maybe not the ‘raking leaves’ one.  Who put that in there?  However, I can remember the fun of jumping into a great big pile of them, can’t you?

I love the colors of fall most of all, I think.  And, I wonder if that is because they are so ‘earthy’.  The reds and the browns, and the golds, and the greens, and especially the oranges….they meld together in the nicest way, I think.  There’s never any problem with them matching,  because they just naturally ‘go together’.  Our eyes are accustomed to seeing them next to one another.  I suspect our Heavenly Father planned it that way.

This sign is more of the same, but I particularly like the way the color fades out and the words do, too.  Creates a warm feeling.  And, that’s another great thing about Autumn.  I love to have a fire in the fireplace and sit close enough to warm one side…then turn around and warm the other.  Something that has always amused me is how when people everywhere walk up to a fire…the first thing they do is put out their hands to feel it.  I know they are warming their hands, but it’s just so common an occurance, that we all want our hands warmed first.  Or else, we are just wondering if that roaring, crackling, bright orange and red thing is REALLY hot!  And, if that’s it…I wouldn’t tell it!

“Then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and

spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and

oil.”

Deuteronomy 11:14 NIV

Have a beautiful fall weekend! 

Here we go…more memories.  This first one is a step back, then a jump forward.

JULY 1980

This was a day of fairy tales.  This was a day of magic.  This was a day when girls the world over could say, “It’s true, it’s true!  You really can meet a prince and fall in love and get married.  You can wear a real tiara and live in a castle.  You really can.”  And even though I was 27 years old, I watched and was mesmerized.  As the stories were told of the courtship and the engagement and days leading up to the wedding…I felt like the whole of it was a fairy tale.  And, I was getting to watch it play out!  [I watched it all night long while my family slept.  I had one son and my second child was due in 4 months.]

Honestly, when she arrived and got out  of the carriage and we got our first look at that dress….it was breathtaking.  It was magnificent!  It was perfection.

And, then…all the little children that were attending her in their sweet outfits…just divine!  That was the first time I had seen anyone have all children as attendants, and I understand that is the custom.  As she began walking down the aisle and that train flowed out like a white capped river behind her, I thought it was the most beautiful wedding I had ever seen.

The only thing I didn’t like were her flowers.  Looked like they took every white flower in the garden for the bouquet.  It must have weighed a ton!

And, as the festivities were over many thought that ‘she had it all.  She’d made it!  A commoner (even though she did have a royal bloodline) met a prince (can’t make myself call him handsome).  She married him and went to live in the castle.  And, they lived happily ever after.’    That is the way fairy tales are supposed to end, isn’t it?

AUGUST 1997

I finally got all my boys in bed (now I had 3).  And, I sat down to flip through a new magazine…the television had been left on and I do not even know what was on.  But, the sound bite that plays when a network breaks into a program came on and I looked up to see what was happening.  Princess Diana…car crash….several dead…. taken to hospital….paparazzi.  And, I couldn’t leave the TV.  Again, I watched through the night…waiting to hear if she was dead or alive.  How many others were doing the same thing the world over?  Soon we learned the awful truth.  She was gone.

I’ve often wondered why this affected me.  Not in a big way, but just a sadness at the whole situation.  And, I think it was because the fairy tale was really over now.  Charles and Diana had divorced, but she had remained a public figure and continued her charitable work.  But, now…it all had ended.  And, it is so much the same for so many of us, isn’t it?  We may not be a real true Princess, but our hope and dreams and wishes are just as real…and they, too, may be crushed.  It’s how we react to this that tells our life story.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

And, now to the tragedy that is known simply by 2 numbers 9/11.  Everyone knows what it means.  Everyone remembers.  Everyone has stories to tell.  Everyone changed after that day.   I don’t think any of us knew what terrorism really meant and how close it was to our home land.  But, that day taught us many, many lessons.

Do you remember where you were?  Most of us do, if we are old enough.  And, I do, as well.  I had gotten up early that morning because I had a trip planned to Birmingham.  Alex had an appointment with one of his doctors in Birmingham that afternoon.  Joy was going with me this time.  Before I left to go and pick her up, I called my friend, Tina, to tell her something.  She asked me if I had heard the news?  I quickly got off the phone and turned on the TV.  This was after the first plane had hit.  The newscasters were trying their best to report what had happened without panic…but you could see it all over their faces.

I was watching when the second plane hit.  I was dumbfounded.  Newscasters were still saying that the first plane could have been an accident, but after the second plane hit, they reported we were under attack.  UNDER ATTACK?  What did that even mean?  Did you know?  We were not like other nations who had lived with attacks and threats for many years…they knew what it meant.  I didn’t.  I could remember, vaguely, when there were ‘fallout shelters’ located around town.  But, I had no idea what to do if we were ‘under attack’.

I got in the car with Alex and went to get Joy.  And, then we went over to Mom and Pop’s house to decide what to do.  I called Don, and he said he thought I should go on…”Life goes on”, he said.    We turned on the TV and all sat watching…and then there was a third plane crash into the Pentagon.

I felt very uneasy about traveling anywhere.  I just wanted to stay home and watch the news.  Soon the news went back to New York where the towers were collapsing.  People were jumping.  Jumping to certain death.  When I see these people huddled next to the windows, it tears my heart in two.

I think they probably thought they were going to be rescued.  The tower surely wouldn’t collapse.  It was too strong for that.  Safeguards were in place.  When the first tower fell, what did those in the second tower feel?  Did they know then?  Did they know there was little hope? How unthinkable.

We heard then that all flights had been cancelled throughout the country.  WOW…that was big!  And, then the news told us that towns and cities were imposing curfews.  Stores and shops were closing, schools were closing and kids were coming home to parents…the world seemed to be ‘closing down’.

And, next came the news about Flight 93…

We heard of the telephone calls and we heard the actual voices of those who knew where they were headed.  We heard the voices of those who decided they would not go down without a fight.  They would fight for right as long as they had breath.  Heroes all!

Would this be the end?  Four tragedies, one after another.  Was this it?  Or were there more attacks to come?  What were we supposed to do?

And, I called Don again and he said, Go”.  I asked Pop, and he said, ” Go on with what you need to do.”  I asked Joy what she wanted to do.  She said we needed to go on.  I called the Clinic in Birmingham and asked if they were still seeing patients.  The receptionist said,”Of course we are.”  So off we went.

And even though there was no danger here in South AL., we didn’t know that.  And what we did know was that there had already been 4 attacks, and the President said we were “Under attack.”  So, it took a great deal of courage for us to drive 200 miles north to the largest city in AL.  But, we did.

Joy and I always liked to stay at a certain hotel in Birmingham.  It was the one that was connected to the  big Galleria mall.  Usually, Don would say ‘no’ because it was too expensive.  It was very convenient for us because Alex could stay in the room and we could easily check on him.  Plus, we could take our heavy packages to the room while shopping.  The last time I made reservations, Don had said we could stay there.  And, that time was this time.

We went on to our appointment, and noticed that quite a few of the individual doctors offices were closed. The parking deck for the clinic was as empty as I have ever seen it.   There was very little traffic on the road, and according to the radio…there were no rooms available in the city.  Travelers on planes were forced to find a room and stay in the city.    Those who travelled by car throughout the state on business had to get off the roads.    Thankfully we had a reservation.  We made it to the room…got Alex settled…and went into the Galleria.  We really didn’t feel like shopping, and we wanted to get to the television and see what was happening.   Every single store and food vendor was either closed or closing by 6:00, due to the early curfew.   We did manage to find some food available.  We got it to go…and we spent our evening in the room…watching the TV…and thinking that we really wished we were home.

We got up early the next morning, and headed to Dothan.  Things were moving a little more and we were able to find some food at Mc D. and gas for the car.  We turned toward Dothan and didn’t stop till we got here.  For several days, every one was glued to the TV…and no one went anywhere they didn’t have to go.

But, 3 days later…Don had a meeting to attend in California.  He had already made his flight reservation before 9/11.  He went to the airport and got on the plane and flew to California.  I tried to talk him out of it, but he said, “Life is happening all the time.  If God is ready for me…I’m ready for Him.  If not, then He will protect me.”  And off he flew.  And, home he came.

And, we all changed that day.  We learned things we never knew before.  It brought a new and different fear into our lives.  We now knew what ‘UNDER ATTACK’ meant.  And, we were taught to always be cautious and to look at others with a suspicious eye.  And forever we were different.  And, that is NOT a good thing.

God Bless America

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I tried to write the preceding without too much opinion…but, I feel compelled to add the following observations:  Personally, I was very thankful there was a man the caliber of George Bush leading us at this time.  I trusted him and I knew he trusted God.  There was always such talk that he did too much of this or not enough of that, he did this well, but really messed up in that.  My feeling is this…he was the first president in modern times to deal with war coming right into our streets from such vile terrorists.  No one had given him a handbook to study.  He and his advisers figured it out…put safeguards in place…and kept us safe.  He did a masterful job, if you ask me.

I also thought Rudy Giuliani was a leader who showed a heart of compassion and a leadership skill that rallied the whole of NYC…and impressed the whole country.

I am flabbergasted by airline travelers who are raising such a ruckus over screening procedures these days.  What part of ‘this is for your own benefit’ can they not understand?  They get better screening procedures and the women yell, ‘they can see my boobs on that machine!’  Well big WOO!.  I don’t care if they can see my boobs…I certainly wouldn’t be flashing them in public…but, if the woman before me had some sort of weapon taped under her boobage…I would sure hope they could see that, too.  Frankly, I feel the x-ray machine operator who is reading the scan cares very little about any body part…he’s too busy looking for explosives and the like.  It’s a job, people.   I imagine after you see thousands in a day, they kind of lose their appeal…(at least while on the job.)  While I’ve flown enough to get a mite aggravated at the shoes off and the opening of my suitcases and looking through everything…touching my stuff and getting it out of order…even getting patted down—I would not dare open my mouth to complain!  In fact, I go out of my way to say ‘thank-you’ to those officers I come in contact with.  Once when Alex had to go through with his wheelchair, they practically took the whole thing apart, and then didn’t know how to get it back together.  They kept wanting him to stand for the pat down and he kept falling, which didn’t please them.  We finally got them to understand that he had to hold on to something to stand still.  Then, his shoes had to come off…and sox…which took about 15 minutes to get all back on.  BUT…all that was to be sure that all the other people traveling that day were safe.  I must not complain about our inconvenience, when others are being inconvenienced as well.  So, travelers..whatever they throw at us, as far as safety precautions…JUST DO IT!  Don’t make snide remarks and bang around making the rest of us uncomfortable…JUST DO WHAT THEY ASK…..OR TAKE A BUS!  I actually think they should just kindly escort those who complain and act the fool, out the door to a waiting bus and drop them off at the Greyhound Bus Station!

TV has been saturated with coverage of the 9/11 anniversary for the past few days, but especially today (Sun. 9/11/11).  I have watched some of it and have learned some very interesting things.   I really do not see how the powers that be can find anything else to cover about this tragedy.  There have been shows about every facet of this event…there just can not be anything else that is not known.  But, of course, I know there could be.  It still angers me when I think of what ordinary people had to endure at the hands of these terrorists.  It is inhuman.  And, they will pay.  Nothing is hidden from our Lord.

So, are the big news stories and the deaths of famous people images that stay with us for a lifetime?  Do you remember where you were when you heard about the deaths of Martin Luther King, or President Kennedy, the moon landing or  the Challenger disaster or Princess Diana, or 9/11?  Here are a few of my thoughts and memories of these events.  These were actually the ones I could recall…so I guess these were the only ones that impacted me.

 NOVEMBER  1963

I was 10 years old and in either 3rd or 4th grade at Grandview Elementary School here in Dothan.  This was before much technology was available in the schools, but my Mom had been PTA president and the PTA had bought a TV for each classroom.  In the mornings, we would do a handwriting exercise with a teacher on the AL Public TV station.  But, that was about all we would use it because there were not even VCR’s then.  But, our principal, Mrs. Ruby Cherry, (who just loved my Mom and told her every little thing I ever did) came hurrying into the room and told the teacher to turn the television on right away, and fix it so the children could watch.  But, she didn’t say why.  My teacher did as she was asked, and the news came on about the shooting.  We watched the rest of the day.  The teachers were all undone and had very worried looks on their faces.  I do not think we really understood the importance of what had happened.  I mean, we were only 10.  Do the children who are 10 years old these days have a better grasp of world events?  Do they understand more about the unsettling events that are happening around us?  That was still a time of innocence for us.  But, we watched that TV for days…until he was buried.  And then some.  It was over our heads, really.  I remember my teachers saying, when we would ask to do something else, “Don’t you realize that you are watching HISTORY?   This will be in all the history books, and you can see it happening!”  Mrs. Cherry, the principal,(who just loved my Mom and never let me get away with anything)  said to me, “I am so thankful your Mom and the PTA got us those TV’s!”  And, that made me proud.  Because of Mom, I watched history happening…even if I wasn’t  really thankful until years later.

APRIL 1968

I remember Martin Luther King, Jr. as a man who fought for civil rights.   I lived in the South, and all this racial unrest was happening all around me.  It always made me feel uneasy.  But, at my age, I really did not have a good grasp on what all this really meant.  Perhaps I led a sheltered life in this respect. I knew lots of ‘colored people’, and I thought they were just like me except their skin was darker.  I didn’t know why there was a problem.  We had a wonderful lady who worked for us and Joy and I loved her.  She was an honored guest at my wedding.   I knew about the march in Selma, AL in 1965.  And, I knew Rev. King’s death was very tragic.  He died in a motel room balcony in  Memphis, Tenn., from an assassin’s bullet.  He promoted non-violence, and I remember thinking how sad it was that he was killed in such a violent manner.  I also remember seeing pictures of his wife and family as they mourned his loss.  Even though it all wasn’t clear in my mind, I remember feeling very sad…very sad.

JULY 1969

I do not remember much leading up to this mission, though I am sure there must have been lots of press about it.  My boyfriend, Donald, graduated from high school that year and there was so much going on…you know…prom, baccalaureate, graduation, parties, him leaving for college, etc.  [And, actually, no authority figure in my life told me to sit down and pay attention to the news because I could be watching history.  And, I can for sure say that it was in the history books the next year!]  So…how was I to know? Here’s what I do remember:  I was over at Don’s house, and we were going out to eat.  We were waiting on his mother to iron a shirt for him to wear.  His dad was in the den, and was quite engrossed in the program.  He shouted, “Y’all come in here and watch this.” So, we did.  And, we watched as Neil Armstrong took his first step onto the moon’s surface.  We watched for a little while, and then we saw him put out a flag.

I saw this and remember thinking that this was probably a ‘big deal’…but, our friends were waiting for us, so we had to go.  Oh, well.  Priorities, people!  Come on now, you were probably the same way if you were 16!  But, I had plenty of time to watch it happening again…because they played it over and over and over for days!  I did think of this, I remember….as we walked out to the car to leave his house, we looked up at the moon and it just did not seem possible that real human people could be walking on that same moon!  Then Don took that opportunity to give me a quick kiss and there went that thought!

It wasn’t long before there began to be talk around town that it was all a hoax.  Now, let me be perfectly honest.  I live in the deep South…real deep.  There’s lots of ‘good ole boys’ and (I don’t know how to say this in any other nicer way,) and they know what they know and that’s all they know…or want to know.  God love ’em.  And if they thought it didn’t happen…well…it didn’t. And me or you or the government or the President would not convince them it really did. And they told the ‘good ole girls, and the ‘good ole kids’…and thus, it was written.  Bless their little hearts.  Actually,  it was talked about all over the country, not just around these parts.  I guess that means there are ‘good ole folks’ all over!  God bless us all!

I wasn’t friends with those ‘good ole folks’ and I could read all the information.  And, this little 10th grader, worried about parties, and boyfriends, and cute clothes knew enough to know that it was for real!  Even if she didn’t recognize it as ‘historical’ at the time!

JANUARY 1986

Again with the space travel!  But, this time, I was better able to appreciate the fact that a mere mortal…a school teacher, was going up into space with the astronauts.  Now this captured the attention of the world. Here I thought it took years and years of training and probably tons of math…and now they say they can pick Mrs. Ordinary Teacher and in 8 months, teach her to go into space.  WOW!  I couldn’t even learn geometry in 2 years!!

What smart PR by NASA.  Everyone, even down to the youngest school child,was preparing to watch the launch and then watch Mrs. McAuliff’s lessons from space. School children everywhere were watching at school.  Forty eight percent of all school children were watching the launch!  She had a family…husband and children, siblings and parents.  They were all there to watch.  There was almost a festival atmosphere.  When the whole team came walking out together, and waved, and walked to the craft…there was such an air of excitement.  I remember sitting at home and watching in the hours that led up to the launch.  I saw her parents and family escorted to a seat of honor with the best view available.  And, the countdown began, and the launch began.  And at 73 seconds into the flight…disaster.

I remember seeing the face of McAuliff’s mother and father as they watched the shuttle with their daughter inside.  This was grief fully exposed.  It was horrible.

There were reports and commissions and inquiries and guesses at the reasons this happened.  I just reread the report on Wikipedia, because I had forgotten a lot of the details.  The memories of the explosion and before are still vivid, however.  My boys came in from school as I was watching, eager to tell me what they had seen, as well.  We sat and watched together for a long time.  I told them,” You are watching history unfold.  This will be in your next history books.”  And, it was.

The final reports said that the Challenger should never have taken off in the extreme cold.  The O-rings failed.  But, the major cause, reports said, was the failure of those in charge to properly relay information that was crucial to the safety of the missions.  Human Error!  The reports also said that, at least some, and probably all, of the astronauts, were alive when the cockpit hit the ocean. That was and still is a horrible thing to think about.  The remains of all the astronauts were found in the intact capsule on the ocean floor, and all were buried.  The American flag aboard the flight was also recovered.

The most vivid memories…the crew walking to the ship…the face of McAuliff’s parents…and the words of President Reagan as he said, “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of Earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’

TO BE CONTINUED…..