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-Keith Pelczarski
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Another shuttle meets tragic end
Seventeen years ago, we lost space shuttle Challenger one minute after lift off. The images broadcast to us were almost unbelievable, even after they had been replayed a hundred times. In time the truth of it sank in, and a while after that the sadness started to fade, and eventually the event was given a special memorial in my mental archive of "history."
Today we lost Columbia, the very first space shuttle. How vividly I remember my excitement on seeing its very first lift off. It seemed that the whole world was watching with wonder. It was an event that seemed so very hopeful following the Iran hostage crisis and the long, long lines for gas. When Kerah told me about the loss this morning, the first thing I thought was that I didn't even know the shuttle was flying. Something which was once so important for us as a nation is now only noteworthy when something goes terribly, horribly wrong.
Perhaps it's just me, or maybe a larger trend, but it feels like we've lost a certain innocence and excitement about life and all the good things it has to offer. We only value it when it's been taken away. Maybe it's the difference between the eyes of a child and the eyes of an adult, but I don't want those emotional cataracts clouding my outlook. I want to feel that wonder and not get lost in the work-a-day, dying slowly, deadline to deadline. If there's a silver lining in tragedy, it's that the loss makes us take stock in everything that's good in our lives. Maybe one day we'll learn to appreciate those things before we lose them, too. Wouldn't that be grand?
I mourn for the loss of the shuttle and the astronauts aboard, but from that loss comes a new celebration of life. Maybe these things happen to remind us of the wide-eyed wonder that we once took for granted. I'd like to say that I'll never take it for granted again, but I don't think anyone would be fooled. I guess I'll just have to keep trying it until it sticks.
:: Keith 13:26 [link] :: ::