Flashback Friday
Christy is in Louisiana for a teachers’ conference this weekend, so I figured this video is appropriate for today’s Flashback Friday. I think this will be the longest she’s been away since we moved back to Indiana. But the kids will be going to their grandma’s this weekend, so they won’t really realize she’s gone all that much – which is a good thing for them.
The song always brings two memories to mind. It’s from the soundtrack to Armageddon, which came out while I was an intern at Athens Church of Christ in southeastern Ohio. I worked closely with the staff of Reach Out on Campus at Ohio University that summer, and got to know the campus minister – Rich Teske – pretty well. Rich challenged me and encouraged me every time we got together. I saw Armageddon in the theatre with him. So I think of him whenever I see this movie.
During my first youth ministry in central Kentucky, we were on a trip to Louisville for a dc Talk concert. We got caught in traffic, moving approximately ten miles in a 2 1/2 hour time period. While we were sick of being in the van, we managed to make the most of it. I think they played this song three times on the radio while we were listening to it. I can still hear the girls mimicking Steven Tyler every time I hear this song. We only got to see the finale of the concert, but it was one of the most memorable trips I took with that group of kids.
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Of course, watching a movie about space shuttles makes me think of the dreams I shared with many kids my age. During early-elementary, I wanted to be an astronaut. That was my life’s ambition until 1986. And I remember that day like it was yesterday. Many people refer to it as my generation’s Kennedy assassination, or September 11th.
We were sitting in Mrs. Griffith’s class, and I’d assume the class was reading (since she was the reading teacher). We were in a strange mood that day. We were more difficult to control than usual. And then the Principal came in, walked over to Mrs. Griffith, and whispered something into her ear. Normally when the Principal was in the room, the class would go completely silent. Not this day. I guess we decided that meant it was a good opportunity talk to each other. As the Principal whispered to Mrs. Griffith, we got louder. And louder.
Then she left.
And we kept getting louder.
Mrs. Griffith just sat at her desk, hands folded under her chin, and gazed ahead. Something was obviously wrong. And we kept getting louder. When I noticed her silence, I thought she was upset with us for getting loud and showing disrespect to our Principal.
We finally settled down and she told us the news. There had been an accident. The Space Shuttle Challenger, which had a teacher as part of the crew, had exploded during the liftoff.
The rest of our day was consumed with that news. Teachers rolled TVs into the classrooms and we watched the footage. My friend, Matt, and I, thought there was a conspiracy. And we believed the Libyans were behind it. In those days, everything was the Libyans’ fault (cf. Back to the Future…the scene does have some harsh language, so be warned). And I remember sitting in the living room, watching President Reagan address the nation, stating that we mourn seven heroes who “‘slipped the surly bonds of Earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’”
I think it was on that day that I stopped dreaming of going into space. Realistically, it wasn’t going to happen anyway because I’m not a science or math wiz.
Where were you when you heard about the Challenger explosion?
The picture of me is from first grade. For some reason, I was embarrassed about that and didn’t want to ‘ruin’ my class picture by flashing my toothless grin. In hindsight, it might have made more sense for me to smile. I look like a kid from the 19th century. So stoic. So joyless. That was hardly the case.
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If I’m remembering correctly, I was attending Portola Jr. High in Orange, CA at the time the shuttle disaster happened. I remember we had a TV in the classroom, and turned it on to watch the news coverage. We were all very sad and shocked.
So, one of the disadvantages of blogging for four and a half years is that you lose track of what you have and haven’t posted. I guess I shared very similar thoughts about the shock of the Challenger explosion four years ago.
http://mattdantodd.wordpress.com/2005/01/28/do-you-remember-where-you-were/
I was in high school and I was walking into our A/V room. The shuttle launch was on tv. It had just lifted off, so I stopped to watch. Then it happened. I was just shocked. I’m afraid I was a bit naive to think that it would be the worst thing I would ever see. I saw the second plane hit the world trade center live on tv too.
I saw the plane crash into the second tower live, too. But that’s another post. One of the most painful and horrible things I’ve watched on TV.