In the Shadows of the Space Shuttle Disasters
Yesterday or today is the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. This morning I heard on the news that Feb. 1st is the 3rd anniversary of the Columbia disaster. February 1st was the day that Kevin's remains were found.
The one station, national news I thnk, interviewed the brother of Ronald McNair, one of the astronauts who died on the Challenger. Twenty years later he still goes around to schools, some of them named for his brother, to keep his brother's memory and work alive. He said that day 20 years ago was the worst day in his life. This morning they interviewed a few more people, one of them, the widow of one of the astronauts. She talked about the science-educational centers set up to honor these people and educate young people about them and their work.
We are one of the faceless masses but our pain is not any less than that of the astronauts families. Kevin wasn't a Phd from MIT as was Ronald McNair. Kevin was just beginning his life. He was potential unfulfilled. It is doubtful that he would have gone to MIT or become a famous astronaut. It is doubtful whether he would have become famous - but one never knows. There are a few anniversaries. February 1st is one of them when it became very apparent that Kevin wasn't coming home. Maybe a handful of people will remember his name and face, sad to say. Kevin had no fame and no name recognition. Kevin's story is the norm, though. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all could be as accomplished as the astronauts, to be as famous, to be considered as heros? Actually, a well known man, and I can't remember his name, said that he felt the true heros in life are the little people, the common people, the faceless masses.
Kevin was larger than life in my eyes. He was my child. His impact on my life is powerful but I am his mother. So with all of this going on I still wonder how I can bring Kevin out of the shadows. How can I celebrate his young life and tell his story as Ronald McNair's brother continues to tell his brother's story twenty years later. It is a story worth telling as all our stories are worth telling. Kevin's story is a tragedy whether by accidental death, suicide, or homicide, and as I've said, we have no answers... None.
The one station, national news I thnk, interviewed the brother of Ronald McNair, one of the astronauts who died on the Challenger. Twenty years later he still goes around to schools, some of them named for his brother, to keep his brother's memory and work alive. He said that day 20 years ago was the worst day in his life. This morning they interviewed a few more people, one of them, the widow of one of the astronauts. She talked about the science-educational centers set up to honor these people and educate young people about them and their work.
We are one of the faceless masses but our pain is not any less than that of the astronauts families. Kevin wasn't a Phd from MIT as was Ronald McNair. Kevin was just beginning his life. He was potential unfulfilled. It is doubtful that he would have gone to MIT or become a famous astronaut. It is doubtful whether he would have become famous - but one never knows. There are a few anniversaries. February 1st is one of them when it became very apparent that Kevin wasn't coming home. Maybe a handful of people will remember his name and face, sad to say. Kevin had no fame and no name recognition. Kevin's story is the norm, though. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all could be as accomplished as the astronauts, to be as famous, to be considered as heros? Actually, a well known man, and I can't remember his name, said that he felt the true heros in life are the little people, the common people, the faceless masses.
Kevin was larger than life in my eyes. He was my child. His impact on my life is powerful but I am his mother. So with all of this going on I still wonder how I can bring Kevin out of the shadows. How can I celebrate his young life and tell his story as Ronald McNair's brother continues to tell his brother's story twenty years later. It is a story worth telling as all our stories are worth telling. Kevin's story is a tragedy whether by accidental death, suicide, or homicide, and as I've said, we have no answers... None.
posted by Patricia | 8:12 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home