I could not believe it when I got up today and Tom told me about the shuttle Columbia. They quote an official as saying "the shuttle is lost." It just sounds so empty and final. Like many others in our age group I immediately remember back to when the Challenger blew up. I was home from school that day and happened to be watching. Back then it was still a huge deal when we launched into space. When it went I was sharing a small pepperoni pizza with my dog. If I close my eyes I can take myself there.
I guess it is from growing up as a military brat, but these things always make me so emotional for the families. I can't imagine having your loved one deployed by the government and then never coming back. Especially this time when they were so close. We always lived with that fear when my dad was sent away. Most of the time we didn't know where he was going. It is a surreal kind of existence while they are gone. Mom leads the family in a daily game of "pretend life is normal." Plus there is a duty as a family to carry on for dad. But always behind it all especially when going to sleep at night that the little voice asks "what if I never see him again?" Fortunately for us, he came back every time.
These people made a choice to do what they loved and take risks doing so. This time the risk just didn't pay off. I don't think there is anyone in the country that isn't deeply effected by that.