Monday, February 03, 2003

The Space Shuttle

It is early Monday Morning (UK Time) and the kids are getting ready for school. Life is going on as it should. But the pictures of the Shuttle debris that have been shown over the last couple of days just make the whole thing even more tragic.

Of all the images I have seen these last few days - the two that sum up the whole thing are probably two of the smaller items recovered. A lot of the UK Tabloid papers today are headlining a picture of one of the astronauts helmet , lying in the Texas grass, where it landed, and the worst one for me was the image of one of the mission badges, apparently unmarked. I just looked as though it had just come out of a box, ready to be attached to a uniform, a space suit?.

It was just the view of it looking so pristine (maybe it it was worse than it looked - the camera made it look better?)But it was the thought of what had happened to bring this small badge away from it's owner.

God Bless them all - hero's deserve remembrance.

I also came across this poem from a fellow Xangan:

The latest from Paedansu's Xanga Site!


Forever man has wondered
at the stars so far beyond
To ascend to heights unknown
ever yet a dream so fond
For centuries we always sought
to defy our earthly bounds
So many wished themselves set forth
from these stable grounds
Yet now we find ourselves unfit
to venture among the stars
Our confidence had grown too strong
in the safety of a realm not ours
We must recall the danger faced
before again we seek such goals
And now we pay the price in tears
for the loss of these brave souls

In Memory of the Crew of Space Shuttle Columbia - Febuary 1st, 2003

Posted at 2/1/2003 8:55:29 PM