Saturday, January 28, 2006

Michelle Kwan On Olympic Squad/ Salute to Challenger

In my quest to run the half marathon this April, today, Saturday, is the long run day. So, I'm off to meet the group led by Leanne Fray, and at least, the weather is warm and sunny. On to the news-- One of the sports headlines that grabbed my attention today was this
Kwan gets last shot at Olympic Gold
I often get ripped by friends, Louis Kirkpatrick, and particularly, from my brother, Danny, about my interest in women's Olympic figure skating. Booyah! It's just around the corner! Another exciting night of triple lutzes, triple toe loops, triple axels and the like at this year's event in Italy!

Where were you 20 years ago today? Remembering Challenger I remember it well--Sharon and I were newlyweds, and I was managing the Best Western Campus Inn in Knoxville, TN. We were at the front desk checking in some guests when someone came running into the lobby screaming about the Shuttle having blown up in mid air. We all rushed to the first un-occupied room, and from that moment on, the entire work force at the Campus Inn crowded into that room, and we watched that terrible clip over and over again. I remember that it took NASA a long time to announce "officially" what had happened, when obviously, the Shuttle was blown to smithereens. May the astronauts rest in Peace, and may the memory and ideals set forth by Christa McAuliffe live forever.