Where were you 20 years ago?

[Eruption]

I was in 10th grade English and the principle anounced it over the intercom crying.  That was all they showed on TV that day.

[quadfizzle]

I was sleeping from working the midnight shift. Got up and saw it on the news.

[NPRVinson]

I was on the roof of a building that was under construction. I had been married about a year.

[dreth]

i was finishing up a 20yr stretch in levinworth

[05greengriz]

I was at a neighbors house. For some rreason we didn't have school and I was 9 yrs old.

[cubnfrank]

I was in Ft Lauderdale, I was in  Techincal school, I was on my way back from lunch at McDonalds and I heard on the radio there was a problem with the launch. I get back to school and everybody is in the parking lot looking up at the sky. Then someone told me what happened. It was a clear cold day. You could see that smoke trail as clear as day from Ft. Lauderdale. It seems like the smoke trail in the stayed in the sky all day.

[themensh]

  I was stationed at Patrick Air Force Base (about 13 miles south of the Space Center). I was working the midnite shift at the 2179th Communications Center. I got off work about 6Am....went home and fell asleep on the couch. My Brother-in_law in Texas called me and told me that he had had a Son that morning...........and did I see the 'explosion?"
 I walked outside to see the now infamous plumes in the sky............
 A "response-crew" was hurridly formed.............and hours later, people were scouring the beaches for debris.  (A co-worker I knew found a 'glove').
  Challenger will remind us that there is danger in any undertaking.............
(and THEY were wearing HELMETS).

                        Chuck

[Mrs.Nightbreed]

I was in 1st grade sitting in the cafeteria for lunch. I didn't see it happen. I remember seeing the plume of smoke afterwards and I thought it was neat because it didn't look like the other shuttle trails. It had a ball in the middle then 2 trails. I didn't understand what happened until I got home and my mom explained it to me.

It was definately a sad day in our history 

[BCConviber]

Well... I was bad,bad kid...    I was in 7th grade, and we had all assembled in the cafeteria to watch the launch on TV in good old Coral Springs. I don't remember exactly what I said, but I maid some kind of really bad comment about there being one less  teacher in the world.... And promptly got a butt whipping from pops and a week off of school. 

[kawGIRL]

I was loading some equipment in my van and remember looking up in the sky and saying " what the heck is that " I had forgotten the shuttle was going up. A matter of minutes later people were running around screaming and crying. Suzi was at work as well.

Jeff

While I was at work, we had a ritual of everyone to the same spot on the second floor to watch... I worked with a lot of engineering geeks, after the shuttle would go off we would all cheer and back to work.  So when the explosion happened we were all in shock and we spent the rest of the day analyzing the situation.  I do remember turning white as a sheet, some were in shock, some left work.  I had a hard time watching the next one take off 

[DCR_Marcus14]

20 years...that would make me -2 years old.

[innocent_bystander]

I too was 8 years old, I was in Mrs. Thompson's 2nd Grade Class. I remember another Teacher running over to our class and telling Mrs. Thompson something. She started crying. She told us what happened, and we watched the aftermath on TV.

Its funny how you can remember details of events like that. Ask me what i ate yesterday and I couldnt tell you. But I remember that and 9/11 down to a tee.

[Loven It]

I was in 3rd grade in Cape Hatteras, NC. Home from school for some reason. We were sitting on the floor in front of the tv when it happened. I remember it like it was yesterday. Not sure if's it because of how upset my mom got or the images that they showed over and over again of the shuttle bursting into a big ball of fire. 

[themensh]

"I don't remember exactly what I said, but I made some kind of really bad comment about there being one less  teacher in the world.... "

  Funny how humer kicks in......I was stationed at the nearby Air Force Base........
the BIG joke the was "What does NASA stand for?   Need Another Seven Astronauts".
  Challenger was a terrible moment.....but peoples minds come up with weird crap.

[Seabeejim]

I was on my third deployment with the Navy in Sasebo, Japan and we got the news through AFARTS Radio and TV, and it was on my birthday.  Now 20 years later and 24 years later in the Navy I am getting ready to retire in June and have to get a new job.

[PaulyV500]

I was fifteen years old, living in Bucks County Pa. I was at school in Klinger Middle School
in the ninth grade. I remember the announcement to turn on all tv's in the classrooms. We just sat there in silence and couldn't believe what had happened.  God Bless all those on the shuttle and thier families. i was riding a 1987 Suzuki Quad Sport 230 cc with reverse. It was blue and white and I bought the first one to arrive at bromleys, it was an early release in 1986.I rode that quad for many years and it never let me down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I also had a 1964 chevy 2 nova hard top I was working on so it would be ready when I got my license in May. I paid 500.00 for the car and 2400.00 for the 230. I had my priorities straight even back then.

[enniehall]

I recall being held by my ankles, getting my butt spanked and screaming...that sounds really traumatic.

[Chuck_Norris]

I recall being held by my ankles, getting my butt spanked and screaming...that sounds really traumatic.

Thats pretty good to remember that..

[Da_Mtg_Man]

I recall being held by my ankles, getting my butt spanked and screaming...that sounds really traumatic.

.
Me too but that was just a couple days ago. 

[indianjoe]

Me too but that was just a couple days ago. 


Was this while Moose was at the House?? Oh my I'm getting a visual

[KB]

i was in 3rd grade at bellamy elem. school. (town & country, tampa). whole school went outside to watch. i remember seeing it go up and then seeing it split into two seperate smoke trails. we thought everything was ok till we went inside and teachers were watching tv crying. to be honest, i forgot all about it till about 10 yrs ago, on way to work, bubba played audio tapes of astronauts last words on the radio. i think they were just released for public record at that time and thats why he played it. bubba wanted people to hear it cause nasa really tried covering that accident up. the company that made those boosters said dont launch, but each launch delay costs millions, nasa launched it anyway. if anybody hasn't heard the audio you need to find it on the net and listen to it. i promise you'll hate nasa after hearing those astronauts telling there loved ones by. somebody told me if they put as much money into the basic telescope that we would know the same info. as we know from the shuttle ?

[SWAMP_DONKEY]

10th Grade watching the launch @ Sebring High School standing by the new portables. 

[NYRAPTOR]

7th grade jr. high.  it was announced on the loud speaker during lunch. i was in grand ave jr high on long island, ny.

[Hoosier Daddy]

since it was my birthday, I stayed home from school. You could see it from the back porch. I was running inside to hear it and then back out side to see it. i was 12.

[geektrx]

i was 3 and peeing on the plants in my front yard