QUARANTINE BLOG # 304

January 28, 2021

It was 35 years ago today.  At 11:38 a.m., the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from Pad 39B.  Seventy-three seconds later the Challenger exploded, killing all seven crew members aboard. 

STS-51-L was commanded by Francis Scobee.  Michael Smith was assigned as the pilot, and the mission specialists were Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, and Ronald McNair.  The two payload specialists were Gregory Jarvis, who was assigned in October as a payload specialist to conduct research for the Hughes Aircraft Company, and Christa McAuliffe, who flew as part of the Teacher in Space Project.

President Ronald Reagan had been scheduled to give the 1986 State of the Union Address on the evening of the Challenger disaster.  After a discussion with his aides, Reagan postponed the State of the Union, and instead addressed the nation about the disaster from the Oval Office of the White House.  Reagan’s national address was written by Peggy Noonan, and is considered one of the most significant speeches of the 20th century.  It finished with the following statement, which quoted from the poem “High Flight” by John Gillespie Magee Jr.:

We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their  journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of Earth” to “to touch the face of God.”

President Reagan’s address was 4 minutes and 47 seconds long, and worth listening to completely.

On board Challenger was an American flag, dubbed the Challenger flag, that was sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 514 of Monument, Colorado.  It was recovered intact, still sealed in its plastic container.  On December 18, 1986, the Challenger flag was returned to Troop 514 in a special ceremony.  Astronaut Guy Bluford, who had flown on board the Challenger on two previous missions, and who is also an Eagle Scout, returned the flag to the troop.

A fragment of Challenger’s fuselage is on display as part of the “Forever Remembered” installation at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

👉  For the first time since 2013, the Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed exactly zero new members to its ranks.  Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports wrote, “And the best part is, the cheaters are almost all the way out.  It takes 75% of the total vote to make it, and Barry Bonds finished with 61.8%, Roger Clemens 61.6%, Sammy Sosa 17.0%.  All three were in their ninth year of the maximum 10 a player can stay on the ballot and, thus, all three have only one more year before they go poof.  With not much momentum, either: Bonds had 60.7% last year, Clemens 61.0%, Sosa 13.9%, out of the total of 401 cast.”

👉  Baseball’s true all-time home run leader, Hank Aaron, died January 22.  Barry Bonds took steroids for over half his career and still only had 7 more home runs than Hank Aaron.

Here is home run # 715 that broke Babe Ruth’s record.  Listen to Vin Scully’s call of the home run, and his personal comments after Aaron touches home plate.

👉  And while we’re at it, baseball’s true one season home run leader is Roger Maris.

Here is Phil Rizzuto’s call of # 61 on October 1, 1961.

👉  From another field of entertainment, Brian and Elizabeth sent me one of the best comedic routines I’ve ever seen.  It is thoughtful, creative, and without a single four letter word.  The comedian’s name never appears in the video, so I can’t acknowledge him, but watch and laugh at “Car Names.”

👉  We haven’t visited our “Did You Know Department” for a while, so here are a couple of quick mentions:

Oranges were originally green.  The first oranges ever imported from to the West were from Southeast Asia and were tangerine-pomelo hybrids that were green in color.  In fact, oranges grown in warmer parts of the world such as Vietnam and Thailand stay green throughout their lifetime.

Queen Elizabeth’s handbag is a body language communication device.  It is used by her to relay secret and silent messages to her staff.  For example, if she is finished speaking to a guest she will move it from one arm to another and her aides will politely end the conversation, or if she wants to abruptly end a conversation she will put her bag on the ground.

👉  A couple days ago my morning Bible reading was from Exodus 3: “[Moses] looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.  Then Moses said, ‘I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.’  So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’  And he said, ‘Here I am.’  Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.’  And I searched YouTube for this incredible worship song – “Holy Ground.”

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