Last Minutes of Columbia
You’ve probably heard about it, or seen it, elsewhere, already, but in case you haven’t, you can watch the 13-minute video they recovered from Columbia, ending about 8 minutes before the shuttle broke up.
2 Responses to “Last Minutes of Columbia”
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March 2nd, 2003 at 9:44 pm
This is going to ruffle a lot of feathers, but my mere existence seems to do that already, so why not go all the way? I think it’s a good way to kick off my return here after nearly a month of having a life…
I’ve kept myself on somewhat of a “media blackout” concerning the whole shuttle explosion thing. I think that it was because I heard of those who died in the incident referred to as “heroes”. I understand that being an astronaut is a rather prestegious occupation, but it kinda irks me that had they not died they’d only be astronauts. I mean no disrespect to the families of those who’ve died, but we must be pretty hard up as a nation if we idolize those who are comparable to victims of the Titanic incident.
I really shouldn’t write when I’m in such a foul mood.
January 26th, 2005 at 7:23 am
When you are in a foul mood, it is still good to write, but wait a day before you publish. Read it again the next day, and if you feel the same then post it.
As far as whether or not the astronauts are heros, it is best to start with the definition of the word. Webster’s New World Dictionary, third college addition says: 2 “Any person, esp. a man, admired for courage, nobility, or exploits, esp. in war. 3 Any person esp. a man, admired for qualities or achievements and regarded as an ideal or model. So based on the definition, astronauts may be concerned heros. There is also room in the definition for one to not consider them heros in the sense that some people would question why a person would willingly risk their life while sitting on
top of a “controlled” explosion. What makes this world work is that we have people with all kinds of talents. I would never consider being a dentist, but I am sure glad there are people willing to provide the service. If my dentist relieves my great suffering due to some dental problem, I certainly could use that word “hero” to describe how I might feel about his accomplishments.
Keep writing.