jaybird3rd

I was late to school that day... wearing Sunday clothes because everything else was in the laundry. I was already uncomfortable.

Mrs. Kindred had the television wheeled into our classroom and the third grade watched on in awe... not quite understanding the magnitude of what had happened. Our teacher cried and then gave us time for a moment of silence... which was new to me as well.

I learned in time that a few of my teachers had wanted to make that trip and even knew Christa McAuliffe one way or another.

I was in 7th grade and we heard the news as we were leaving the cafeteria.  Every classroom got a TV to watch it. I think they cancelled

the rest of classes for the day and we stayed in the same room watching the news.

Don't recall "the need 7 more astronauts" joke.  But I do remember the "what does this button do?"  joke.

I was in sixth grade, but it was a snow day so my older brother and I were both at home. I was watching something unrelated on TV and he came downstairs and told me, and then we watched the news. I have the shape of that smoke trail forever in my memory. Later, back at school, I remember talking with my friends about how even the news anchors were broken up about it. It was sad and the kids who joked about it were quite stupid.