Challenger explosion  − 28 January, 1986

I was in third grade at Thornton's Ferry Elementary, and we went next door to Mrs. Wilson's room to watch it live on the TV they set up. I don't remember many of the details, but I remember watching the TV and seeing it go up, and up, and up... then something went terribly wrong. The two or three teachers in the room were in too much shock for the first minute to do anything but stare at the TV in disbelief while the group of kids (about 25-30) watched something we didn't really understand.

It was just two weeks before I turned 9.