neadods: (goodbye)
neadods ([personal profile] neadods) wrote2010-01-28 07:31 pm
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Challenger

Today was my generation's "Do you remember where you were when you heard?" moment.

I was at my first job, in a big open space with four desks in it (I would, over the course of my career there, sit at all 4.) Because this was when indoor smoking was still allowed, I was probably hunched over a fan, which I ran every day to try to cope with the chainsmoker who sat at another of the desks. I was probably wrestling with the office computer, a command-line DOS beast.

All I clearly remember is one of the bosses coming out of the window offices ringing our open area and saying in a hushed voice, "Challenger blew up. I heard it on the radio." (Only management was allowed stuff like that.)

I refused to believe it until I got home and saw it on the news. And then I still didn't believe it. I didn't want to.