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[noJ]

I remember watching the takeoff in the school library and not realizing what just happened when The Challenger exploded. The Librarian immidiately shut the TV off and acted like nothing happened.
 
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/challengr.htm

[The 6th Rogue]

I was in 10th grade taking a midterm.  The PA came on and our principle gave us the news.  Most of the student body acted like they could care less but me and the other science geeks were all bummed. 

[noJ]

I was in kindergarten. I was a bit bummed too! It didn't sink in right away though. They shut the TV and we went about playing. Then later in the day, I started to think about it and the next day in school, the teachers spoke about the Astronauts and how one was to be the first teacher in space.

[Maggie]

Shit.  Now I feel old.
 
I was walking in to my Western Civ class my second year of college when someone told me of the explosion.

[Sarah]

I was in 3rd or 4th grade, can't remember specifically.  What I DO remember is that I had allergies bad that day: sneezing, watery eyes, couldn't breathe.  We were watching it on the TV and after it happened, the other kids were teasing me of crying like a baby.

[Phoenix McHeit]

7th grade here.  Watching it in class and it didn't quite hit what happened at first.  Kind of a stunned "wait, that doesn't look like the last one I saw, where'd the rest of it go?" kind of feeling. 

Then silence.  Awful, absolute silence.  I remember thinking, irrationally, that I'd never heard that class be so quiet before.

[Pathos]

I was 19 in the Air Force at March AFB in California out on the flightline refueling a KC-135 tanker. One of the little pickup trucks from my shop drove up. It was one of the sargeants I'd gotten to be friends with who knew I was a big fan of the space program. He walked up and said "The Challenger just exploded." I knew the shuttle was taking off that day but didn't know what time so I said "Where?" thinking that it could've been while it was still on the launch pad. He said "About a minute after launch." I asked "The crew?" and he just shook his head. All I could say was "Fuck."
 
As soon as I got back to the shop I made a deal with the dispatcher that if he'll let me hang out in the dayroom and watch the news coverage the rest of the afternoon, I'll work a double shift the next day. He let me hang out and watch the news but never made me do the double shift.
 
I remember that shit like it was yesterday.

[Wormwood]

I was at home that day, watching the launch on TV.   I remember the sense of unreality that hit me when it exploded, and stayed with me all day, making it tough to get through college classes and work.

Didn't seem real until I saw recaps on the 11 o'clock news.

[Sarah]

Holy Neco-posting, Batman!

[Wormwood]

Holy Neco-posting, Batman!

Yeah, well, I just came back to the forums after a long time, and this was one I had to reply to.