http://www.theintellectualdevotional.com

A “Boom!” For a Whimper

Created By, Evan Andriola

A ‘BOOM!’ For a Whimper “It is a b-e-a-utiful day here in Central Florida! A perfect day, blue skies, a Space Shuttle lift off. Minutes till lift off.” the broadcaster, announced sounding much more jubilant than I was.

“So, Tom, who do you think has the AL MVP this coming year?” My friend Collin asked.

“I don’t know.” I whispered, “ and, shouldn’t we be watching the ‘Lift off’?” I smirked, doing air quotes with my fingers. “Don’t be such a little girl! Just answer the question,” He yelled, wanting to hear my opinion.

“It’s only January, but since you care so much, I’m giving my word to my man Rickey Henderson down in the Bronx.” I mentioned confidently. “He is the package deal. Speed, contact, has enough power to get around as well.

“No way man. He’s garbage, all talk. I think it is going to be the young Milwaukee kid. What’s his name again Tom?”

“Robin Yount.” I grumbled barely paying attention to the conversation. “But, Seriously Collin, we have gotta watch the video now. You do know that we have to get graded on it?

“What?! Mr. Samuels never said that!” Collin whispered and yelled. “Did too. He literally just said it. Now get your head on straight and watch the dang video.” I snapped as I flicked his ear. We intensively watched the video. It really was a nice day over in Florida, compared to what we were dealing with in dumb ole Scranton, Pennsylvania.

“Lift off in three…. two…. one!!!” the announcer said filled with excitement. We watched it go straight into the sky leaving a trail of ugly smog behind it. It looked like a snail crawling on the sidewalk leaving gooey stuff as it moved on. Except it was going much faster than any snail I had ever seen. “It had to be going more than 1000 mph,” I thought to myself, probably over exaggerating. “It’s beautiful isn’t it kids?” Mr. Samuels said. “Now children, do any of you actually know why this Space Shuttle is so important?“I do! I do!” Wilbur squealed. Wilbur is the class “know it all”. He seems to have knowledge about everything to do with science. “Of course you do Wilbur. Tell the class.” The Teacher said. “Ok, The Challenger Space Shuttle is important because for the first time, for the history of man kind, they are bringing a civilian into space on a Space Shuttle. She won a contest to win this opportunity.”

“Thank you Wilbur. Can anyone else tell me why we are watching this video so closely?” Mr. Samuels asked. Again, nobody put up their hand except…Wilbur.“Wilbur, maybe you could give someone else a try.” He said.“But…but…. I know the answer.”“Fine. Take it away Dr. Wilbur.” My teacher said sarcastically. “Its is because, you, Mr. Samuels was one of the finalist to go in the shuttle.” Wilbur explained with enthusiasm.

“Good. Now, kids, get back to watching the video.”

As soon as we look back at the screen we see a flash, like a camera. We hear a big bang, and suddenly there is smoke everywhere on the screen. The whole class looks at each other, wondering. “Was that supposed to happen?” I heard one girl say. “I don’t think so.” Another blurted out. The whole classroom was in confusion and silence. The sky on the T.V was bright blue a moment ago, now it is filled with dark grey smoke with metal pieces all falling from above. We hear screams and fear from the people who were watching it live with their own eyes. We all look at our teacher as if he had all the answers. He seemed to be as clueless as us. So, we listen to the announcer.

“I have an update from NASA headquarters. There has been a terrible accident.” He said sorrowfully. “The Challenger Space Shuttle has exploded.”

A large gasp comes from my classroom. I looked at my fellow classmates. Most of the boys were in wonder, trying to fit their head around this. The girls were hugging each other crying. So was Mr. Samuels. I took a look and my friend, Collin. He was still staring at the devastating scene on the television screen. His mouth was wide open, the same way it was when he was watching his favorite show, “Saved by the Bell”. It seemed as if he didn’t blink for a couple minutes. He slowly turned his face toward mine and said “Wow. Just Wow.” “Can you imagine if Mr. Samuels ended up winning? And, that was him that died?” I mentioned sullenly. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind all that much. He gives out way too much homework.” He said as he giggled like a leprechaun.“Dude! This is serious! People died! Don’t be such a jerk!” I yelled as I flicked his ear again.“Ok ok Day Time Emmy.” He joked, calling me names.

“Ugghh. I can’t believe you right now.”

The rest of that day not many people talked to each other. It was awkward. And, it was lonely. Many myths have been made about how it exploded. Only NASA really knows. It is still a wonder of the world.

Interviewing Dad for The Challenger

Created By Evan Andriola

1. What was the scariest part about watching it?-realizing that they died-he thought about the impact that the close family members would feel

-we watched to it so intensively cause my science teacher was one of the finalist

2.How long did it take for you to realize it exploded?-we were watching on a little t.v in my classroom -in 73 seconds there was a flash and the and bunch of smoke-i wondered “was it normal” -it was not expected -i did not know it was an exprlosion right away

-everyone was shocked

3.What were the reactions of the people you were with?-it was quiet-some cried

4.Where were you at the time? -in my Science classroom with my classmates-i had a piece of paper and we had to observe as much stuff as

we could

5.How old were you? -i was 13 -i didn't really want to watch the video completely- so, my friend Collin and I were not really watching we were

talking baseball

Research Notes

- It was a big deal because it was the first time they were bringing a live civilian into space with no training

-Thousands were there on the spot to watch the historical moment-And millions watched on t.v-But, something terribly wrong went wrong on that cold January morning -After not even 2 minutes into the flight (73 seconds) it exploded into pieces

-After years of examination NASA found out that an O-ring (part of the rocket booster) failed because of cold weather

-Once the O-ring actually failed really hot gases and flames started leaking out and burned a whole in the external fuel tank

-Once that happened it was only seconds till it was torn into parts

Bibliography

"MLB Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners - Baseball-Reference.com." Baseball-Reference.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. <http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/mvp_cya.shtml>.

"Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 July 2012. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster>.

"Challenger Disaster - A NASA Tragedy." About.com Space / Astronomy. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. <http://space.about.com/cs/challenger/a/challenger.htm>.

Reflection 1.How has working on this project helped you learn about your family’s history and given you a better sense of your identity?

It help me know and understand what my family went through to get me where I am today. At some times, if one thing went a little bit as unplanned, I might not be here today. I gives me things to thank my family for.

2. Why do you think doing a project like this is important?

Doing a project like this one is important because it helps you understand your family more. And it helps you understand what parts of your family members have been through.

3. What part of this project did you enjoy the most? Why?

I enjoyed writing about something that I actually care writing about. Making my dad look bad. It is something he has done to me way too many times. It is time he gets a taste of his own medicine. I can’t wait till he gets a splash of this!

4.What specific challenges did you face during this project and how did you over come them?

A problem I had was trying to sound like a child 35 or so years ago. I don’t have any problem writing as a kid today, because I am one. Kids are different now a days. I over came them by asking my dad his interests.

5.What advice would you give future students as they begin this project?

I would tell them that I believe that the best thing you can do in this story is to sound like them as much as you can. If you do this, many readers will be able to connect and laugh. You would be surprised .