Those of us in the group could see my sun porch television set through sliding glass doors.
We couldn't see the lift-off this time for some reason....and a neighbor suddenly remarked on the somewhat unusual scenes appearing on the TV. Something didn't seem to be right, he said.
Then the TV showed the painfully-strained visages of the McAuliffe parents and other spectators....their anxious eyes all turned skyward as if they were searching for something they didn't want to see.
To make a long story short, we went inside and gathered around the TV. We shortly learned the bad news. We went outside again and looked skyward. Dark contrails and wisps of smoky puffiness were slowly falling toward earth......starkly marring the clear sunny blue sky of a perfect Florida day.
We must have watched these aftermaths of disaster heading earthward for at least a half hour. The debris and smoke clusters definitely must have been very far up because they took so long to come down.
Our group of neighbors then gloomily disbanded and we all went into our homes to watch TV.....each to deal in our own ways with the tragedy which had horribly played out almost over our heads.
Leni
I was driving into MacDill AFB one morning and was listening to a launch on the radio. I looked east shortly after liftoff and SAW the glow of the boosters climbing skyward. Nobody ever believes me when I tell them. Thanks for confirming I'm not completely looney :-)