[Old Professer]

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[BCrago66]

Well I'm certainly not saying anything. No words here. Anyone else not saying anything?

[Xenalyte]

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[upchuck]

[OldBlondBabe]

My heart is heavy.

[Right Brigade]

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[HiJinx]

RIP, STS107 Crew

[ZinGirl]

standing with all of you in prayer...

[MasonGal]

"I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help."

Psalms 121: 1-2

[prairiebreeze]

I tried to post a "silence" but it keeps telling me I have to enter a reply. Perhaps this will serve and is meant in total respect:

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die.

--from Indian Prayer

[lodwick]

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Sat Feb 1, 5:52 PM ET

[mombonn]

In the words of the prophet Isaiah, "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."

The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home.

May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America.

Amen

[Chancellor Palpatine]

To the brave crew of the Columbia, +Memory Eternal+

[Centaur]

touched the face of God.....

[Senator Pardek]

Lit up with anticipation
We arrive at the launching site
The sky is still dark, nearing dawn
On the Florida coastline

Circling choppers slash the night
With roving searchlight beams
This magic day when super-science
Mingles with the bright stuff of dreams

Floodlit in the hazy distance
The star of this unearthly show
Venting vapours, like the breath
Of a sleeping white dragon

Crackling speakers, voices tense
Resume the final count
All systems check, T minus nine
As the sun and the drama start to mount

The air is charged
A humid, motionless mass
The crowds and the cameras,
The cars full of spectators pass
Excitement so thick you could cut it with a knife
Technology...high, on the leading edge of life

The earth beneath us starts to tremble
With the spreading of a low black cloud
A thunderous roar shakes the air
Like the whole world exploding

Scorching blast of golden fire
As it slowly leaves the ground
Tears away with a mighty force
The air is shattered by the awesome sound

Like a pillar of cloud
The smoke lingers high in the air
In fascination
With the eyes of the world
We stare...

[TheGrimReaper]

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[MeekMom]

(bows head with tears streaming down)