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The shuttle blasting off and doing the amazing things that they do are "old hat" to us. In Israel for the last several months, an Israeli going into space on the shuttle has been a joyous occassion. Ilan Ramon was a national hero.

This just sickens me that the good people of Israel have to endure another loss.

The shuttle blasting off and doing the amazing things that they do are "old hat" to us.

I remember when the first mission to the moon was returning in 1969, I believe. I was helping to run a summer school program and every classroom had their TV turned on. I drove 9 children to school that morning, and we were all preoccupied with the men who had walked on the moon. We did not know if they would get back safely, or if they would be harmed irreparably from the experience.

I was running the office and was so distracted that I forgot that my 4 year old had accompanied me. I watched the splashdown with rapt attention while I recorded the attendance and was greatly relieved when the capsule landed safely and the astronauts had made it aboard the recovery ship. I turned to my 4 year old with joy and was appalled to find that he wasn't there!

In a panic, I ran back to the car -- no Andy. Then I raced to his next older sister's classroom and found him. She'd taken him to her Kindergarten class when we all got out of the car, and I hadn't noticed because my mind was elsewhere. He was happily ensconced in an activity in a class where he was too young to be enrolled. Luckily the teacher was understanding and even invited him to stay on.

I only relate this experience to remind everyone of the way we viewed our early space missions. Many people on this board are too young to remember this.