thoughtfulAs always, there were delays, random countdown stops, etc., but finally it launched.
Cool. :)
It climbed, climbed, started turning.
bzzt
It was a ball of smoke, with two self-eating booster rockets going off randomly.
No kaboom, no flash, no nothing.
Just bzzt. And commentators wondering what the hell was going on.
I was startled, and sorta confused. But I wasn't upset.
Not until about three years later, I was watching Koyaanisqatsi, with its climax sequence, of a single piece of debris cast off from the explosion and tracked, presumably, by a chase plane or helicopter.
Falling.
Turning.
Falling.
Turning.
Falling.
Turning.
Falling.
Turning.
Falling.
Turning.
While bass voices chanted "Koyaanisqatsi" [1] over and over again.
Falling.
Turning.
Falling.
Turning.
Falling.
Turning.
God, somebody, make it STOP.
Then I cried my eyes out.
It wasn't until 9/11 that I had that feeling again, that deep, bottom-of-your-soul grief. It's not a feeling I am eager to experience again any time soon.
-The Gneech
[1] Hopi: "Life out of balance."
