Rebuilding Rob

Today is the 40th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger explosion. I posted my thoughts on this anniversary two years ago, and the sentiment remains the same. That original post, which touches on how this was the defining moment for my generation before 9/11 and COVID, is embedded below:

Reflecting on the Challenger today, what strikes me—aside from the obvious tragedy—is that milestone number. The big four-oh.

About twenty years ago, I was talking to the Old Man about my teaching job in Detroit. He knew the neighborhood well; he described it as “historically rough” and remembered attending dances at that very school when he was a teenager. I distinctly remember him pausing and saying, “Yeah, that was… forty years ago. Holy cow, that was forty years ago!” It was one of those moments where he truly realized his own place on the timeline.

That’s where I am today. Looking back at the Challenger explosion, I’m thinking, “My God, that was forty years ago.” I’m having the same realization the Old Man had that day. I’m stunned that something from my childhood—something I remember as vividly as that morning in 1986—occurred four decades ago.

There’s a line from Star Trek: Generations where Captain Picard says, “I’ve become aware that there are fewer days ahead of me than there are behind.” That reality becomes clearer to me with every passing day.

I’m old. Not quite as old as The Old Man was when he said that to me, but I’m getting close. He passed away just ten years after that conversation. It makes me wonder how many years I have left.

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• Even White People Get Ashy
• The Tricorder in My Pocket
• Challenger 40: The Generational Echo
• Take Kid 2 to Work Day: An Unexpected Win
• Strong Enough to Sob

AI art created with Google Gemini

The article “Challenger 40: The Generational Echo” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.