January 28, 1986:
I was home on a chilly Winter afternoon after a high school final that morning. Around 1:30, a friend called and said, "Am I seeing what I'm seeing on TV?". I didn't know. "I don't know, what are you seeing on TV?" I asked. "I think you should turn on your TV". "What channel?". "Any channel." I was in my brother's room at my parent's house and turned on the TV.

My brother's flight was supposed to arrive at 12:44 this afternoon. When my phone rang at 1:00, I thought it might be him. It turned out to be my mother. The first thing I said was, "Happy New Year". We stayed on the phone for a while; her half-brother, my uncle had been on vacation with his family in Seattle and became ill and fell into a coma. She felt that she should go and be with him and his family. My father was resistant. He didn't want her to go. I gave my opinion. Eventually we got off the phone when I mentioned I was expecting a call from Bob.

He ended up calling several hours later; too late to meet up today. Towards the end of the conversation, in which we discussed meeting tomorrow, he mentioned something about the Space Shuttle blowing up. He said it very casually, but it got my immediate attention. He had heard someone else talking about it on his cell phone. I knew there was a Space Shuttle on a mission. I turned on the TV, distracted from the rest of our conversation, and KTVU was covering it. Space Shuttle Columbia had burned up upon re-entry.