While driving to dinner the other night, listening to the new Johnny Cash CD, (which is rather somber) I happened to notice out of the corner of my eye the flags of a hospital all at half mast. I was suddenly struck with all the feelings of shock and sadness that I had experienced on Feb. 1st when I heard about the Columbia disaster. That thought was the followed up by one on how much power symbols such as a the flag at half mast can have on our psyche. Something I knew in concept but never really consciously experienced before.

Those who have given their lives in the pursuit of knowlege and exploration.

Apollo 1 Crew
Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
Edward H. White II
Roger B. Chaffee

Challenger Crew
Francis R. Scobee
Michael J. Smith
Ronald E. McNair
Ellison S. Onizuka
Judith A. Resnick
Gregory B. Jarvis
Christa McAuliffe

and now
Columbia's Crew
Rick Husband
William McCool
Michael Anderson
Kalpana Chawla
David Brown
Laurel Clark
Ilan Ramon