Hello All! When Rand vented his feelings about astronaut Kalpana Chawla's last words to the media, I did not know that I would soon remember his very words. Most of you will know that I am a teacher. Late in the afternoon, I had just returned from a funeral ceremony, I got a call from a teacher collegue who told me that one of our pupils, just 12 years young, had committed suicide by jumping from the second story of the school building. Tomorrow morning at 07:15 hrs our time, we will be given some important information by the principal and the school psychologist before we meet our students, many of whom had to witness this young life dying on the ground floor. What will I tell them, what will they ask, how will they feel? Before this tragic event, I had planned to talk to them and discuss the Columbia disaster. I would like to do both ... and this is why I remembered Rand's words. They can help bridge the gap between both these saddening human catastrophes.
What I would like to beg of you, Rand, is the permission to copy your words along with my German translation (which you also find attached for the German-speaking List Members) to use as a sort of "stimulus" to start a conversation about both the loss of this young life and about the loss of the Columbia crew. RSVP Now, here is once more part of Rand's contribution: In Kalpana Chawla's last words to the media, she described one of her "big WOWs" of being an astronaut. She told about sitting next to a window of the space shuttle while looking down at our wonderful blue planet and its swirling firmament of clouds. Refocusing, she then saw her own reflection in the shuttle window. Refocusing again, she saw the reflection of the earth in her own eyes. "This," she said, " was definitely a big WOW." ... The beautiful dark eyes of Kalpana no longer exist, but I can't help believing that the memory of her "big WOW" is somehow remembered in a plane of existence beyond my comprehension. Yet I continue to try to understand, and as I do, a feeling for humanity floods over me which I can only describe as ... love. In Kalpana Chawlas letzten Worten an die Medien beschrieb sie einen ihrer sch�nsten Momente als Astronautin. Sie erz�hlte davon, wie sie ganz nahe an einem Fenster des Raumgleiters sa�, w�hrend sie hinunterschaute auf unseren wundervollen, blauen Planeten und auf sein sich stetig ver�nderndes Wolkenfirmament. Als sie dann ihren zur Erde hinabschweifenden Blick wieder auf das Shuttle-Fenster richtete, erblickte sie darin ihr eigenes Spiegelbild. Noch einmal richtete sie gezielt ihren Blick auf das Fenster des Raumgleiters und sah nun das Spiegelbild der Erde in ihren eigenen Augen. "Dies", so sagte sie, war defintiv das Allergr��te." ... Die sch�nen, dunklen Augen Kalpanas gibt es nicht mehr, aber ich m�chte einfach glauben, da� die Erinnerung an dieses, ihr zuteil gewordenes "gro�artiges Erlebnis" letztendlich irgendwie auf einer Bewu�tseinsebene erinnerlich sein wird, die jenseits meines Fassungsverm�gens liegt. Und dennoch versuche ich weiterhin, zu verstehen, zu begreifen, und dabei durchflutet mich ein Hochgef�hl f�r unsere Menschheit, die ich nur beschreiben kann als ... Liebe. ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
