ABSOLUTELY! I AM HONORED ...and for once..without words! You have my express permission. Rand. > 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
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