. . .I stepped out my back door onto our covered patio. As I did, I started hearing what I thought was a very long, low rumble of thunder. It just seemed to go on and on. It was puzzling because the little bits of sky I could around me through the trees were all bright blue.
About 20 minutes later I turned on the television and saw something that reminded me that the Space Shuttle Columbia was scheduled to return to earth that day. I watched a bit longer and learned that things had gone quite wrong.
If had ventured out from under that covered patio.  I would have seen the Columbia in hundreds of pieces, a few moments before they rained down upon the piney forests and rolling fields of East Texas.
The Mission Commander was Rick Husband, orginally from Amarillo. A Christian. And fine example of manhood. You can read about him here.