Just a Statistic
February 4, 2003
6:55 a.m.
What exactly, you might ask, have I been doing? Or maybe you're not asking at all. How would I know? What I do know is that I'm writing--actually working with Brigid on a project right now. And I'm working the day job, which continues to get in the way a bit more than it should. And I'm sim-racing, and I'm watching Louisville become one of the finer college basketball teams in the country. One of the things I have not been doing is updating this web page, something that probably goes without saying. Of course, since this is a Web journal, I must then say it.   Like most everyone, we watched the events after the Columbia tragedy with heavy hearts. I'm not sure what to think at this point. The shuttles are grounded, as is only prudent these days. But I can't help but look forward to the time when spaceflight is more like a commercial aircraft business. When a jet goes down, they don't ground all flights immediately. I think we'll know we've got it down pretty well as a space-faring race when tragedies like this are viewed and reacted to in that light. But for us and the shuttle, it's not been long enough for that. Today, the life of every astronaut is something precious to be held up to the light. These are extraordinary human beings. They are the early pioneers, and like Lewis and Clark (and don't forget Sacajewea) they deserve our reverence. But there will come a day when this will change. That's their desire, actually. Every member of the space program is working to create an environment where accidents like this will merely happen, be investigated, and processed. And safety numbers can be reported in the same breath was those of highway deaths and train wrecks and airplane crashes. You may think this isn't a very cheery thought. But in my own little way, I think it is.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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