Twenty years ago tomorrow, when we sent a teacher into space and lost her. Until the Twin Towers of 2001, that was the most gripping public moment in my memory, one of those stunning, numbing catastrophes that have people at work huddled around the TV set in shock and disbelief. I thought then, and still do, that there was at least something comprehensible about a teacher dying in pursuit of the unknown. The more we know about Christa McAuliffe, the sadder her death seems:
"I touch the future. I teach," McAuliffe tells an interviewer. "I really appreciate that sentiment. That's going with me."
