Dear friends, This week I was researching a topic and thought of the moving poem read during a Challenger Memorial I attended at Brooklyn College in 1986. I remember how moving it was and could only recall the last line 'touching the face of God.' I located it for my project and now pass it on to all of you with sadness on the news of the loss of the Columbia shuttle. I hope its poetic expression will give you some comfort in this great tragedy. Terri McNichol Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds -- and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of -- wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Pilot Officer Magee joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in October 1940, at age 18. He went to England to fly Spitfires. After qualifying, he was piloting one on a test flight into the stratosphere at 30,000 feet when he got the inspiration for "High Flight." Magee was killed in action during a dogfight December 11, 1941, at age 19. If we die, we want people to accept it. We hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life. -Gus Grissom Vergil "Gus" Grissom made the ultimate sacrifice and lost his life in service to the nation and the space program on January 27, 1967 at 40 years of age. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).