Issues → January/February 2011 → Features →
Christa McAuliffe's Messenger
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I've spent the day with another classmate of Christa's. I was telling her that you'd asked how Grace "does it." We were both thinking how anniversaries cause us to stop and reflect and remember. Grace does so much more than "just carrying on" in the face of tragedy. I can only hope that she draws love and strength from everyone she meets. Grace epitomizes the graces of forgiveness and love. Maybe it's just as simple as that.
Before I say goodbye, Grace tells me a story that she thinks will help me understand. "The ones I remember most are the ones where the kids are really deprived," she says. "There was a school in New Jersey. It's a tough, tough school. They were a little scared [about] how I would be received. And yet ..." Here she stops, and her eyes shine: "... they were the most wonderful audience. The auditorium was packed. The kids didn't let out a peep. The teachers had taken my book, and each grade had taken a part and done projects. I remember this part so vividly. I was talking about questions children had asked me, and in that big auditorium it was so quiet I heard a little voice: 'She's talking about my question!'
"When I drove away, I said, 'Thank you, Christa, thank you.'"
To learn more about how Christa McAuliffe's mission continues, visit the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, NH (starhop.com), and the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center in Framingham, MA (christa.org).
Yankee Classic: Christa's Shadow
Reader Comments
Comment from Paulette Billiel on January 25, 2011
Two years after Christa McAuliffe\'s death, I had the opportunity to hear Mrs. Corrigan speak at a Girl Scout conference. I don\'t think there was a dry eye in the audience when she took the podium and we all realized who she was. In the early 1990\'s she was a special guest at a Girl Scout fund raiser our local council had. Christa and Grace were active Girl Scouts for many years. So they both have a special place in our hearts.
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