This weekend we were all woken by the sounds of silence.

That expected sonic boom, which would have marked the beginning of a glorious central Florida Saturday, was missing and the silence was deafening.

We lost 7 brave men and women this weekend.

But rest assured we did not loose their dream.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the families for whom they were brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and parents.

To our neighbor on the space coast for whom rockets lighting up the sky are as beautiful as their glorious sunrises.

And to our president who must navigate through our current perils with a much heavier heart.

We were all reminded of course of Challenger and the grief we felt then. But strangely we all felt there was a difference this weekend.

Then we were not only grieving for Challenger but we were also afraid that we would loose the dream.

This time the reality of space travel is too deeply ingrained in our daily life to be put in jeopardy.

So now we look for causes.

We fix the problems and get on with the mission.

And while I am sure there will be arguments and finger pointing, lets make sure our eyes are firmly aimed at the stars because when we look at the stars we see heroes.