February 1, 2003
I am still listening to the news, and they just were talking to Buzz Aldrin. He said he wanted to read an excerpt from a song by Dr. Jordin Kare and even spelled Jordin’s last name. He read the last (?) verse of Jordin’s, “Fire In The Sky,” …. “and they passed from us to Glory riding Fire In The Sky.” And as he read his voice started trembling and he began to cry.If you have a copy of this, audio or video, Jordin Kare would like to hear from you. [11:13 PM]
Wow, haven't heard that song in a long time (since the cassette I bought at BayCon 92 died, whenever that was) but it's perfect. Aldrin you say? Wow.
I first heard it at BayCon too.
I did a bit of digging and found the full lyrics, as well as the track that can be downloaded off MP3.COM. It's sung by Kristoph Klover, who added a bridge to it.
I put full details and links for download at my blog here.
The only thing I found so far on this was on Space.com:
While much of the rest of the world was not watching when the disaster occurred, it soon sank in with the same collective sadness that accompanied previous tragedies. Former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin said the Columbia disaster will go down in history alongside the 1986 Challenger explosion.
"This is a very sad day," Aldrin said on NBC news.
This is a different era of spaceflight, however, with other astronauts in orbit aboard the International Space Station. Already the industry is acknowledging that it does not have the luxury of grounding the shuttle fleet for a long period, as occurred after Challenger when no flights went up for two years.
Aldrin hinted at the remarkable spirit that drives the space program and its boldest explorers, even in terrible times. "I just hope that we're able to discover in a short period of time what the most likely cause of this is so we can 85 get the shuttle fleet back going again."
Later, Aldrin read part of a poem sent to him via e-mail and commemorating the Columbia loss. He began to cry and could not finish the poem.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/sts107_reacts_030201.html
This doesn't mention Jordin specifically, but it gives an idea of where to look. Unfortunately, I haven't found anymore at NBC.com or MSNBC.com, and it's way past bedtime even for Saturday night.
Peggy Noonan mentioned Buzz Aldrin and his reaction in a column, and in the responses, readers credited Jordin and gave the rest of the verses.
The suggestion was made in a newsgroup that the TV stations have tape of everything, and will sell a copy. Last time I asked, ours wanted about 35 bucks for the service, but it was a while ago.
(Clarification: The Kares have the song, and audio of people singing it. What they are looking for is Buzz Aldrin's interview.)
Kip mentioned that the networks will frequently sell a tape. While true, I've also discovered that if the broadcast referred to a specific person, the will often just send that person a copy gratis if asked.
Hard-Hitting Moderator: Teresa Nielsen Hayden.
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