By Karen Barone
Jared and Kellie met Ramon through their aunt Shelly Barzilay, who lives in Houston, where Ramon moved four years ago to being training for the space flight. When the twins traveled with their parents, Shira and Gill, to visit their aunt, family dinners and religious celebrations often included the Ramon family. Barzilay became close personal friends of the Ramon's and often shared the Jewish holidays of Passover and Rosh Hashanah together. The twins would spend time playing video games with Ramon's youngest sons and listening to tales about their life in Israel and how the space mission had brought them to the United States. When the Colombia was scheduled to go up on Jan. 16, the children were invited to attend the festivities. Kellie and Jared excitedly traveled to the launch site with their grandparents, Batia and Sol Rosenfeld of North Woodmere.
At the launch site spectators waved Israeli flags, sang and cheered as Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut boarded the shuttle.
"It's amazing to see it in person," said Batia of the launch.
Kellie and Jared returned to Long Island with countless souvenirs and the excitement that only witnessing such an important event can evoke. They shared their mementos and memories with their third grade classmates at Waverly Park School and awaited the safe return of their friend.
On Saturday, Feb. 1, the morning of the scheduled landing, the children turned on the television as they readied for temple. What they heard stunned them. Just 16 minutes before the scheduled landing in Houston, the Colombia was lost and their friend Ramon's fate unknown.
The Marnin family numbly rushed off to temple where the twins were scheduled for consecration. It was Rabbi Stanley Platek of Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre who interrupted the service and told those gathered that cold morning there were no survivors of the Colombia Space Shuttle. Kellie and Jared sat in silence, their hearts overflowing with emotion. They felt the sadness the world was feeling, but to them it was more personal.
"It's too sad to be true," said Kellie.
On the following snowy Friday afternoon, the children sit, going over their mementos of the fateful Colombia Space Shuttle. Kellie has made a loving scrapbook of pictures and subsequent articles that she gathered about Ramon, while Jared proudly displays the digital pictures he took of the launch. They wore T-shirts showcasing the names and faces of all seven astronauts and they tenderly share the photos taken just this past Hanukkah, when the family was gathered around Ramon.
"They're happy to share, but they don't even understand the depth of the experience," said Shira.
