By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | 2025 Truth Endures©
A Missed Call
It was January 28th, 1986. Tim was driving to an appointment, his car weaving through fifty miles of winding highways. The radio crackled with the morning news. The Space Shuttle Challenger was set to launch, carrying the first civilian teacher into space.
As the announcer spoke, a sudden, vivid image flashed in Tim’s mind—an explosion, fiery and bright. He gripped the wheel tighter. Then, just as quickly, the vision faded.
This wasn’t the first time. During his years in law enforcement, Tim had experienced moments like this—flashes of insight, warnings he couldn’t explain. Colleagues had asked how he knew things before they happened. He’d only ever shrugged and said, “I’ve got a sixth sense, I guess.”
A commercial break interrupted the news. Tim leaned back, letting the hum of ads drown out the unease rising in his chest. Don’t be ridiculous, he told himself. There are engineers, scientists—people much smarter than me working on this. Who am I to question it?
Then the news returned, live coverage from Cape Canaveral. As the launch countdown continued, Tim felt it again. A deep, cold shiver passed across his neck. Then he envisioned the same haunting image of destruction.
He reached for the dashboard, then pulled his hand back. Should I call? he wondered. Would they even listen? The idea of calling NASA felt absurd. What would I say? he thought. That I had a feeling?
No one would believe him. He’d be laughed off the line—or worse. He pictured himself in a hospital gown, locked behind heavy doors for making prank calls to a national space agency.
So he drove on.
At the appointment, Tim entered the lobby and stepped up to the front desk. Just as he began to sign in, a man burst from his office, wide-eyed.
“You won’t believe what just happened!”
He turned on the TV. On the screen, the Space Shuttle Challenger rose into the sky—and then disintegrated in a plume of smoke and fire.
Gasps filled the room.
Tim stood frozen. The weight hit him all at once. Not just the horror of what had happened but also the hollow ache remained. He knew he had seen it coming… and done nothing.
In the days that followed, he replayed it again and again. The moment he didn’t call. The chance he didn’t take. The voice he silenced.
If he had picked up that phone, maybe nothing would’ve changed. Or maybe someone would’ve listened. Maybe someone smarter than him would’ve paused for just a second. He would never know.
One thing became clear to Tim that day. The burden of inaction weighs heavier than the risk of being wrong.
If he was able do it over, he’d make the call.
No matter how crazy it sounded.
This story is from actual events. The names of those in the story were changed to protect their privacy.
benandsteve.com 
This is such a powerful story. It shows how sometimes our gut feelings shouldn’t be ignored, even if they seem irrational. Tim’s regret is something many of us can relate to—being afraid to speak up and later wondering “what if.” His lesson is an important one: it’s better to risk being wrong than to stay silent and carry that weight. Thanks for sharing this—it really makes you think.
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Thank you so much, Zewaye, for your kind words and thoughtful reflection. You’ve captured the heart of the story so well. That tension between doubt and instinct, silence and action—it’s something so many of us wrestle with. I’m really glad the story resonated with you and sparked that kind of thinking. It means a lot to know it connected in that way..
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