I don’t why I admired Sally Ride so much, but I think it had to do with her hair. When she was introduced in the astronaut program, she had sista hair for a bit, meaning she had big, almost Afro-styled hair. I didn’t learn until close to the time she actually went into space that she wasn’t part black, but I didn’t care by then. I thought of her as a teacher I would have liked to have, because she was fearless. I remember her going into space in 1983. I felt proud for her and for the country. I don’t know what sort of connection she held on me, but she was something of a hero for me.

Yes, I am a guy but that doesn’t mean there aren’t women I admire to the point of hero worship. My mother, of course I love her. I still dream of the time when I can be sitting in a room having a long conversation with Rachel Maddow, Melissa Harris-Perry and Alex Wagner. Sally Ride was one of those women whom I would have loved to talk to, to get to know them because they bring so much knowledge to the table.

I hadn’t thought of Sally Ride for a couple of years. I knew she was relatively young so the news of her death, and of cancer to boot, was a bit of a shock to me. What no one knew, well I’m sure a few people knew but not the general public, was that she was in a relationship for close to 27 years with a woman named Dr. Tam O’Shaughnessy. What I think about learning that news is how much it didn’t matter in the sense that Sally Ride’s sexual preference doesn’t matter to me. I still admire the woman for who she was as a person.

Rest well Sally Ride. You will be missed. My sincere condolences to Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy, her loving partner.