@Artworqq Kevin Suber I love this app!! I love you too!!

I was in Japan, sitting in front of the television with a bowl of popcorn, practicing how to use chopsticks. It felt ordinary, almost playful—learning something new while the TV played in the background. The Challenger launch was on live television. Everyone on the screen was speaking Japanese. I didn’t understand what anyone was saying, but I recognized what I was watching. I saw the astronauts walk onto the shuttle. Then I saw them walk back off. I remember feeling puzzled—like I was missing something important because of the language. And then it exploded. I froze. I kept waiting for an explanation that never came—because I couldn’t understand the words. The broadcasters kept talking, but none of it reached me. I didn’t know if this was an accident, a replay, a mistake, or something else entirely. I just knew what I’d seen didn’t make sense. Being so far from home, unable to understand the language in a moment like that, was terrifying. I couldn’t place the event in reality. I couldn’t tell if the shock I felt was shared or if I was alone in it. So I got up and ran. I ran down the street to my agent’s house—Gloria’s—because I needed someone to tell me what had just happened. I needed confirmation. I needed language. I needed grounding. Some moments stay with us not because we understand them—but because we don’t. This was one of those moments.

Thank you for your creative input in helping me decided on a new Banner. @Nick Nebelsky I out the old one in Grok and asked it to make it more legible! Boom!

Cristal Vancarson is featured in every scene of this Iconic 1989 MTV Tom Petty "Free Fallin" video, which has over 120 million views today. There is an entire Book on this Chapter of my life!

1st Modeling Session 1982 Model Cristal Photographer Peggy Sirota My mom sat behind me on the carpet and carefully braided my long black hair into hundreds of tiny braids, pulling each one tight so my waves would dry perfectly by morning. She didn’t say much as she worked — she never did — but her hands told the whole story: patient, steady, intentional.