I scurried out onto the roof this morning and was rewarded with a slow fly by of Shuttle Endeavour less than fifty yards to the west and about a thousand feet overhead. The whole set up was beautiful (and loud) and our view priceless. I could read NASA on the tail of the 747 and see the details of each aircraft. I felt a bit sorry for the pilot flying the fighter escort, as it probably isn't his normal mission fly low and slow, but he stayed right on the shuttle for the three passes I saw.

There was a lump in my throat watching that piece of history pass.

I thought of watching Alan Shepard blast off and of all the hours I spent glued to the television whenever there was coverage of astronauts in space.

It's sad to think of the shuttles being taken out of service and put on sticks. I hope to see the US get into space again before long. We can use the innovation and the dreams.