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This little corner of heaven was treated to a spectacle in the sky last night, courtesy of the combined efforts of the eggheads at NASA and good old Mother Nature.

Just as the twilight shadows were creeping across our little peninsula, launch control fired the rocket boosters that lifted Discovery over Cape Canaveral.

It always amazes me how something as big and clunky as a shuttle on the launch pad can become as graceful as a ballerina when it breaks the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God. And, last night, the dancing spacecraft wowwed her audience even more than usual with a special maneuver, twisting around and upside down as soon as she cleared the ground.

Don't get me wrong, I would never trade places with any one of the seven brave voyagers on board Discovery. I'm perfectly content to remain earthbound, a witness to this spectacle.

For your viewing pleasure, I am including with this post a somewhat blurry photo snapped from my mom's back yard in east Orlando. (You can see the blackening trail of the rockets rising above the treeline from lower right to upper left.) But, you probably had to be there to really appreciate the rumbling of the ground beneath your feet and the glow from the distant fire on your face.

These launches never cease to amaze me, renew my faith in our ability to conquer big challenges . . . good thing to keep in mind on a Monday, no?

I hope all ye socks have as positive a launch to your weeks!