The demise of space shuttle Columbia is definitely a local news story all around. Not only is Mission Control located in Houston, but the astronauts were getting ready to pass near the place where they had trained when the shuttle was destroyed. I took the picture at left this morning to illustrate this post. I had considered driving up to Nacogdoches this weekend to see some of the debris, or down to Johnson Space Center to see the memorials people are putting there, but it didn't seem right. The photo of the sign brings home just how close this story is to Houston, though. It was taken just a couple of miles from my house.