Pilgrimage (The New World) (20 page)

During his second term in office Aurora had graduated high school, and then began her college years at the University of Texas in Austin. Ross thought her choice was perfect, because the campus is adjacent to the grounds of the Texas State Capitol Complex. It was easy for him to see her on occasion, and when Patty and Rachel came to town the four of them could have dinner together. When Aurora completed her first year of college in June of 1996, Rachel celebrated her fourteenth birthday. She had become a pretty young lady in her own right, and would be starting high school in the fall. Although Aurora had a few gentlemen callers, it seemed Rachel had all the boys looking in her direction. That would normally be an area of concern for any father, but Ross had faith that Patty and Jessica would monitor the situation.

MANY OF THE
same voices that had encouraged Ross to attempt local office were now in his ear again, and they spoke of loftier goals. He had done well during the previous four years for his district in the House of Representatives, and was getting to be well known throughout the entire Lone Star State. His political party had an aging member of the State Senate who was looking to retire, but wouldn’t do so until the party found a respectable replacement. In the eyes of the party Ross was that man, so all they needed to do was to convince Ross of that fact.

The new job, if he was elected to it, would be relatively easy on the family. They could stay with the plan and remain in Houston, while Ross would only have to move his office from one side of the mammoth Capitol Complex to the other. He graciously accepted his party’s offer, and put his name on the November 1996 ballot for Texas State Senator.

After the election had been won, the first thing Ross did was walk over to what would become his new office. He wanted to personally thank the man who he would be replacing for his endorsement, and asked if he could consult with him on a regular basis about the challenging topics that lay ahead. The loved and ageing Senator smiled broadly and clasped Ross’ hand in a manner that reminded him of Grandpa Hank. He said it was evident that Ross was the right man for the job, and offered to help him with the transition in any way that he could. Ross took that opportunity to attempt to find out who in the Senate was a friend, and who was a foe. What could he hope to get accomplished as “the new kid” and what were some of the pitfalls he needed to avoid?

Throughout the next several weeks of instruction Ross acquired a new level of intelligence that was sure to help him with his new position, and was proudly sworn into office. Many of his personal items were transferred from the House wing to the Senate wing for him by his staff, but there were a few that he wanted to take care of himself. Several inquisitive looks were cast upon him as he made his way through the halls towards his new office carrying nothing more than a folded American flag in a triangular frame, and a brand new fishing pole with a red bow attached. Just as had been the case in his previous offices, Ross found a place in the corner for the fishing pole that was visible from his desk and put a nail in the wall nearby to hang the frame with the flag.

The next four years went by quickly, as Ross was working hard to justify his predecessors’ belief in him. He had found it quite humorous during the previous winter when so many people had been caught up in the entire Y2K scare. In spite of all the unsubstantiated panic and speculation over the thought of all the computers crashing at the turn of the century, the world had survived. The entire thing seemed ridiculous when compared to some other events in the human endeavor, and Ross realized how easily the general public could be put into a panic by television or other aspects of the media.

By the time he celebrated his fiftieth birthday and began campaigning for a second term during the summer of 2000; Aurora had graduated from the University of Texas and was doing some accounting work at her Aunt Jessica’s law office back in Houston. Rachel had just finished high school, and like most eighteen year-olds was ready to venture out and take on something new. Patty had gone through a tough time earlier in the year, as her mother Elizabeth had passed away. It had been a peaceful death, but with no siblings the brunt of the funeral logistics had fallen squarely on her shoulders.

The upside to the spring for Patty was when Rachel informed her where she had decided to attend college. She would follow her mother’s footsteps by attending the University of Maryland in College Park. Patty was very proud of her, but warned Rachel against getting involved with a man from the nearby Naval Academy. Her old friend and maid of honor Betty Collina was still living in the Washington D.C. area, so Patty knew that Rachel would have a local contact if she needed help with anything.

Ross won the election for a second term as Texas State Senator that fall, so he and Patty decided to accept Bettys offer to join her family for the Thanksgiving Holiday. It would create a nice little break away from the rigors of Texas politics, and they would also have a chance to visit with Rachel who they hadn’t seen since she started college a few months earlier. Patty and Betty had stayed in touch with each other over the years, and Betty had needed that friendship when she was going through the nasty divorce. The personal visits between the two ladies had been too infrequent, but they hoped to get together more often now that the last of their respective children had grown up and headed off to college. Ross hadn’t seen Betty for several years due to scheduling conflicts such as orbiting the Earth in the space shuttle, or a legislative session in Austin, but she had called him with heartfelt condolences when Dennis had died.

During the entire Thanksgiving weekend it seemed like the three of them had never been apart. They picked up with conversations by the fire about all sorts of topics including the small informal wedding back in 1973 when none of them had any money to spare, and how life had run its course for each of them. They all raised a glass in a tribute to Dennis on the last night before Ross and Patty returned to Texas, and Betty shed a tear in thought of what might have been.

AS WONDERFUL AS
that Thanksgiving weekend had been, the following Thanksgiving would be different for the Martin family and all of America. Slightly more than two months earlier, the country had suffered a horrible attack upon not only its way of life, but on its own soil as well. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on New York City and Washington D.C. had given a complacent and blinded American public a taste of how far the human endeavor still needed to advance. Many civilians, and a few military personnel, had lost their lives in the attack, and the skyline of Manhattan had lost the iconic twin towers of the World Trade Center when they collapsed into a huge pile of rubble.

On the day after the attacks, Ross made sure that donations to the relief fund were made by all members of the Martin family. He also demanded that they all contact and maintain a correspondence with someone who had lost a family member during the horrible event. Meanwhile Ross, along with a few other State Senators, began spearheading a fundraising campaign within the halls of the State Capitol Complex in Austin that would enable several firefighters and medical personnel to travel to New York City so they could assist with the cleanup.

Ten weeks later Rachel came home from the University of Maryland to join the rest of the family in Houston for the Thanksgiving Holiday. She didn’t want to come because she had an invitation to join her boyfriend’s family in Philadelphia, but Ross and Patty were insistent that the family be together that particular year. Instead of the huge spread of food that had become the norm over the years, they all went to a homeless shelter to serve food and provide comfort to some of those less fortunate. There were no cameras or media at the shelter because Ross had informed no one other than his family members of their intent to help out. The visit wasn’t done as a way to gain favor or momentum for an upcoming election like some politicians would have, but to remind his family members how fortunate they had all been for many years. It was a humbling experience for each one of them, including Ross, but they all felt better at the end of the day for having done so.

The next few years went by rather smoothly for Ross and the rest of the family, but the same could not be said for NASA as they had another huge setback. Although there had been multiple orbital shuttle missions with great success over the years, another accident had occurred that had claimed the lives of the entire crew.

On the morning of February 1, 2003 the space shuttle Columbia had broken apart, and burned up during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere while over Texas. That event would once again put the American space program into a holding pattern until the problem could be identified and solved. Leading up to the time of the Columbia mishap, NASA had been increasing the duration of time in space for the missions, and that particular flight had been roughly the same duration as Ross’ mission to the Moon. It was a sad day for all of NASA, and Ross, as he knew a few of the astronauts that had lost their lives. He had now been out of NASA for over ten years, but Ross still considered many of the people there friends, so he contacted a few of them to offer help and condolences.

A subsequent investigation had determined that a large piece of foam insulation had broken free from the external fuel tank, and had struck the leading edge on the left wing of the orbiter less than a minute after liftoff. The impact had damaged several of the heat tiles that protect the ship from the incredibly high temperatures associated with pushing through the atmosphere during re-entry, but it had gone undetected. The accident itself was bad enough, but for many there was added significance in the destruction because Columbia had been the first of the fleet to take flight. There was no way that the crew could have known the ship was damaged, or any way to repair it even if they had, so they paid the ultimate sacrifice like several others before them for mankind’s quest of space.