Pilgrimage (The New World) (21 page)

Almost one year to the day after that sad event, while deep into his second four-year term as State Senator, Ross was once again approached by members of his political party to consider an opportunity. They had become disenchanted by the work, and political stance, of their United States Senator in Washington D.C., and informed Ross that his name had been put on a list of potential replacements. It was interesting to Ross how there had been a repeat of an earlier action, because he had served two terms of two-years each in the House of Representatives before being asked to step up into his current position. Now he was serving the second of two four-year terms in the State Senate, and had just been asked to step up once again.

This was the second time in his life that Ross had been put on a short list of candidates without knowing it, and it was sure to upset some people who thought their name should be on that list instead of his. Back at NASA, there had been a few disgruntled astronauts who thought Ross had moved through the rotation too quickly, and therefore should have never been given the Moon mission. In similar fashion, there were some politicians in Texas who would not be happy to hear that Ross had been presented with an offer to run for the coveted office of United States Senator.

His senior party members warned Ross that although they felt he could win the election, it would be much more difficult to unseat the current United States Senator from Texas. That man not only had a tremendous amount of support from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area, but many of those in state and local offices were also considered his friends. Although flattered by the consideration of the party, Ross told them he would need some time to think about the offer and discuss it with his family before committing to the effort.

Later that afternoon he called Patty back in Houston to let her know he was coming home a day early for the weekend, and asked her if she could get Jessica and Aurora to come over one night for dinner. During the drive Ross had some time without any interruptions to reflect on the pros and cons of the offer presented to him, and one startling thought occurred to him. Ross would need to keep a watchful eye on that group of senior party officials who had presented him with the offer, because they might just want someone else to take over his spot sometime in the future. In fact, for all he knew they didn’t really want him to win the United States Senate seat, but instead wanted to provide his vacated State Senate seat for someone else in the upcoming election. Ross had learned through some hard lessons during his time in Austin that politics can be a brutal business.

Soon after Ross arrived at the house in Houston, he and Patty began to discuss the possibility of his run for the office, and what it would entail. It was important to get input from the rest of the family, so Ross called Rachel in Maryland to ask her how she felt. That phone conversation, and the events of the following evening when Jessica and Aurora had come over, had provided Ross with the information he needed to make a rational decision. The entire family was in support of the idea, so on Monday morning back in Austin he informed the party members he would run at the next election.

Ross had roughly nine months to campaign before the election, and there were many things he would need help with. He and Patty contacted all their friends within the NASA family, while Aurora got in touch with many of her former classmates from the University of Texas in Austin. Jessica worked the angle of her contacts from her undergrad and law school days back at Rice University in Houston, and also asked her friends and colleagues in the law firm for help. The family also contacted disabled veterans, other people they knew in the military, the teachers unions, and anyone else who may have been aided by some of the earlier legislation that Ross had either introduced or supported. Once the word got out of his intent, he and Patty then hit the campaign trail to various areas of Texas to gain more support.

As the summer turned to the fall and Ross was gaining strength in the polls, his opposition began to get concerned. They started an advertising campaign to discredit Ross, but it actually turned in his favor. The opposition claimed that if Ross Martin was going to use his military service as a pilot and his days as an astronaut in conjunction with his time in state offices to solidify his credentials as a candidate for United States Senator, then it should also be pointed out that he had been shot down and had lost an astronaut while in command of a space flight. Their point was to imply that Ross must not have been very good at either job, or the results would have been better. He thought, as did many others, that it was dirty campaigning, and it was disrespectful to those who had lost their lives for America during dangerous and challenging situations. It was a political pitch in the dirt that the opposition was trying to get him to swing at, but his days of playing baseball in his youth, and at the Naval Academy, had taught him not to do so.

In spite of some people encouraging Ross to counter the attack, he just let it go. He expressed to those around him that he was treating it as “ball one”, and he would be patient enough to let his opponent throw something he could swing at without damaging himself. Ross continued to learn what the citizens of Texas were concerned about as the campaign moved forward, and talked with as many of them as he could about how to improve those particular situations. In spite of having never campaigned near the Dallas or Fort Worth area because of his opponents close ties to the region, in November of 2004 Ross was elected by a narrow margin to a six-year term in the United States Senate.

A FEW DAYS
after most of the world celebrated the coming of 2005, Ross was sworn in as a freshman member of the United States Senate. He and Patty had spent the nearly two months since the election transitioning to the Washington D.C. area, which was rather hectic. The task was two fold in that they needed to find a new house, which Patty and her old friend Betty seemed to take charge of, and Ross needed to interview and hire his support staff.

Back in Austin his staff had done a nice job for him, but some of them were simply not yet ready for the national stage. The unfortunate aspect of that fact was that the one person he felt could make the transition had no intent of leaving Texas. She had been a wonderful assistant during both the House of Representative and State Senate years, but her husband, children, and newborn grandchildren lived in or a short distance from Austin, so she declined Ross’ offer.

What Ross didn’t know was that she had another reason for not following him to Washington D.C., but used the family scenario as a convenient excuse. Although he had always been a thoughtful and respectful boss towards her and the rest of the staff, she didn’t agree with his viewpoints on certain subjects. With that in mind, she didn’t feel that Ross belonged in a powerful position of national office, and therefore wouldn’t assist him with the endeavor. Ross was understandably shocked at her stance, but respected her opinion and began a search for her replacement.

The first member to join his new staff was Jessica, who would be fifty years old in a few months. She was now a quite experienced lawyer in search of a new challenge, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to push her personal envelope. It was a great fit, as Ross would need someone that he could trust who understood the law more than he did. His time in Austin had taught him much about the law, and how to create it, but Jessica had been formally educated in the field.

She also introduced him to Wendy Patterson, a rather short and plump spitfire of a woman from her law firm that she had known for several years. Mrs. Patterson had done a fantastic job at the firm, and for some of those years had served as the administrative assistant to the senior partner. Ross interviewed Mrs. Patterson a few times with Jessica, and they felt her intelligence, focus, and attention to detail could make her a valuable member of the staff if she was willing to brave the move to Washington D.C.

The senior partner was not at all happy with Ross for taking both women away from the firm, but as someone who had built the law office up from the ground, he could understand the ladies ambitions for larger opportunities. In time, Aurora would be leaving as well, but had agreed to stay on in her current accounting position through the coming April to help with the firm’s taxes. That was not a problem for Ross as there was no immediate need for her in Washington, and by remaining in Houston for the additional time she would receive a valuable letter of recommendation for her dedication. She had turned twenty-seven shortly after the election, and both Ross and Patty were confident she would be able to continue her career when she made the transition to Washington D.C.

A bonus to the timing of the Martin family transition to the east coast was the ease of attending Rachel’s December graduation from the University of Maryland. She had needed an extra semester to complete the necessary work for her degree, but the delay had meant the entire family would be able to attend the ceremony. Such a gathering would have been much more difficult during the previous spring, without taking valuable time away from the campaign trail back in Texas. Rachel was now twenty-two, had a long term boyfriend who would probably be her husband someday, and possessed no definitive career ambitions. Her only desire in life seemed to be that of becoming a mother someday.

Ross once again hung the triangular wooden frame that housed Grandpa Hank’s flag on the wall near the corner, and placed the fishing pole next to it. He had now kept the two, with the help of both Jessica and Patty, in pristine condition for more than forty years. The fishing pole had still never been used, but Ross had occasionally changed out the red bow to keep it looking brand new. His new office area on Capitol Hill was larger than either one of the two he had occupied while in Austin, so he and his staff could comfortably settle in to begin a six-year term. They were all excited about their respective new jobs, and hopeful that they could make an impact on behalf of their home state of Texas.