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Captain Mark Kelly

March 10, 2012 by · Comments Off on Captain Mark Kelly 

Captain Mark Kelly, Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is a retired American astronaut, U.S. Navy captain and naval aviator who flew combat missions during the Gulf War. He was selected to become a NASA space shuttle pilot in 1996 and flew his first mission in 2001 as pilot of STS-108. He piloted STS-121 in 2006 and commanded STS-124 in 2008 and STS-134 in 2011. STS-134 was his final mission and the final mission of space shuttle Endeavour.

Kelly is married to U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, the target of an attempted assassination in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011. After the shooting, in which six people were killed, both Kelly and Giffords were thrust into the media spotlight. His wife’s shooting led to a broad national conversation ranging from the duties of a husband to what is acceptable civil discourse. The couple have penned a memoir (co-written with Jeffrey Zaslow) about their individual and shared experiences following the shooting, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope (ISBN 978-1451661064), released November 15, 2011.

Kelly married Amelia Victoria Babis January 7, 1989. They have two daughters, Claudia and Claire, now teenagers. He was divorced from Babis on October 7, 2004.

Kelly and wife Gabrielle Giffords in 2008
Kelly married U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Tucson, Arizona, on November 10, 2007, in a ceremony presided over by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, and attended by his STS-124 shuttle crew and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. Reich toasted: “To a bride who moves at a velocity that exceeds that of anyone else in Washington, and a groom who moves at a velocity that exceeds 17,000 miles per hour.” The couple met on a 2003 trip to China as part of a trade mission sponsored by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

He lives in Houston. At the time of their marriage Kelly said that the longest period of time the two had spent together in one stretch was a couple of weeks. He said that they didn’t plan to always live that way, but that’s what they were used to. He added, “It teaches you not to sweat the small stuff.”

Gabrielle Giffords Resigns From Congress

March 10, 2012 by · Comments Off on Gabrielle Giffords Resigns From Congress 

Gabrielle Giffords Resigns From Congress, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., resigned from Congress this morning, a little more than a year after being shot in the head at close range.

“This past year my colleagues and staff have worked to make sure my constituents were represented in Congress,” Giffords wrote in her letter of resignation. “But If I can’t return, my district deserves to elect a U.S. Representative who can give 100 percent to the job now.”

Giffords slowly made her way to the House floor, walking with a slight limp as she was surrounded by the House Democratic leadership team, including close friend Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. The room was silent as a small group of journalists captured the moment.

“Every day, I am working hard,” Giffords wrote as she concluded her letter. “I will recover and will return, and we will work together again, for Arizona and for all Americans.”

The moment carried great emotion as a number of House leaders paid tribute to Giffords.

Members shed tears on the House floor, and Giffords hugged her chief of staff, Pia Carusone, who has led constituent services since the congresswoman’s injury.

Giffords’ appearance on the floor was just the third since her injury. She returned Aug. 2 to vote in favor of the debt limit and attended President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

“I love Gabby Giffords,” Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. “Gabby’s beauty is in the heart, in the soul, in the spirit. The House of Representatives of America has been made proud by this extraordinary daughter of this House, who served so well during her tenure here, who felt so deeply about her constituents and cared so much for her country. Gabby, we love you. We have missed you.”

Giffords looked on as Hoyer paid tribute and responded, “and I miss you.”

“We focus on her, she is our friend,” Pelosi, of California said. “We look at her remarkable recovery with great pride. She also carries in her need for recovery, the sorrow of so many others who lost their lives.

“The apparent physical recovery that we see is something even more than we could ever imagine for the challenge that congresswoman Giffords has faced. God gave her a very special mission. He gave it to Gabby Giffords because he knew she could carry that burden because he had blessed her with so many, many gifts and a very loving family to make her the person that she is.”

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