H.C.R. No. 38
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia and
its entire crew of seven were lost in the skies over Texas, and this
tragic event has brought shock and a profound sense of loss to all
Americans and people the world over; and
WHEREAS, Columbia's crew, commander Rick Husband, pilot
William McCool, payload commander Michael Anderson, payload
specialist Ilan Ramon, and mission specialists Laurel Clark, David
Brown, and Kalpana Chawla hailed from across the United States, as
well as Israel and India, but were united in their willingness to
endure the dangers of spaceflight to expand mankind's scientific
knowledge; and
WHEREAS, Each crew member understood full well the joys of
flight as were immortalized by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., in his
poem High Flight:
"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of--wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never Lark, or even Eagle flew--
And while with silent lifting mind, I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God."; and
WHEREAS, The process of exploring and comprehending the world
around us has always been a driving force in human nature, and
although often fraught with peril, the fulfillment of that desire
continues to be among our most noble aspirations; and
WHEREAS, America's space program has witnessed tragedy
before with the deaths of three astronauts in the Apollo 1 fire of
1967, and in the 1986 Challenger explosion, which, like the loss of
Columbia, claimed the lives of an entire shuttle crew; in spite of
the nation's grief in the wake of these accidents, the United States
has continued its efforts in this visionary exploration because
abandoning them would not only limit our own potential for
understanding the universe but would also mean turning our backs on
the dreams of those who perished in the belief that man's reach,
even into the hostile and seemingly limitless expanse of space,
must always exceed his grasp; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby pay tribute to the lives of the crew of the space shuttle
Columbia and extend sincere condolences to the members of their
families and to the many people who mourn their loss around the
globe; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the members of their families and that when the Texas
House of Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in
memory of these heroic men and women, who gave their lives in
service to mankind.
Eissler
Davis of Harris
Talton
Hochberg
Taylor
Pena
Smith of Harris
Flynn
Craddick
Giddings
Merritt
Allen
Goodman
Miller
Alonzo
Goolsby
Moreno of Harris
Bailey
Griggs
Moreno of El Paso
Baxter
Grusendorf
Morrison
Berman
Guillen
Mowery
Bohac
Gutierrez
Naishtat
Bonnen
Haggerty
Nixon
Branch
Hamilton
Noriega
Brown of Kaufman
Hamric
Oliveira
Brown of Brazos
Hardcastle
Olivo
Burnam
Harper-Brown
Paxton
Callegari
Hartnett
Pena
Campbell
Heflin
Phillips
Canales
Hegar
Pickett
Capelo
Hilderbran
Pitts
Casteel
Hill
Puente
Castro
Hochberg
Quintanilla
Chavez
Hodge
Rangel
Chisum
Homer
Raymond
Christian
Hope
Reyna
Coleman
Hopson
Riddle
Cook of Navarro
Howard
Ritter
Cook of Colorado
Hughes
Rodriguez
Corte
Hunter
Rose
Crabb
Hupp
Seaman
Crownover
Isett
Smith of Tarrant
Davis of Harris
Jones of Lubbock
Smith of Harris
Davis of Dallas
Jones of Bexar
Smithee
Dawson
Jones of Dallas
Solis
Delisi
Keel
Solomons
Denny
Keffer of Dallas
Stick
Deshotel
Keffer of Eastland
Swinford
Driver
King
Talton
Dukes
Kolkhorst
Taylor
Dunnam
Krusee
Telford
Dutton
Kuempel
Thompson
Edwards
Laney
Truitt
Eiland
Laubenberg
Turner
Eissler
Lewis
Uresti
Elkins
Luna
Van Arsdale
Ellis
Mabry
Villarreal
Farabee
Madden
West
Farrar
Marchant
Wilson
Flores
Martinez Fischer
Wise
Flynn
McCall
Wohlgemuth
Gallego
McClendon
Wolens
Garza
McReynolds
Wong
Gattis
Menendez
Woolley
Geren
Mercer
Zedler
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 38 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on February 3, 2003.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 38 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the Senate on February 12, 2003.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor