Gabrielle Giffords's love story
(U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's office/Getty Images)
Their first date was on a tour of the Arizona State Prison in Florence. They lived states apart, she in Arizona, he in Texas. They married to a live mariachi band. One of the more compelling stories to emerge from the tragedy in Arizona has been the love between Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly.
The astronaut and the congresswoman. As soon as the news spread, one of the first links passed around on the Web was the 2007 New York Times wedding column about their marriage:
After the ceremony, [former labor secretary Robert] Reich was inspired to toast their spirit: "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."
On Monday, The Post looked at their three-year commuter marriage, from the angst Giffords felt during Kelly's first shuttle launch after their wedding, to their multi-city affair that "endured between time zones and atmospheres:"
In Washington, a town with no shortage of power couples, Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly have offered something more. She, a brilliant and engaging businesswoman-turned-politician with a lovely smile, a passion for motorcycles and a remarkable capacity for work. He, a gifted pilot who joined NASA with his twin brother and inscribed on his bride's ring, "You're the closest to heaven that I've ever been."
Now these quiet photographs have started to make the rounds. A husband holds his wife's hand, in sickness and in health, even at the sake of postponing a NASA space shuttle launch.
(U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's office/Getty Images)
By
Melissa Bell
| January 12, 2011; 9:05 AM ET
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A nice story but wouldn't any husband do the same for their wife in a situation such as this?
Posted by: ricofoy | January 12, 2011 10:00 AM | Report abuse
A nice story but wouldn't any loving husband do the same for their wife in a situation such as this?
Posted by: ricofoy | January 12, 2011 10:01 AM | Report abuse
Probably most husbands would respond in a similar way, but don't downplay this tragedy.
Posted by: Mabe1 | January 12, 2011 10:17 AM | Report abuse
Who would have thought that while one spouse had a job strapped to a million lbs of high explosives to be shot into space and where 14 people have already lost their lives doing the same thing, his wife would have the more dangerous job of meeting and greeting people at a suburban shopping mall.
Posted by: tcp4 | January 13, 2011 10:10 PM | Report abuse
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