Pilgrimage (The New World) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Elizabeth had also been a tremendous help in raising his daughter Jessica since Grandpa Hank had passed away, and Robert was grateful that she was around to help with some of the challenges that a girl goes through as she becomes a young woman.
    For what would be the last time, Ross and Jessica climbed into grandpa’s old pickup to go retrieve Patty for the ride to school. In spite of still wearing the brace on her right leg, Jessica no longer needed help getting in and out of the truck as she did when she was a little girl. Even so, Ross still held the door open for her as he had been taught by his grandpa.
    As they slowly approached Patty’s house to avoid kicking up a lot of dust, she stood from the bench on the front porch where she and Ross had spent so much time talking about the future. Patty was wearing the same light blue dress that she had worn to the prom a few weeks prior, and looked beautiful with her long blond hair pulled up and back for the special occasion. Jessica climbed down from the truck to greet her while Ross delivered the message from his father to Mrs. Wright, and then returned to hold the door open for his girlfriend and little sister. During the previous few years after Ross had learned how to drive, the three of them had gone to school every day in the old pickup as they had done before Hank had passed away. The only difference now was that Jessica had a window seat because Patty wanted to sit next to Ross as he drove.
    Once they arrived at school, Ross headed for the gymnasium to gather with his fellow graduates, while the two girls made their way through the crowd to locate four good seats for the commencement. Their path was not a direct one, as a few young men wanted to speak with Jessica along the way. She had just completed the eighth grade and was beginning to turn all the boys’ heads. The long curly brown hair, big smile and dimples that had made her such a cute little girl, had now been enhanced by the development of some curves on her body and additional height. All the attention Jessica had been receiving lately made her feel good inside, because it wasn’t just about the leg brace like it had been when she was little. Patty informed her that some of the boys in high school would be mature enough to look beyond the leg brace, while others still needed to grow up some, and it would actually be a great way to find out if they really liked her or not.
    Robert and Elizabeth soon joined the young ladies in the seats, and a few minutes later the procession of graduates walked down the center aisle. This was one of those mornings when most local businesses in town were closed, because seemingly everyone wanted to be at the ceremony. Amidst all the other pomp, an introduction was made for Ross as the valedictorian of the class of 1968, and he rose to deliver his speech.
    Deep down Ross knew that most of his classmates would remain close to this little dusty town of Rumley, or perhaps venture to other parts of Texas, but he couldn’t wait to spread his wings. His speech brought forth the possibilities that lay within each of the graduates if they only gave themselves a chance to succeed, and that some of the terrible social events that had recently occurred within the country should not dampen the spirit of this youthful generation.
    Just two months before, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee and much of the nation was still currently in shock over the assassination of United States Senator Robert Kennedy. That tragic event had been recent enough that the funeral had not yet taken place. Little did anyone in attendance know that the social unrest to which Ross spoke of would be magnified in the upcoming months with riots in several cities across America including a large one surrounding the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
    At the conclusion of his speech, his two favorite girls stood to applaud and most of the gathered crowd followed