Today is the first anniversary of a day that will forever live in infamy.

To this day nobody knows what Jared Loughner cites as the reason for his shooting spree.

But we do know who put those crosshairs over Gabby Giffords district, and who was the MOST responsible for the violent rhetoric that we were hearing leading up to that terrible day.

Don't we?

Sunday is the anniversay of the Tucson shooting that wounded Gabby Giffords and twelve others, and killed six more. Here is the story of the woman who tried to shield little Christina-Taylor Green from the hail of bullets that ended her young life.

Survivor of 2011 Tucson shooting Suzi Hileman

Courtesy of AZ Daily Sun:

Suzi Hileman brought 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, her neighbor and friend, to a Tucson grocery store last Jan. 8 so the girl, who was interested in politics, could meet a real-life female politician. When a gunman began firing on the crowd waiting to meet Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Hileman tried to block the little girl from the bullets. 

Hileman, 59, was shot three times herself but was unable to save Christina, who was fatally shot in the chest. Hileman was forced to look into the little girl's eyes as she lay dying and begged her to stay alive. 

Hileman granted a request by The Associated Press to share her thoughts _ in her own words _ as the one-year mark of the shooting rampage approaches and how she's managed to put her life back together after that tragic morning when she couldn't bring Christina home to her parents. 

The following is what Hileman wrote:

_______________________________________

I'm reminded of Jan. 8 every time I change my clothes. My scars, surgical and weapon-related, will never let me forget. 

I'm reminded of Jan. 8 every time I try to lift something or contemplate walking instead of driving to visit a friend. 

I'm reminded of Jan. 8 every time the school bus goes by, missing one little girl. 

It's not a great place to go and I try not to stay for long but it wouldn't be honest to deny it.

There's more but I want you to click the link to read the rest.

I tried to read the above article to my daughter last night, and was surprised that I could only get a few sentences in before choking up and being unable to continue. I found myself overcome with emotion at the memory of that terrible day, at the struggle Gabby Giffords has gone through during her rehabilitation, and at the loss of that beautiful little girl which this selfless woman tried so hard to protect.

This brave woman has refused to let this terrible incident define the rest of her life and has started a non-profit organization that is dedicated to supporting, creating and promoting intergenerational mentoring projects. You can read more about that by clicking here: GRandparentsINresidence (GRIN).

I can only hope that on Sunday, which marks the one year anniversary of this tragedy, that the woman who so thoughtlessly put crosshairs over Tucson, Arizona, marking Gabrielle Giffords for removal, finally feels at least some portion of the sadness, and sense of loss, that many of us will share with the people of Tucson, as they remember the day that tore their community apart.

But honestly I do not hold out much hope.

The mother of Christina Taylor Green: "I didn't know what had happened, but I knew it was bad."

I will warn you ahead of time that this story about the death of little Christina, and how her mother and family dealt with it, is heart wrenching.

However I feel it is an important story for people to read, especially for those who have a hard time understanding the devastating effect that easy access to handguns and assault weapons have on our citizens.

From AZ Central:

To the gunman, they probably looked about the same size - Hileman, tiny at not quite 5 feet, and Christina-Taylor, the tallest kid in third grade. Maybe he didn't know he was shooting a child. It doesn't matter. He did. 

Hileman was hit three times trying to shield her young charge. Christina-Taylor was shot once. The two fell to the pavement next to each other, bleeding. Hileman looked into the little girl's eyes and, in her best mom voice, admonished, "Don't you leave me, Christina-Taylor Green. Don't you die on me." 

But the 9-year-old was one of six people killed that day. Their names are written on six white wooden crosses that stand in memorial across Ina Road from the Safeway. Christina-Taylor's name is on the fifth one. Thirteen other people, including Hileman and Giffords, were shot and lived. 

A surgeon entered then, trailed by three nurses. He was crying, and so were the nurses, and then Green knew for sure. The surgeon sat next to her and said, "We tried the best we could." His voice caught, and he choked out: "We tried the best we could. Your daughter passed away." 

Green pinched her arm again and again. It still hurt. But this wasn't real. It couldn't be real. 

"This is the worst dream ever," she thought. 

And yet, ever the mother, ever the nurse, Green thanked the surgeon, repeating his words: "I know you tried your best. It's OK. Thank you." 

She looked into the face of her son sitting beside her, his eyes searching her face. 

"Can we see Christina now?" Dallas asked. He had heard the police officer, and the surgeon, but maybe he needed to hear the words from his mother for them to be true. 

"Christina is in heaven, Dallas," Green told him, and then she cried, holding her tearful son. 

Every death caused by a handgun in this country seems senseless, but this one, at least for me, just seemed especially unnecessary.  And especially painful.

However if the anger we feel over such a senseless act of violence translated into citizens demanding that lawmakers create laws making access to handguns significantly more difficult for those people who simply should NEVER have access to a weapon whose sole purpose is the ending of a human life, then perhaps little Christina's death would serve some higher purpose.

By the way speaking of senseless acts perpetrated on the citizens of this country, and I am not saying the two are directly related, today is the third anniversary of John McCain's announcement that he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate.

One cannot help but wonder how much better the country would be right now if he had NOT allowed himself to be bullied into making such a regrettable choice.

Memorial for an angel.

Courtesy of MSNBC:

The statue was unveiled just before the Little League season opener Friday evening, with Christina-Taylor's mother, father and brother present to watch as a fire truck pulled off a cover to reveal the glistening figure.

The angel's hand extends out, its robes appearing to blow in the wind. It is intended to be a symbol of peace after the Jan. 8 shooting that killed five others and wounded 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

The statue's height holds added significance because the numbers 9 and 11 are prominent in Christina-Taylor's life. She was born on Sept. 11, 2001 — the day of the terrorist attacks — and was featured in a book about other children born that day.

Besides a 5 ½-foot long fragment of an I-beam from ground zero, the Freedom's Steadfast Angel of Love also incorporates a 3 ½-foot-long piece of steel from the Pentagon and a large rock from the Flight 93 crash site, sculptor Lei Hennessy-Owen said.

"It's beautiful," said shooting victim Susan Hileman, 59, who was holding Christina-Taylor's hand when a gunman opened fire at a meet and greet held by Giffords outside a supermarket. Hileman had taken her to the event because the little girl said she was interested in politics.

I am going to leave politics, and my feelings about America's love affair with guns, out of this post, and simply say that every time I see this picture of this little girl it never fails to leave my heart aching and my eyes moist.

Rest in peace Christina.

Out of the darkness of evil, shines the ray of hope.

From the AZ Central:

More than 1,700 people packed St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, tucked into the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, for Christina-Taylor's funeral Thursday afternoon. The congregation included Mark Kelly, the husband of Giffords; senators John McCain and Jon Kyl, and baseball greats like Ryne Sandberg and Pat Gillick. Her father, John, is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Most Rev. Gerald Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson told the crowd that Christina-Taylor's organs were donated.

And a friend helping the Green family said they received a call yesterday from the organ donation network, telling them that Christina-Taylor's donation had already saved the life of a child on the East Coast.

Christina-Taylor was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and liked to think of herself as something good that came into the world that awful day.

Just when you fear that charity and hope are permanently losing ground to selfishness and fear, there comes the gift of this child to remind us all that every day is a chance to make the world a better place.

She came into this world on a day forever stained by violence and terror and left on a day much the same, but still she manages to leave a little part of herself behind so that others will live to see the future that she was denied.

Good-by little angel.

Line of supporters at Christina Taylor Green's funeral.

(Link to YouTube page in case you want to leave a message.)

This will be my last post of the day.

Please do me a favor and you hug your loved ones especially tight this evening.

Tell them you love them, and mean it as you say it.

We are only here for such a brief moment and it is up to us to each of us to make the most of that time.

Little Christina did, should we do any less?

Namaste my friends.

9-11 flag to fly over Christina Taylor Green's funeral.

From the Arizona Republic:

In a fitting tribute to the birth date and life of 9-year-old Christina Green, the National 9/11 flag, which was nearly destroyed in the attacks on the World Trade Center, will be displayed at her funeral on Thursday in Tucson.

The 20- by 30-foot Stars and Stripes was the largest to survive the collapse of the Twin Towers. Images that day showed it shredded and hanging by a corner.

Christina was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and had always been proud of her birth date and interested in the events of that day. She was one of six people killed in a shooting spree Saturday that also wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

The flag was being brought to the funeral by New York Firefighter Jimmy Sands, who on Tuesday evening was at John F. Kennedy International Airport awaiting a flight to Arizona, said Jeff Parnell, spokesman for the New York Says Thank You Foundation, which displays the flag at events across the country.

Parnell heard Christina's mother talking on a news program about how "Christina looked at 9/11 as a holiday . . . and looked for all the hopeful things that came out of it."

I did not see too many hopeful things come out of after the events of 9-11.  But perhaps we will finally see something positive after the horrible events in Tucson.

I believe that is the least we can do to honor the memory of this precious child.