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Monday, January 7, 2013

Strolling and Rolling

I was up before sunrise on Saturday.  TBG was, too.  I ran to the bagel store and then put on the last layer of warm clothing and I was off to the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Linear Park at Canada del Oro Wash for the second annual community get-together sponsored by BEYOND!  There were events all over town commemorating those we lost and moving out and beyond the tragedy into the world around us.

Gabe Zimmerman is remembered by his family and friends with a tribute to the natural world.  As one of the Prince Milers repeated all morning, "there is a lot of nature here," at Christina's park.  Some of it has expanded with the irrigation provided by  Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation

Just look at the top of that barrel cactus, filled with water on top, skinny and dessicated below.
 Some of it was here before the park, 
but can be appreciated from the rest areas along the way.
It's not graffiti; it's chalk art.
There were many tents and dance troops and Jazzercize classes at the main event downtown at Armory Park, where an anonymous donor created free admission to the Children's Museum for the day.  There was a hike at Gabe's trailhead, led by his mother.  I couldn't be sad about being unable to hike his trail; I was busy sponsoring GRIN's Stroll and Roll at the other end of town.

 There were kids everywhere.
There were proud chalk artists 
and the world's largest therapy dog.
But mostly, there was love.
Tennis Mom AZ, who comments here often, brought her family to share the love.
They drove all the way from Mesa, just to say HI!

and to draw a magnificent tribute on the pathway.
That's what it was all about.
As someone else wrote:
You helped me to heal, and I thank you.

Tomorrow's post will be chalk art from the event.
Two years ago tonight no one knew my name.
How quickly things change.
How hard it is to adjust.

6 comments:

  1. It was nice meeting you on Saturday along with those from GRIN. We got there late, but you welcomed us to walk and draw. We were the family who did the final Donate and draw a raffle and my daughter was trying to decide on the prize. Really like the idea of GRIN and that we got to give a donation to support. Since we live so far from my MIL, my daughter's only Grandparent. I think organizations like this are important for both Youth in the community and "Grandparents" in the community. Keep it going!

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    1. Happy Birthday, Laura! As I recall, your delightful daughter was gifting you with her raffle prize :) I'll be sure to pass on your smiles to Style 7.

      You are right - the importance (and the joy) go both ways. "Intergenerational Mentoring: Another way of saying LOVE!"
      a/b

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  2. LOVE the pixs. :) You always have a way of making us feel like we were there. I wish we had GRIN here too. It's important for children to have wiser people as their role models. My niece spent every week day with her grandparents until she was twelve. I can tell you she has a great appreciation for her grandparents and people their age. Her grandfather documented every single one of those days in a journal. She had journals and journals that were given to her when he died last year. We even looked over those at Christmas time. What a gift he gave her! She and her grandfather were extremely close. That will go on to mold the woman she will be. She's 18 now and I can see a huge difference between the way she is and the way her friends are around older people. She is extremely respectful and confident around them.

    Thanks for the pictures. Looking forward to more tomorrow.


    Megan xxx

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  3. I tried to comment unsuccessfully 3 times yesterday, so I thought I'd give it a shot on the PC...here goes:

    What can I say, when I saw Suzi on the news with Brian Williams a few years ago, I thought to myself, "I'd LOVE to have THAT LADY as my friend." She is all that and MORE. She is the REAL DEAL. Kids of all ages were all around her as we walked up to introduce ourselves. I was totally STaR~sTRuCk...Meeting A/B in person was just so fantastic! For those denziens who haven't had the opportunity, I will tell you that she is a FIREBALL of SHEER DELIGHT. You love her from the moment you meet her. She's a tiny WARRIOR of a WOMAN. She's adorable, funny and sweet. Come STROLL & ROLL with us next year as we're hoping to make it a tradition in our family. We had such a blast...happy people everywhere & an amazing sense of community along that path. Every community should do more of this...the world would be such a better place. I had NO IDEA of all of the other "BEYOND" events happening all over TUCSON, but as we explored other parts of town (Pima Trailhead area) there was a neat feeling EVERYWHERE we went. A sense of community that is hard to describe in words, yet almost tangible. We all felt it...it was undeniable. I wish we would've participated in the raffle activity & donation to GRIN. That was my only regret. I'm not a big fan of crowds, and was reluctant to bid A/B farewell before we left. (My boys wouldn't let us leave until I did so...I told them she might think I was stalking her! LoL) So glad we did, she gave us the most excellent restaurant suggestion. She has a great deal of class & good taste. We enjoyed an amazing lunch at Finni's Landing and really enjoyed spending our day with the wonderful people of TUCSON. We've always loved visiting, and now love it even more with every visit.

    Thanks so much for all that you do to make the world a better place, A/B. You are a total INSPIRATION.

    ~L. <3

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    1. There are no words, Liz. You and your boys light up the place with your enthusiasm and energy and warmth.

      I LOVE the idea of a denizens walking group next year.... mark January 4, 2014 on the calendar tonight!
      ab

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