Book Review: As Good as She Imagined - The Redeeming Story of the Angel of Tucson

As Good as She Imagined

by Roxanna Green with Jerry B. Jenkins

A book review by Wesley G. Vaughn

 
September 11 was the tenth anniversary of Al-Qaida’s devastating attack on our country. It was also the tenth birthday of Christina-Taylor Green, an event she never saw. She was one of six people who died January 8, 2011, when nineteen people were shot, including United States Representative Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords.

As Good as She Imagined is her story, written by her mother, Roxanna Green, with Jerry Jenkins. In it, we see the how faith shaped the life of the family. Each chapter begins with a Scripture. The story tells how every major difficulty, such as the birth of their first child, drove them to trust more deeply in God. This book is truly written for the soul.

Roxanna tells how she and her husband John, a major-league baseball scout, met and married, and about the birth of Dallas, their autistic son. He had trouble coping with change and forming relationships and was doomed to attend only special-needs schools.

Christina-Taylor was born two years later. A bright child, she went on to excel in baseball, music, art, and academics, as well as being a friend to everybody she met. Her bubbly, outgoing personality and genuine love worked a miracle in her brother. He bonded with his sister, and they became inseparable friends. He began to form relationships and adjust to changes in life. Dallas is now able to be in regular classes with ordinary students, play baseball and take Karate.

Her Christian faith and her grandmother led Christina-Taylor to develop her desire to actively help people in need, and she became interested in political action. In the Fall of 2010, she was elected to the Student Council at school. When Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords announced “Congress on Your Corner” nearby, Christina-Taylor wanted to go and meet Gabby. Her ambition was to one day go to Congress. Suzi Hileman, a close family friend, took her to the local Safeway store, where the event was scheduled. Suzi was seriously wounded in the fusillade.

Once again, it was faith in God which held up the Green family and enabled John, Roxanna and Dallas to go on. The CTG Memorial Foundation was set up to help those Christina-Taylor wanted to help.

Christina-Taylor Green’s story caught the attention of President Obama. At the “Mass for the Healing of Our Community” in Tucson, he highlighted her life, holding it up as an example to all of us, and said, “I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it.”

If we will be "the light of the world" and "the salt of the earth" where we live, study, work, shop and play, we can help our corner of the world to be "as good as she imagined."

A Date to Remember

WARNING!
This is a fictional account. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is strictly coincidental.
____________________________________________________

Janet remembers her first date with a young man called Barry. He was charming, though a little bashful and awkward at times. She had just arrived in town to enroll in college. He was beginning his second year.

Janet met Barry at a popular pizza parlor near the campus. Looking for a place to sit, she spotted the empty seat at a small table. On the other side sat a young man with a serious expression reading a thick book.

"May I take this seat?"

The man looked up. A smile broke out, spreading across his face. "Why, sure! It's my pleasure." He rose, stepped around the table and pulled out the chair. "Here."

Janet set her food on the table and sat down. "Thank you. Thanks a whole bunch!"

He returned to his seat, secured a bookmark and closed the volume.

"You're new here, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I will finish registration today."

"Are you a freshman?"

"Yup. This is all new to me. I'm from Yreka, up north near Shasta."

"Welcome to the metropolis. This place was new to me last year."

"By the way, who are you?"

"Pardon me for not introducing myself. I'm Barry."

"I'm Janet." She took a bite of her meal. When she had swallowed, she dabbed her mouth with the napkin.

Barry, who had reopened the book, rested his hand on the page, then asked, "What's your major?"

"Sociology and Psychology. I want to be a social worker. What do you study?"

"Political Science and Government. I'm planning on going to law school."

"To be a lawyer?"

"To start with, yes. One can go a long way from there."

"Hah! My dad said, 'If you want to go a long ways, become a lawyer. It'll take you all the way to Hell.' Have you ever heard that?"

"I think I have. I've also heard that about other professions and businesses, such as used car salesmen."

"Me, too. It really depends more on the person."

"I'd better let you finish your meal before it gets stale."

"Thanks." Janet resumed eating, while Barry resumed reading.
____________________________________________________

Just as Janet was picking up the food tray, Barry looked up. "What are you doing when you finish registration?"

"I don't know. I don't really know anyone here, and I don't know this town."

"Would you like a guided tour?"

"That sounds great! When does it start? Does Gray Lines operate that late?"

"They do have evening tours during the tourist season, like summer and Christmas week. I was thinking of something in a sports car, not a bus."

"Are you a tour guide?"

"I know this area well enough to be one. I can put on cabbie cap if you like."

"I'm on. Where does the tour start and when?"

"When does registration end?"

"I should be done about 3:30. But I have to get back to the dorm and file my papers."

"When can you get back to here?"

"About quarter-to-five."

"See you then."

"Okay."
____________________________________________________

At 4:45 Janet saw Barry standing by the door as she walked down the street toward the pizza parlor. A lightweight sweater was draped over one arm, ready to ward off an evening chill. She lightly brushed her hair with her hand to corral any stray strands.

Barry was looking up the walk the other direction. Janet was only two doors away when he turned and spied her. He waited to speak until she was only ten feet away. "On-the-dot! You have a very good sense of time."

"I honed that skill with summer jobs in high school. It really helps when you have to keep track of several things all at once."

"It helps in college, too. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I am" She hand-brushed her hair again. "Where's the tour car?"

"Around the corner, in the parking lot. The top's down to improve the view." He flipped out a duster cap and pulled it onto his head. His hair was just bushy enough to hold it firmly.

"How's this?"

"Classy!"
____________________________________________________

Barry drove south to York Boulevard and turned west, then headed north onto a freeway, talking all the time like a tour guide: "The first thing to learn in this city is the freeway system. It is a network which ties the whole metropolis together. This is the Glendale Freeway, which goes from I-5 to the Foothills Freeway."

They followed a ramp to the right. "Now we're on the Ventura Freeway, which will take us to Pasadena, home of Cal Tech and the Rose Bowl." In Pasadena, Barry exited the freeway and showed Janet the local icons.

From Pasadena, Barry took the Ventura Freeway to the Hollywood Freeway, pointing out all the well-known places as they went by. They exited in Hollywood, then followed Santa Monica Boulevard through Beverly Hills to the San Diego Freeway. From there, Barry drove south to the Santa Monica Freeway and headed east to the Harbor Freeway, north to the Hollywood Freeway, and south to the N. Broadway exit.

On North Broadway, they went north. "Here is something you definitely don't see in Yreka. Now this is mostly Chinese, but not all. It is more or less international, but it is still called 'Chinatown.' Different, isn't it." To Janet this was like visiting a foreign country, all the quaint Oriental stores and signs. Being in a convertible, they could hear non-English, sing-song conversation.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Let's find a good place to eat."

"You know the area. What's good?"

Barry pulled to the curb in front of door with a marquee reading "Mai-Chu Sing" above a string of Chinese characters. "This is what I like."
____________________________________________________

The food was good, but not exactly exotic. Janet, with her family and friends, had frequented Chinese restaurants in Yreka. After the meal, she said, "I'm feeling global. For dessert, can we try another nationality?"

"Sure. I know of an interesting place. How does Manchurian sound?"

"Now that's different! I'm game."

"Now this place is not exactly in Chinatown, but it's close."
South and east about a half mile a sign hung over the sidewalk: "The Yak Shack."

"What a name!"

"I know it sounds almost American, but it is genuinely Manchurian. They have confections found nowhere else in the world except in Manchuria --- and places like this, of course. There is a candy I especially like. The flavor is (how shall I say it?) over there."

Barry was right. The confections were deliciously exotic, the best she'd ever had. This was the defining memory she would carry of this day. For the rest of her life, she would remember it as "the Manchurian Candy Date."

© 2010, Wesley G. Vaughn

Birthplace Issues: John McCain and Barack Obama

An issue was made this year of the "Natural-born citizen" status of the two major party candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama. John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936 and Obama's live birth location was questioned.

First, John McCain. This is the easiest to deal with. At the time of his birth, the Panama Canal Zone was a United States Territory. His parents were both US citizens and he was born on a US Navy base. So on all accounts, there should have beeen no question that John S. McCain III is a natural-born citizen of the United States of America.

Next, Barack H. Obama. Somehow, someway, several persons publicized doubt that Sen. Obama was born in Hawaii. There have even been lawsuits brought in federal court to delay the election or otherwise force Obama to produce his vault original certificate of live birth. The Obam campaign has released the image of a certified copy of the original certificate. It is available on the following website:
http://www.politifact.com/media/img/graphics/birthCertObama.jpg

Some people posting comments on this have questioned its authenticity on basically two counts: (1) no crease from folding and mailing, and (2) no embossure of the seal of the Hawaiian dept. of vital statistics. I downloaded this image and zoomed in on it. I saw the folding crease, which goes through the center of the state seal. Persons who have Hawaiian birth certificates say that they are signed and embossed on the back side. Near the bottom of the image, the date stamp of the copy is seen bleeding thorugh from the back. Just above it, under magnification, the embossing can be detected by distortions in the background pattern in a circular pattern. It is not as distinct as it would be on the side which was embossed. Just check out any embossed heavy paper document you have to see what I mean.

The birth certificate notwithstanding, his mother was a US citizen. And although at the time of Barack's birth she was only 18 (not yet five years past age 16), since she had been a citizen and resident of the US all her life, her citizenship still applies, since the five-year clause should apply only to those who are 21 years of age or older (which I believe to be the original intent of the law).

As one who supported and voted for John McCain, and as one who has serious questions about the direction Pres. Obama with Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Maj. Leader Reid will take this nation, it could be a relief to have BHO disqualified from being President. But also being a person of reason, I say (barring future discovey of evidence of fraud and forgery) that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr, is a natural-born citizen of the United States, thereby meeting that qualification for President of the United States of America.

The raising of this issue regarding both candidates in this year's election demonstrates the fact that in any campaign or controversy red herring issues will arise. (A "red herring" is a bogus or irrelevant issue brought up which detracts from the core issues.)

An Open Letter to Sen. Barack Obama

Senator Obama:

I have a couple of questions to ask you.

Considering that (1) your mentor when you were a teen, Frank Marshall Davis, was a Communist, (2) you worked on the Woods Foundation with William Ayers, a radical leftist, (3) you have written that you were attracted to Marxism, and (4) you have stated publicly at least twice that you would redistribute the wealth, doesn’t this mean that you and your policies are socialist?

Considering your remarks about Fox News, and the reaction to Joe the Plumber and Barbara West, would you as President try to “manage the press” in violation of the First Amendment?

Sincerely yours,

Wes the Press Operator

PS: I’ve been asked to list on applications all of my driving citations. I thought if I asked these questions, you would check it out.

PPS: Maybe you’ll also look into all my school grades.