| by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author's note: This is an article of pain, remembrance, great grief, lost expectations, and, always, of a vibrant 9 year-old girl named Christina Taylor Green, randomly murdered in Tucson, Arizona. This article cries out for a musical note, to set its mood and put you in the proper place to consider this little girl, her abbreviated life, and violent end. For this note, I have selected the balcony scene of Sergei Prokofiev's gripping ballet "Romeo and Juliet." You will find it by searching any major search engine. If possible, watch Rudolph Nureyev as Romeo and Dame Margot Fonteyn as Juliet. As you watch this ballet and listen to the music which inevitably captures your soul, please remember that neither Romeo nor Juliet knew their fate during this scene... we know the tragedy they will face... but they are teen-agers enraptured with each other, not knowing or even thinking of their fate, only of each other. And right up until her end, Christina had no inkling of what was to come. Only we know... And so, enveloped by Prokofiev, the curtain opens upon a young girl, full to bursting with energy, imagination, and the shear joy of life, each day an adventure, to be lived and savored. She was, in so many ways, a typical American girl... but in her high energy, grit, and determination this was a very special little girl, indeed. Born September 11, 2001 It started for Christina upon a day of tragic endings for so many... September 11, 2001. Far from shrinking from this date, Christina embraced it. She was proud to be an American girl and made it a point, once she understood the tragedy and the importance of the date, to see her birth upon such a day as one sign of renewal, something joyful on a day without joy. She was, as young girls can be, an insistent optimist, remembering the grief of the day... determined to leaven it with whatever joy she could bring... and that was always considerable. She loved to dance. She danced, with gusto and joy, for she was always a child of exuberance with an inclination to color, vibrancy, and the thrill of dressing up in mommy's old clothes. People enjoyed looking at her, and applauding; she enjoyed being looked at, and the applause. One day, egging each other on, Christina and her mother, Roxanna Green, 45, dressed "to the nines" and displayed their high animal spirits by dancing throughout the house. She could always laugh, but always enjoyed more her natural skill at making others laugh, feel good, delighting to be in her company. There they always felt they had a friend... and so they did for the girl was nothing if not amiable. She liked people... and they liked her. Another day, musing upon her eventual wedding, as little girls will, she told her mother how much she would enjoy the first dance she would take that day, with her father, congenial John Green, scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. She could imagine, she could visualize, and she was planning, especially the last time her father would dance with her solely as his daughter, not the lucky groom's adored wife. She was a leader with the common touch, the gift of empathy, the joy that comes of getting to know people... and understanding them. Christina seemed to have been born with the great gifts of leadership. She could set a goal... and work hard to reach it. Her coach on the Pirates Little League Team remembers how she kept after him for a week until she successfully negotiated the terms of a race in the outfield between the players and the coach. Kids run forward, coach runs backwards, winner gets ice cream. The kids, lead by, exhorted by Christina, were hugely victorious. It was just the kind of thing she liked. Last hours of Christina's brief life. It was because of her leadership skills that she was with her mother's friend Susan Hileman at U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords' latest "Congress on your corner" meet-and-greet event, at a local supermarket. Christina, with her gift of the gab, high energy, and, always, the ability to look people in the eye and impress them with her sincerity, honesty, and the deep integrity she made her own, looked to a career in communications, maybe even politics. After all, Christina was already a popular member of the Student Council at her elementary school; had learned the value and necessity for charities and was a willing worker. Somehow this attractive slender girl with the brownish-blond hair, brown eyes, and a gentle smile also found time to sing in the choir of St. Odila Roman Catholic Church. She was liked there, too. Her mother agreed with her friend that Christina should go to this event; there was every possibility Congresswomen Giffords would speak to her, inspiring Christina with her own belief in the importance of government and the never-ending need for people with a broader view and the energy to persevere. Christina was just the kind of student Gabrielle Giffords wanted to meet, which made this event just that much more exciting. It would be great fun, and useful, too. Jared Lee Loughner was also on his way to the meet-and-greet. He had a different purpose... But this is Christina's story... and it must be fully told. We can imagine the last moments of Christina's short life: how excited she was to meet the Congresswoman. How kind she was, how interested, eyes locked on Christina as they talked. It was all it should have been... until the gunman and assassin, burdened down by ammunition and a lifetime of inconsequence and hatred, spewed 31 rounds, killing 6, wounding 12. Among the dead, there on that blood-stained floor of infamy lay Christina, no longer a young girl of promise... but a sacrifice to the national romance with guns and the national failure to regulate with earnestness and care. All Tucson, all Arizona, all America grieved... too late. Americans did on this occasion what we always do: we poured out our raw emotions, engaging the nation, including the President himself. The questions were the same as always -- why? how could it happen? Every word we had heard before... and would hear often again. They are a part of the American Way of Tragic Death. Meanwhile, the little body, so slight, so easily borne was readied for her journey into eternity, a needless victim occasioned by well-meaning adults who had so egregiously failed her. And so on January 13, 2011 Christina Green, she of the bright eyes and high aspirations, found the peace of God... but left the rest of us dazed, disheartened, and dithering about What To Do. Surely by now we know. |
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