Giffords remembers slain staffer a year later
“Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful day,” said Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Saturday morning as she walked a hiking trail dedicated to the memory of her friend and staffer who was killed in the mass shooting one year ago.
Ron Barber, his wife Nancy, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly met at the Davidson Canyon Gabe Zimmerman Memorial Trailhead Saturday morning to pay tribute to Zimmerman, who was killed almost one year ago during the Tucson shooting.
“Gabe Zimmerman,” Giffords said to The Arizona Republic, remembering her friend while she walked.
“Good stuff. Real good stuff,” she said, touching her heart.
Zimmerman’s mother, Emily Nottingham, guided Giffords and her husband, retired Navy Capt. and astronaut Mark Kelly, through the trail, and read the dedication aloud, a poem written by Zimmerman when he was 10 years old.
Giffords listened with her mouth tight and brow creased.
Giffords told her nurse, Kristy Poteet, that this weekend makes her feel “sad,” but that she’s happy to be home in Tucson.
Giffords will appear at a candlelight vigil Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the shooting. It begins at 6:30 p.m. on the University of Arizona mall.
On Saturday, the congresswoman’s appearance was a surprise to people out hiking the trail. “Hey, Gabby,” called a man riding past on horseback, “love you.”
“I love you,” she called back. Giffords met many of her staff members, friends and supporters at the trail, and was swept into hugs as she arrived. Many had tears in their eyes.
“Hello, hello, hello,” she said, often punctuating her joy by humming a little tune. “Wonderful, wonderful,” she said describing the scene and the day.