I found a picture of it. Her photo and name appear just above the window opening. (You can barely make it out from this angle.) God bless Kyle Busch.
The irony is that Zahra (& Elisa) were at a NASCAR promotion, where she got her hearing aid. NASCAR is HUGE (#2 watched sport on TV, even ahead of baseball), & does a lot of fan outreach. Most of the teams are headquartered in N. Carolina.
"Anytime you can put a smile on a child's face, you know you've made a difference"
-- All American Girl Racing (co-owner/driver Beccy Gordon, sister of Robby Gordon, NASCAR racer)
Here's a feel good story about Robby Gordon & a little girl:
http://www.speedtv.com/forums/viewthread/189731/P20/
Not a decent human being huh? Robby has been one of my favorites ever since his very first Cup start for Junie Donlavey in the Daytona 500 in 91. I was only 11 but for some reason that Robby Gordon guy got my attention. I've followed his career ever since through Cup, IndyCar, and everything else in between. I've only met my personal favorite driver one time - at Bristol a few years ago.
I got some stuff at his souvenir hauler and saw he would be appearing there in a couple of hours. I decided I would meet him and get him to sign my new shirt. He came around the corner and I just happened to spot him coming and didn't say anything. No one else saw him coming that way and he smiled as he saw I had a hat of his on and came right up to me and shook my hand on his way into his hauler. A man with a little girl was in front of me in line. She was BEAMING about getting to see Robby - she couldn't have been more than 5 or 6. Anyway, she just had a piece of paper for him to sign but she kept telling her dad as they got closer and closer she wanted a shirt. He was very nice about it but kept explaining to her that they just didn't have the extra money for a shirt that they had to get food inside of the track. She was heartbroken and wimpered a little but never cried. Anyway, again when they got to the front of the line she said daddy I really want that shirt - pointing to one in the hauler. Again he said sorry honey next time I promise. She just said ok and pushed her piece of paper to Robby as she lit up when he smiled at her. He said sweetie which shirt of mine did you like. She again pointed it out and he turned around and looked at it. He looked at her and then turned around and grabbed a kids size from behind the counter and handed it to her and said that he wanted her to have it - no charge for being his biggest fan. That girl that day had the BIGGEST smile on a kids face that I've ever seen. I was a 25 year old guy at the time and I even got a little misty eyed. Say whatever you want about Robby Gordon but his REAL FANS know what kind of person he is. I saw that firsthand and have heard many more great Robby stories from other fans of his. Continue to hate on him but that won't break the spirit of a real fan like myself.
I just got misty-eyed myself after reading that. Just a when a driver appears rough and tough, he turns out to have a heart of gold. :innocent:
Both Robby Gordon & Kyle Busch are "controversial figures", very aggressive/talented racers who have a bit of edge. Both get a lot of flak for their "less than perfect" personal behavior, which is a consequence of their desire to win. Kyle was recently pulled over for speeding at over 100 mph (in N. Carolina) in his new sportscar.
"His heart is in the right place [ Dr. Jeklyl ], but his on track decisions are questionable [ Mr. Hyde ]"
-- fan on Robby Gordon
Here is a video of R. Gordon at '07 Parker 400, where he's friendly with a couple of young girls (with another team) & invites 1 of them to ride in his Trophy Truck:
http://robby-gordon.blogspot.com/2007/02/r-gordon-tt-77-bitd-07-parker.html
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- parents
- school
red flags were observed
- child protective services
visits were made, but were understaffed
- NASCAR
did their job
- neighbors
observed signs of abuse
- relatives
- legal system
total failure, as evidenced by Elisa's guilty plea to 2nd degree murder (16 yrs sentence). Got away with murder, so to say.
In retrospect, Zahra was let down by the "system/establishment". Too bad, there wasn't a Robby Gordon around, who went in & "took control". (bypassed the system, & gave a needy girl a t-shirt).
You will recall Zahra (1 legged, with prosthetic on missing leg) wanted a bike real bad, & Elisa subjected her to torture. Made her climb a hill. I think some enterprising bike company should make a signature edition bike call "Zahra". GT (well known bike company) had an elite series of mountain bike called Zaskar. With the insane gas prices, there's a real movement to biking, & what better promotion (to get kids into biking) than a "Zahra" bike.