Thank you, thank you.
Thank you Camilla. My wife and I my.
Wife and I Camilla.
We spent most of last week on the
ground with the families in Uvalde, TX.
We shared stories, tears and memories.
The the common thread independent of
the anger and the confusion and sadness.
It was the same. How can these families
continue to honor these deaths?
By keeping the dreams of these
children and teachers alive.
Again, how can a loss of these lives matter?
Camille and I came here to.
Share my stories.
From my hometown of Ivaldi.
You vowed the Texas is where I was born.
I swear my my mom taught kindergarten
less than a mile from Rob Elementary.
You values where I learned
to master a Daisy. BB gun
took that took two years before
I graduated to a 410 shotgun.
You valdi is where I was taught to Revere.
The power and the capability of
the tool that we call a gun.
You vowed this is where I learned
responsible gun ownership.
I'm here today in the hopes of
applying what energy, reason,
and passion that I have.
Into trying to turn this
moment into a reality.
That is there that we met
two of the grieving parents,
Ryan and Jessica Ramirez.
Their 10 year old daughter. Alethia
she was one of the 19 children
that were killed. The day before.
Now Alethea, our dream was to go
to art school in Paris and one
day share her art with the world.
Ryan and Jessica were eager
to share alethea's art with us
and said if we could share it.
But somehow maybe that would
make at least a smile in heaven.
They tell us that showing someone
else alethia's art would in
some way keep her alive.
And this particular drawing is a.
It's a self portrait alright
of a lethal drawing.
With her friend in heaven.
Looking down on her drawing
the very same picture I made,
they wanted to be a marine biologist.
She was already in contact with
Corpus Christi University of A&M
for her future college enrollment.
Nine years old.
My day cared for the environment so
strongly that when the city asked her
mother if they could release some
balloons into the sky in her memory,
her mom said Ohh no.
Maybe they wouldn't want to litter.
My day wore.
Green High top converse with a heart.
She had hand drawn on the right toe
because they represented her love of nature.
Camilla has got these shoes.
Can you show these shoes please?
Or these everyday?
These are the same green converse.
On her feet, that turned out to be
the only clear evidence that could
identify her after the shooting.
Have had that. Hmm.
Then there was Ellie Garcia, a 10 year
old and her parents Steven and Jennifer.
The week prior to her passing,
she'd been preparing to read a
verse from the Bible for the next
Wednesday night's church service.
The verse was from Deuteronomy.
65 and thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart,
with all thy soul.
And with all thy might.
That's who Ellie was becoming.
But she never got to read it.
Sir, it's on Wednesday night.