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Picture and Story of
President Bush Comforting a Teen Who Lost Her Mother on 9/11-Truth!
Summary of the eRumor The eRumor tells a
touching story of a President pausing to encourage and hug a teenage
girl in a crowd in Ohio.
Her mother was killed in the World Trade Center on September 11,
2001.
The Truth
The text of the eRumor is from an
article by Kristina Goetz in the Cincinnati Enquirer, May 6, 2004.
She interviewed Ashley's father and published a picture he took of
President George W. Bush comforting his daughter.
A real example of the eRumor as it has
appeared on the Internet:
In a moment largely unnoticed by the throngs of people in Lebanon waiting
for autographs from the president of the United States, George W. Bush
stopped to hold a teenager's head close to his heart.
Lynn Faulkner, his daughter, Ashley, and their neighbor, Linda Prince,
eagerly waited to shake the president's hand Tuesday at the Golden Lamb
Inn. He worked the line at a steady campaign pace, smiling, nodding and
signing autographs until Prince spoke:
"This girl lost her mom in the World Trade Center on 9-11."
Bush stopped and turned back.
"He changed from being the leader of the free world to being a
father, a husband and a man," Faulkner said. "He looked right
at her and said, 'How are you doing?' He reached out with his hand and
pulled her into his chest."
Faulkner snapped one frame with his camera.
"I could hear her say, 'I'm OK,' " he said. "That's more
emotion than she has shown in 21/2 years. Then he said, 'I can see you
have a father who loves you very much.' "
"And I said, 'I do, Mr. President, but I miss her mother every
day.' It was a special moment."
Special for Lynn Faulkner because the Golden Lamb was the place he and
his wife, Wendy Faulkner, celebrated their anniversary every year until
she died in the south tower of the World Trade Center, where she had
traveled for business.
The day was also special for Ashley, a 15-year-old Mason High School
student, because the visit was reminiscent of a trip she took four years
ago with her mother and Prince. They spent all afternoon in the rain
waiting to see Bush on the campaign trail. Ashley remembers holding her
mother's hand, eating Triscuits she packed and bringing along a book in
case she got bored.
But this time was different. She understood what the president was
saying, and she got close enough to see him face to face.
"The way he was holding me, with my head against his chest, it felt
like he was trying to protect me," Ashley said. "I thought,
'Here is the most powerful guy in the world, and he wants to make sure
I'm safe.' I definitely had a couple of tears in my eyes, which is
pretty unusual for me."
The photo has been circulating across the country, Faulkner said.
Relatives have passed it on to friends, bosses and acquaintances. As
they tell the story, they also share in Wendy Faulkner's legacy, which
her family continues through the Wendy Faulkner Memorial Children's
Foundation.
"I'm a pretty cynical and jaded guy at this point in my life,"
Faulkner said of the moment with the president. "But this was the
real deal. I was really impressed. It was genuine and from the
heart."
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