Giffords Serves the Troops

Our chapter on civic culture discusses community service. Thanksgiving has become a day of volunteering for many Americans, and the most striking example this year came in Tuscson, as AP reports:

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to service members and retirees at a military base in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz.

Giffords arrived in the dining hall at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base at midday Thursday wearing a ball cap and an apron with her nickname of "Gabby" sewn on the front. She was accompanied by her retired astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, who also donned an apron.

Giffords used only her left hand as she served, a sign that physical damage remains from the injuries she suffered when she was shot in January.

Kelly supported her from her left side as she worked the turkey station on the serving line. He served ham.

Giffords has been undergoing intensive rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston as she recovers from a gunshot wound to the head. She was among 19 people shot Jan. 8 as she met with constituents outside a Tucson supermarket. Six people died.