Fastest texter undefeated

A Colusa couple’s granddaughter has the fastest thumbs in Northern California.

Taylor Clark, the 14-year-old granddaughter of Raymond and Rosalyn Zaragoza, was given the title after putting her texting talent to the test Tuesday on “Good Day Sacramento,” a CBS morning news program.

“Taylor is just amazing,” Rosalyn Zaragoza said. “I’ve seen people texting before, but I’ve never seen anyone that can do it as fast as  her.”

Clark, who is one of the Zaragoza’s 18 grandchildren, had already been given the title of the fastest texter by Radio deejay Joe Breezy, of Station 107.9, when she was invited to test her skill against “Good Day Sacramento” anchor Julissa Ortiz, the self-proclaimed fastest texter in the west.

“I was nervous because it was live television” Clark told the Sun-Herald after the program. “But I was pretty confident that I would win.”

After beating Ortiz, Clark’s skill with the tiny keyboard was retested on the show against a panel of others, including her own mother,  Christina.

She easily beat them all.

“She’s was just remarkable,” Zaragoza beamed. “She was so poised. I’m just really proud of her.”

What’s amazing is that the teenager has only been texting for less than a year, when she saved her own money to get a Blackberry  Curve.

Clark uses the phone to keep in touch with her family and many friends at Clark Granite Oaks Middle School, and racks up some 14,000 minutes a month.

“What’s great about texting is that you can talk to a lot of friends at once, compared to talking to just one at a time on the telephone,” Clark said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Before being invited to appear on “Good Day Sacramento,” Clark held the radio station title for six weeks, where 800 to 1000 contenders phoned in each week for the opportunity to take her on in competition.

She was never defeated.

Since then, the 7th grader has been encouraged to use her talent by becoming a court reporter or another profession where she can put her keyboarding skills to good use.

“It’s truly a gift,” Zaragoza said. “Nothing is going to stop her.”

Contact Susan Meeker at 458-2121 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.