20170127 (greater love)

Native of Olympia WA, Rachel Corrie,* 1979--2003 )was inspired to put herself between 
an Israeli bulldozer (American-made) and the home of a Palestinian pharmacist and his
family as a non-violent action to stop further Israeli seizure of land in Gaza.

The Veterans for Peace in Olympia

Call themselves the Rachel Corrie

Chapter after a native twenty-three

Year old woman who was crushed

To death by an Israeli driving an

American-made bulldozer in the

Gazan city of Rafah destroying

Palestinian homes, in a seizure

Of the land for settlements. I

Was reminded of the incident

Many times as I drove up 4th

(One of two major streets through 

Olympia proper, Fourth going up

From the Sound to the east, and 

State, one block north, from the

East to the water—a circuit 

I made at least once daily) and

Passed the marquee of the theater

Where Harlequin Productions 

Was staging My Name Is Rachel 

Corrie. Drawing from Ms. Corrie’s

Considerable writings, emails home, 

Her diary, notes as an activist 

With the International Solidarity

Movement, Alan Rickman, the 

Late English actor, and Katharine

Viner, a journalist with The Guardian,

Edited her words into the play

Which opened first in London

In 2005 and since has been 

Performed all over the world,

Translated into Arabic, French,

Greek, Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish. 

I saw it Thursday night in the 

Local production directed by

Jeffrey Painter and performed by

Kira Batcheller, an actor well

Known in northwest theater,

Who, as I stated in the post play

Audience commentary, did a 

Yeoman’s job bringing ninety

Minutes of Ms. Corrie’s prose

To life as a student, an activist,

Ultimately a martyr. I’m not 

Reviewing the play. I’ve no

Credentials for that. Although 

The highest praise I could 

Conceive is buying tickets 

For everyone to see it, my 

Resources might cover only

My son and his wife. The rest

Of you will have to make do 

With my good intentions. As

We rose at its end to applaud

The lady to my left said she

Could not stay for the “seminar”

With the actor and director.

“I’m too moved right now” she

Told me, her voice quavering.

I didn’t see her as I was daubing

My eyes with my handkerchief.

c. J.S.Manista, 2017
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2WxfcWUVEs