Reg. Req. last time I checked.
Ms Paley is an excellent writer. By Grace Paley, Grace Paley is a poet and fiction
writer. This essay appears in the book "Wrestling
with Zion."
1.
Jews are afraid these days. I'm Jewish, so I'm
afraid too. I'm afraid for my mother and father in
their Russian Jewish youth 90 years ago, their
high spirits and dangerous bravery. I'm afraid for
my grandmother because she will have to find a
wagon to bring her murdered son home. I am
afraid for him. He falls down. He's been shot. It's
pogrom time. My grandmother finds him among
other dead boys. With all her strength, she lifts
him, tips him into the wagon. He's 17. His name
is Rusya. A photograph about 2 by 3 feet stands
on the windowsill of my front room. When I
walk into the room I see his intelligent Russian
Jewish face and I am afraid for him. It will not be
able to save him. I am afraid for my
grandmother's sadness. It will never end. It is
almost 100 years old.
---
I want to correct him, No, no, Pa, there are people on both sides who
want to live like humans. You would recognize them. He said, sadly, I
know, of course. Usually they're better, the people. But always in the end
I have noticed how it grows, the state and its terrible power.
My mother who died 30 years before my talking father is shy. She wants
to take my hand. Of course she can't. She's thinking about her sister and
the grandchildren. All the children. She says, Only have pity.
LA Times
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