Part 1 - reads poetry
Part 2 - same
Part 3 - same
Part 4 - same
Part 5 - same
Kirsten 1 - The voice of me now
Kirsten 2 - Me from approx. 2 years ago, reads lines as if from a journal
Parts 1 - 5, please don't read your parts too dramatically, just be melancholy.
Parts 1 - 5 are standing Stage Left, in order.
PART 1:
Her smile.
That's what I remember the most.
I don't think I ever saw her frown,
Or get angry,
Anxious,
Stressed.
She was so open-minded.
She looked at the world with childish eyes,
And yet was the most mature of all.
She was athletic,
The M.V.P. of all her sports teams,
Whether given that name in a ceremony,
Or just already known by everyone.
She was smart.
Her brother,
I didn't know him,
He was a year older than her,
And I hear, just as athletic,
Intelligent,
Open-minded . . .
Appreciated.
I do know one thing about them both.
They were practically attached at the hip.
Sibling rivalries were not part of their history together.
It was so fitting that they died together.
PART 2:
They moved, the day after Homecoming.
The next morning, they went swimming.
They drowned,
In the waters, on the shore, of Gatea, Italy.
If it was truly supposed to have happened,
It would have been better if it had happened on any other day,
But a Sunday.
PART 3:
Their parents have forgiven God for it.
"Thy will be done."
Others have not.
They cannot see how God could have let two beautiful souls leave.
They have lost their faith in their one deity.
I have forgiven Him.
I don't think it was His fault at all.
I don't think that he meant for them to be taken.
He didn't mean to deprive us of our true friends,
The two people in the world who were as close to perfect
As two can get.
He did not mean to make us feel sad,
Depressed . . .
Unowrthy of our own lives.
They deserved to live out their lives.
Their lives had meaning.
Our lives are mere existences.
PART 4:
One day, many years ago,
Two angels escaped from Heaven.
Last year, two days after Homecoming,
God found those angels in Gaeta, Italy,
Swimming.
"O.K., kids. It's time to go home now."
PART 5:
I don't think they felt any pain,
As the waves slowly enveloped them,
As the currents surged around them,
To end above them.
I think those of us who were left,
Are the ones who feel the pain.
KIRSTEN 1: So, when I saw that one of the topics for the application was about the most difficult thing I had to get through, I immediately thought of Christie Leonard. I decided to take the poem I had written about her and her brother and interweave parts of it with memories of her. This is what I came up with. It's the only piece of writing I've done for this school that I have ever felt proud of and has ever been appreciated.
(KIRSTEN 2 stands stage right) KIRSTEN 2: October, 1995 . . . My eyes are filled with tears. They are tears I have had inside me for a year. I type the following poem without having written a rough draft . . .
PART 1:
Her smile.
That's what I remember the most.
KIRSTEN 2: A Monday in November, 1994 . . . I sit at my desk in Biology class. My teacher looks very subdued. He stands up and tells us that we will not have class today, that our Vice-Principal will be on her way to talk to us. I immediately ask myself who she is going to scream at for vandalizing. A few minutes later, she enters and tells us that somethng bad had happened to Christie and Jeremiah Leonard.
PART 1:
They were practically attached at the hip.
KIRSTEN 2: End of August, 1992 . . . It is the first day of school. I am in my Health class. We are in a circle introducing ourselves to the other students. Not that many seats to my right, there is a girl smiling. From then on, that would be her trademark: her smile.
PART 1:
I don't think I ever saw her frown.
KIRSTEN 2: September, 1992 . . . Christie is introducing me to her older brother. When we are introduced, Christie and Jeremiah act like best friends. This is something I find very odd for siblings.
PART 1:
Sibling rivalries were not part of their history together.
KIRSTEN 2: A Friday in November, 1994 . . . It is their last day at school. I tell Christie not to forget to write to me - to tell me all about Gaeta.
PART 2:
They moved, the day after Homecoming.
The next morning, they went swimming . . .
In the waters, on the shore, of Gaeta, Italy.
KIRSTEN 2: September, 1994 . . . A movie crew for Disney's A Kid in King Arthur's Court is looking for kids to play softball for the opening and final shots in the movie. They wish to use our softball diamond. So, why not have the school kids give it a shot? It is found the next day, that Christie is among one of the kids chosen. She was so excited about starring in a movie.
PART 1:
She was athletic,
The M.V.P. of all her sports teams,
Whether given that name in a ceremony,
Or just already known by everyone.
KIRSTEN 2: End of October, 1994 . . . It is the Fall Concert. I am singing the first verse of Webber's "I Don't Know How to Love Him." Christie is in the audience, within arm's reach. I could mess up her hair if I want to. She is enthralled with the concert. A few minutes ago, she was on the stage as a proud member of the Beginning Band.
PART 1:
She looked at the world with childish eyes,
And yet was the most mature of all.
KIRSTEN 2: November, 1994 . . . The news is broken to us not-so-gently. Christie and Jeremiah were found in the waters off of Gaeta by a young boy. They had been floating for quite some time.
PART 2:
It would have been better if it had happened on any other way,
But a Sunday.
KIRSTEN 2: The following Wednesday . . . We are having a memorial service for Christie and Jeremiah. I never thought that I would attend my first funeral at fifteen. Through tears, I realize that when someone dies like ths, it is because they have to.
PART 4:
Many years ago,
Two angels escaped from Heaven.
Last year, two days after Homecoming,
God found those angels in Gaeta, Italy,
Swimming.
"O.k., kids. It's time to go home now."
KIRSTEN 2: October, 1995 . . . I sit at the computer, ignoring the faces of people wondering what's wrong with me.
PART 3:
They deserved to live out their lives.
Their lives had meaning.
Our lives are mere existences.
KIRSTEN 2: Today I realized that Monday was the one day that saved my life. I am the person who - ignoring the fact that I had many friends, a 4.0 GPA, and (hopefully) a future as a Broadway actress - questioned life. However, when Christie (one of my best friends) and her borhter died, I realized that life has meaning.
Christie and Jeremiah did not have to leave. Their untimely departure woke me up. I wouldn't have realized how many people's lives would be wrecked by just one loss. Losing two people was almost unbearable. Nothing could be worse than losing a friend.
PART 5:
I don't think they felt any pain,
As the waves slowly enveloped them,
As the currents surged around them,
To end above them.
I think those of us who were left,
Are the ones who feel the pain.