"Filling in the February Holes"

by Frederic Kahler

INTRODUCTION

Last February, 2003, Carpenters fans from the globe we call home
convened in the Downey area to pay their respects to the memory of
the fine singer and drummer, Karen Carpenter, who passed away in
Downey, CA on February 4, 1983, in the standard parlance, "due to
complications from anorexia nervosa." Primary anorexia nervosa is a
very specific disorder according to the AMA, et al, but we were not
there to discuss the uglier aspects of that girl's existence; we
were there to share our grief and share our inestimable fascination,
even love, of a pair of kids who made gold, again and again. But one
kid was gone from this world forever.*

I cannot remember how I got involved, except probably I had seen a
message somewhere announcing Joe P. of San Diego's intentions of
corralling fans for a get-together centered around Downey, with
appropriate stops scheduled here, there, practically everywhere
these Carpenters worked, lived, schooled and, yes, ate. Joe stage-
managed our nearly week-long outing superbly. I give him enormous
credit for this. It was clearly a very loving gesture for Joe to
reach out to other, sometimes despondent, fans. Little would prepare
me personally on our final day, when those of us who did check into
the Downey Embassy Suites Hotel checked out, for that final drive to
Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cypress.

Ah! But first the joys, the joys! Carpenters, for all their elegant
misery of doomed love and English horn bleakness woven into "a paper
castle," they are almost ridiculously appealing just because of
their smiles, their wholesomeness, and their habits (Karen never
forgetting someone's birthday, even `though that's probably part of
her family's disorder dynamic, but still, how sweet, we cannot help
but think).

A writer's caveat is necessary here. I can as a writer speak for
others as per my impressions and reportage of experiences, but I
cannot speak for everyone in any circumstance. I'll avoid peculiarly
American English idioms, but some readers will be left to seeking
dictionary aid. (I grew up reading dictionaries, the Bible, a Latin
primer, encyclopedias, and world almanacs.) I will jump around in
the narrative between "I" and "we" when I see fit. A year has nearly
passed since this wonderful experience and I shall regret the horrid
omissions from our get-together. I do not want to speak for other
people and yet I know that we as fans like to bond with agreement
over lots of different aspects of the Carpenters fan experience. So,
allow me please the opportunity to take chances in my "take" on
that "double-decade" anniversary of dear Karen's death. We not only
got to visit their old haunts; we discovered odd coincidences and
met Jodie Foster at a Jewish delicatessen in Beverly Hills. Who
knew?!

I am indebted in this gonna-be short book to my fellow fans in
Downey and Long Beach, at the Karen and Richard Carpenter Performing
Arts Center (Hal Blaine's bitchiness aside) who showered each other
with so much admiration and respect that I still cannot accept the
hostility a die-hard Carpenters fan can evince. Indeed, we
collectively ARE the Carpenters, aren't we?

I dedicate this enormous recollection of last February's spiritual
journey to my Mother,

Sonia Madeleine Rochon Trolan Pittman Kahler,

a French-American woman who certainly enjoys the Carpenters but
doesn't get our fascination with them. Maybe now she will!



*One night in our suite in Downey, my boyfriend, a sci-fi nut like
Richard, and I conspired to imagine a world where, once a singer or
musician died, all the recordings of his or her music
would "evaporate," leaving everything in tact except their tangible,
recorded parts. Imagine such a world. Brrrr!

{end of introduction}

PS: TO carpentersgang: Any other group I send this to -- after the
introduction and dedication -- will receive an abridged version of
this "short book." I am serious about celebrating free speech. I
think I am getting over my "brown study" and look forward to much
more Carpenters sharing with "the gang." Other group(s): I am
abridging this journal of sorts to spare you
unnecessary "domination" by me. Cheers!

PPS: Please, if you'd like, add your birthday to the "Calendar"
section or email me and I'll do it. It's a Karen gesture I also
espouse.

xox FREDERIC
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carpentersgang/