Karen -- Oh, No!
Sat., June 27, 07:51 PM
I didn’t want to write this. I don’t want to have to write it. But Karen — then known as Cosmicrayola — would have one of the first to tell me to get on with it.
I called her Cosmic Karen, to differentiate among other Karens we know. She was one of my first favorites on line. Cosmic just seemed to describe her. Even more, she was a joy to know in person.
We got to meet her in May of 2005, when a group of us Diarylanders met in New Haven. Last January I posted some pictures from that event. I’m sure that everyone who was there is thankful we had the opportunity to meet this sparkling lady. Over the years we shared memories and opinions, sometimes agreeing and sometimes not. It didn’t matter. The definition of friendship should never include oneness of belief. Karen could teach me about things I had never experienced — just read her book! I was delighted that she felt she could ask me when she had a question.
One of the last messages she sent was to cheer me up, pointing out that we all have blue days sometimes, but the “pink days” return. My heart just broke when Terry apologized for sending us bad news; we’re grateful for updates, sad as they may be.
This picture of Karen was taken at that 2005 get-together. I don’t remember what evoked that “Home Alone” pose, but it seems to fit — a woman who was open to surprises and new beginnings. Wherever she goes now — I can’t remember exactly what she believes about heaven — there will be more surprises. We just won’t get to read about them. We have missed reading her posts since she became ill, not nearly as much as we will when we realize they’re gone for good. Oh, no!
