Saturday, February 19, 2011

Memorial Speech for Kara


I always felt Kara and I were like Heckle and Jeckle or Tom and Jerry. It was always nice to hear our names in the same breath and an honor to get called by her name which happened a lot. Over the last couple of days, some people have said that she was fortunate to have me as a friend, which seemed ironic because I have always felt that it was really MY good fortune to know her and to have her in my corner. Once I read about our zodialogical compatibility and the title was “A Transparent Interface” which to me said volumes about how easily we let ourselves be seen and understood by each other. Once I told Kara, “Dude, I have this magic mirror that has lights directly on me and I never see myself age in it.” When Kara passed away, one of the 2 lights burnt out in the mirror and I thought “This is it, 1/2 of me is gone.”

We met when I was 13 and she was 14 thru Shanna whose nickname for her was “Stringbean”. I, like most people, was immediatly taken with her. She pulled off a beret and wanted Shanna and I to comb thru this crazy dreaded hairball and it cracked us all up. She seemed wiser, more punk rock and fascinating than anyone we knew. As she and I grew tight over the years, she was my comrade in arms and really the only sibling I’ve ever had. I’d share anything, anyone and everything with her unquestionably. She would respond in kind. We were symbiotic. We both had similar sensibilities, interests and fell to the same side on all issues. How rare that is. As most of you can attest, it was not hard to fall in love with this girl, and I fell hard. Sincere, curious, sensitive to the nth degree, compassionate, in love with all creatures great and small, eerily intuitive, keenly intelligent, considerate, modest, spunky, artistic, talented, hilarious, generous, beautiful beyond compare, conscientious and refined in her tastes. She once announced to me, “We’re forecasters”. She definitly knew which way the wind blew.

I could recount many madcap adventures and quote some gems but they all vie for attention and I don’t know where to begin or end. I just know there is no one else like her on the face of this planet, and if you knew her, you were lucky to have basked in her radiance.