BarryT60
Well-Known Member
So.... When I was young I'd listen to the radio....
And - when I did, I found some magic, in the form of Karen Carpenter's voice and Richard Carpenter's arrangements, that changed my life for the better. I was sometimes bullied at school, for not being the most "athletic" guy, (kickball is still a dirty word in my life!), and I didn't have enough kids in my neighborhood to ever really fit in to any world.... So 1970's music became my salvation. And Carpenters Music became the crescendo of my escapism - or should I say, the top of a very short list that gave me freedom, happiness, solace, and the hope that a shinier world would be just around the corner.
During that time, I joined the Carpenters Fan Club. I, like many of us here, got those hand-made Keepsake sheets, and when my grass money would add up - I'd go ahead and order the pencil, or a photograph... For Christmas, I bought my sister a T-shirt, but the prize item on that sheet was the metal belt buckle. An item I could have never afforded...
Fast forward to this forum, and some conversations here resulting in my lamenting the fact that I never got that belt buckle... I even had a private discussion or two with some folks here, about searching for a buckle, but those conversations faded, and life has most certainly moved forward in the 40-something years that have transpired since those Keepsake memos accompanied the infamous monthly newsletters.
Now, today, when I opened my mailbox, what was sitting there awaiting me like the same beacon of hope from 1974? A friend I have made here, who shall remain nameless to avoid their embarrassment, decided to part with their belt buckle, and sent it to me as a surprise. Unannounced, and certainly, not as a result of my asking, as I didn't even realize they had the buckle, I literally was fighting back tears of happiness as I determined what was in the bubble wrapped envelope. There it was - in all its glory, gleaming that perfect Carpenters logo.
Of course, we all have paid for the person's Starbucks behind us in the drive through, or maybe slipped a waitress money to surprise someone else with a free dinner, but I have never encountered such a thoughtful and inspired surprise - nor have I received such a lovely deed of selflessness, ironically, at a time I needed it most - until this morning...
Words can't express the surprise, the delight, and the general happiness this person bestowed upon me with their act of kindness.
And I want to thank them right here - the most genuine & original way I can - which of course would circle right back to the place that introduced us....
Thanks also to you guys, for letting me indulge in this somewhat awkward display of very personal gratitude...
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, thanks to each and every one of the forum's founders, and managers for maintaining a place for so many of us to relax and take a second to re-live, remember, and recharge our batteries by embracing together, the music and the makers of that music, that brought us all such solace and happiness.
Those old melodies, still sound so good to me, as they melt the years away....
And - when I did, I found some magic, in the form of Karen Carpenter's voice and Richard Carpenter's arrangements, that changed my life for the better. I was sometimes bullied at school, for not being the most "athletic" guy, (kickball is still a dirty word in my life!), and I didn't have enough kids in my neighborhood to ever really fit in to any world.... So 1970's music became my salvation. And Carpenters Music became the crescendo of my escapism - or should I say, the top of a very short list that gave me freedom, happiness, solace, and the hope that a shinier world would be just around the corner.
During that time, I joined the Carpenters Fan Club. I, like many of us here, got those hand-made Keepsake sheets, and when my grass money would add up - I'd go ahead and order the pencil, or a photograph... For Christmas, I bought my sister a T-shirt, but the prize item on that sheet was the metal belt buckle. An item I could have never afforded...
Fast forward to this forum, and some conversations here resulting in my lamenting the fact that I never got that belt buckle... I even had a private discussion or two with some folks here, about searching for a buckle, but those conversations faded, and life has most certainly moved forward in the 40-something years that have transpired since those Keepsake memos accompanied the infamous monthly newsletters.
Now, today, when I opened my mailbox, what was sitting there awaiting me like the same beacon of hope from 1974? A friend I have made here, who shall remain nameless to avoid their embarrassment, decided to part with their belt buckle, and sent it to me as a surprise. Unannounced, and certainly, not as a result of my asking, as I didn't even realize they had the buckle, I literally was fighting back tears of happiness as I determined what was in the bubble wrapped envelope. There it was - in all its glory, gleaming that perfect Carpenters logo.
Of course, we all have paid for the person's Starbucks behind us in the drive through, or maybe slipped a waitress money to surprise someone else with a free dinner, but I have never encountered such a thoughtful and inspired surprise - nor have I received such a lovely deed of selflessness, ironically, at a time I needed it most - until this morning...
Words can't express the surprise, the delight, and the general happiness this person bestowed upon me with their act of kindness.
And I want to thank them right here - the most genuine & original way I can - which of course would circle right back to the place that introduced us....
Thanks also to you guys, for letting me indulge in this somewhat awkward display of very personal gratitude...
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, thanks to each and every one of the forum's founders, and managers for maintaining a place for so many of us to relax and take a second to re-live, remember, and recharge our batteries by embracing together, the music and the makers of that music, that brought us all such solace and happiness.
Those old melodies, still sound so good to me, as they melt the years away....
