Heartbreaking news.
I am the guilty party who introduced Karlyn to the Grateful Dead, which she initially rejected *entirely*. Sometime in 1984 that turned around and, like everything else Karlyn ever got into, she got fully into it. And by that I mean, went so far as to move to the Northeast, started catching every show, started trading tapes by the case. Made me insanely jealous when she did that. Like when she complained about being exhausted from seeing the '91 MSG run, and by that I mean all nine shows.
As friends we go back to childhood and this is very personal for me, extended family, friends and neighbors. Yesterday when I heard the news it really put things into perspective, because I had been upset this week about an unresolved business deal I had with her.
If you knew Karlyn, you know she went through a LOT of stuff and came out right side up. And you know she left a mark on everyone she came in contact with. It's not really the case that "everyone liked her" -- people were often pretty put off by her fast moving, self-centered personality -- but those traits gave her a dominant presence in every situation she put herself into, and it served her well.
I loved Karlyn and cherish the many years of friendship we had together. I never had many truly close friends, and while I tended to take her friendship for granted, since she was such a constant presence for so long, I realize today that I've always been grateful.
The thing that's breaking my heart is the absence of a few individuals who have left already, because they are the ones who would be able to share the personal memories with me. A lifetime of "little things" that no one else would understand, and a whole lot of stuff that wouldn't be appropriate to bring up with strangers but I feel myself wanting to burst with untold stories.
James, from Oak Cliff Texas
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