Take a moment, look at the picture again, especially at the first woman on the left. The tall one, who is smiling. Her name is Karen Harter and you need to notice her elegance.
Quite a few months ago, I got the most amazing phone call. Yup, I'm still talking about the one telling me Pursuit of Justice was a RITA finalist. If you've paid attention to Mondays, you'll see a fringe benefit that came from being a finalist.
The fringe benefit was the spirit of comaraderie, kinship.
The eight of us got together and blogged. We called ourselves the Rita Gang. Then, five of us made it to San Francisco where we stood together at the Friday ceremony. We ate lunch together the day of the RITA. Then, we celebrated together when Linda won.
Karen Harter was a trooper. See, she was ill, very ill. So ill that she needed to bring her niece (one of the most charming young ladies I've ever met) along to act as a helper. Yet, Karen smiled through every moment, so excited about her nomination, so excited about being there among peers. She did everything there was to do, even taking a second cab when the six of us couldn't find a big enough one to get us back from an away lunch to a hotel practice.
Let me tell you about Karen Harter. She was tall and graceful. Her eyes looked out at the world in wonderment. She knew how to laugh. At lunch, she talked about God and her writing. She wished everyone could see God in their writing.
Karen is no longer ill. She passed away yesterday. The news floored the RITA gang. We will miss her.
4 comments:
I'm so sad to hear of Karen's passing, but I know she is well in the arms of Jesus. I didn't get to meet her in SF. I'm happy to know you all had a wonderful time together.
So sorry to hear of Karen's death. I read Chip's update just today.
This is so sad to hear. I didn't get the opportunity to meet Karen, but I do remember you telling me about your phone call and from what I've heard she was very well liked. It's a loss for us.
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