[charlene]

I appreciate the kind words from all of you that are posted here and the many private messages I’ve received. Thank you. I’ve taken a few days to wait until I post a reply.
I have never said or done anything that would be disrespectful on this site. I always imagine if Gordon Lightfoot himself were to read the posts here that he would be pleased and find his fans to be respectful and thoughtful of each other. Sadly, sometimes the personal agendas of some people take over when their misguided, imagined self importance rules over common sense and respect.
Gordon Lightfoot has always exhibited nothing but graciousness and kindness to me and to all the people I know who have had the thrill of meeting him themselves. He has never looked dismayed or bothered when signing autographs or having pictures taken. He is always nothing but charming and friendly. I am not in the know how he really feels or says about those things outside of those “fan moments” however. I only state what I see, have heard and experienced myself. We are not…..um…..friends.
Pictures, hugs, concert stubs, backstage passes, autographs are all little treasures we hold dear with no thought to thoughtlessly toss them away. They represent, to each of us a memorable moment with a special person in our lives. No different than those treasured little art pieces our children made us that still hang on the tree every year, those pictures of our loved pets, or family and friends, some who may be gone from our lives. They are our history and many of them have in some way shaped our lives.
Perhaps silly and dustbin worthy to others but not to us and we don't take kindly those who will so hurtfully and spitefully demean us because they feel otherwise. If that's contrary to how they feel about those things that's just fine but don't come to a forum where fans who feel otherwise come to feel comfortable and welcome with their shared and loving memories and treasures. It’s disrespectful, plain and simple.
I have never in 10 years ever posted a word of my love and admiration (not hero worship) for Gordon Lightfoot or any of the special things he has done for me to brag or make myself feel above anyone. If anyone has ever felt otherwise I can’t help that...I know my intentions are true and honourable.
My heroes are people who give of themselves with selflessness and honour in good and bad times, in dangerous circumstances and times of quiet reflection and words, people fighting for their lives against disease, tyranny, terrorism and hate. NOT a guy with a guitar who sings about them.
I love to share because I know from decades of experience of not ever being near Lightfoot up close and ‘personal’ so to speak, that not all of his fans can experience the things I have or attend some of the fabulous events I can because of where I live. I am lucky to live here and be able to get to the one-off events that Lightfoot might be attending or performing at. I wish all of you could attend too! When I am at these events I think of so many of you and wish you were there with me.
I want everyone to feel like I do so try my best to convey the amazement and thrill I feel. I also want to convey how lovely, kind, humble and generous Gordon Lightfoot is...to give a look into the man he shows himself to be..at least to me and other fans he interacts with as I observe from a distance. I take hours to write up reports, post pics/videos/website links to do this because so many have expressed how much they enjoy them. (doing this also helps ‘cement’ them in my own memory..it’s an age thing I think) I am not a writer by any means but I think my enthusiasm comes though and folks get a real sense of what I was feeling and therefore can feel it themselves.
I don't and have never tried to assume or imply that I know who Gordon Lightfoot is in any other capacity than that of a revered legendary musician admired by a longtime fan. I am not now and never will be an ......um.......old friend. And I don’t lead anyone to believe otherwise. If I were I certainly would not post any calculated little hints either.
I try to make this site as inclusive as I can, to have everyone feel a part of this little group connected though the WWW - So I (and others) inquire about other members’ concert experiences, if they have pictures, stories, memories to share with the rest of us. Many members ask each other for reviews, pictures, shared memories and no insult has ever been taken and no one has ever felt it mandatory. That’s the most absurd thing I’ve heard but it really isn’t the true issue in the trouble that reared its head this past week.
I do home daycare for a living (omigoodness that’s laffable) so am quite used to dealing with the needs of little children who have yet to learn to share, be kind, polite, generous, and empathetic while their very beings scream “me,me,me,me,me,me!” It is expected with them…not so much with “mature” adults though. So this moderator job is quite trying at times. Patience, Canadian or otherwise (or otherworldly!) is required. If it was as easy as hitting “delete” like I can do with SPAM life would be easier. Hundreds of SPAM that need deleting is time consuming but does not suck the very soul out of this place leaving us all bone weary.
Many of us have seen Lightfoot in concert a bazillion times, some just a few, some have never seen him. The same for actually meeting him. But we all love to hear how others feel about the concerts/meetings be they recent or long ago. That's why this forum exists! What the hell would we be here for or talk about if not Gordon Lightfoot ??? - the name at the top of this DISCUSSION page says GORDON LIGHTFOOT in big red letters!!
I remember a few years ago when Wes met Gordon and he had his boys and lovely wife with him I believe. I was in Florida on vacation. He e-mailed me and asked me to call him because he felt so strongly about what he had to tell me about his meeting with Gordon it could only be conveyed with his actual voice on the phone. I'm sure if he lived closer he'd have driven over! We spoke for a long, long time that afternoon. I listened to him speak so eloquently and lovingly about Lightfoot and it was so apparent how much it meant for him to meet Gordon and have his family there with him. Especially young Joey. It meant a lot that he would want to share, so passionately, his feelings with me. And I got a very good tan that afternoon to boot! That’s just one moment that I have had the privilege of having with so many terrific people I know through this forum.
A great many of us here have been through a lot of life’s events, gloriously happy and heartbreakingly tragic, in the past 10 years and I am more than humbled that I have been a part of theirs. Equally important is that they have been there for me during those times of my life as well. Thank you does not even begin to convey my feelings about that.
This is what this place is...a place for sharing positive emotion and passion, not crassness and innuendo and spewing of assumptions and distasteful rhetoric meant to hurt and demean and ridicule. Under no guise is this okay. It just isn't. It's shameful, immature and uncalled for. Period.
I try to stay neutral while being attacked for things I do not say, nor imply. A difference of opinion is always okay – disrespecting the person, even when it is wrapped in what is essentially rhetorical fluff is not.
The people who have contacted me, like you who have posted here, have expressed their disappointment that a few malcontents now and then can take their own agenda and create such chaos and upset on a forum for a most gentle man we all adore.
A couple of months ago during another bit of unwarranted chaos I heard privately from numerous people with encouragement and positive thoughts regarding the ugliness – I appreciate all of that support too.
I didn’t ask or expect to be the moderator here at CORFID, it was through a suggestion from a member (who no longer posts due to the degradation of this site with disrespectful people and their posts) to Florian that I was given the honour of being moderator. Not knowing what the hell the job entailed other than it was non-cash paying, I said ‘Hell yes!’ and here we are 10 years later…LOL
The trade-off of not getting paid in cash is the relationships that have been started, cultivated and cherished. The SHARED love of Gordon Lightfoot and his music has brought so much to my life that I am daily reminded of it. The discovery of so many new artists who perform at the Tribute shows has been a true blessing. The opportunities for so many “Lightfoot” related relationships and events that have come to me are treasured as much as the actual ones that involve Lightfoot himself.
I never ask nor expect anything from Gordon Lightfoot either, other than for him to stand onstage and “do the best with what he’s got.” And we BOTH know it.
I thank all of you again and of course dear Florian for maintaining this Wonderful, Wild and Winsome website for us.
(and you thought WWW meant world wide web! HA!)
CHar
I'll Tag Along - Gordon Lightfoot
You've got time enough for two of us
What is mine I will share
We've got things that we can do without
Most anytime anywhere
Every little daydream that appears in all we do
Gives us some problems of our own
If you turn back to that page again
And you can't win
If you ask me I'll tag along.

Aldous Huxley-1894-1963 - English writer
"Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons."

(just read that in the paper today....how fortuitous!)