Hi Fans!

Thought you'd like to hear a bit about the CARPENTERS midwest tour this past February.

The going was rough as the weather was cold, wet and miserable. Living conditions were horrible, as roads were covered with ice and snow. A lot of driving was involved, because there were no airline connections between many of the towns where they were scheduled to appear.

To top it off, both Richard and Karen took sick, due to extreme cold. Being acclimated to the warmer Southern California weather, their blood had thinned, and in spite of extra warm clothing they wore, they got chilled to the marrow while driving, and caught chills.

On February 8th they played Kearney, Nebraska, but much to the disappointment of the audience, the show had to be cut short, and Karen was taken to the hospital. She had developed flu and laryngitis. (This show was re-scheduled for May 24th).

The next day was their day off (the only one they had all month) so Karen had a chance to recuperate a little. A couple more trips to doctors between Kearney and Cedar Rapids, and she was back on stage the night of the 10th.

Washington's birthday found them in St. Louis, bound for Weatherford, Oklahoma. They had played at Meramec College in St. Louis the night of the 21st, and their next engagement was at S.W. Oklahoma State University, a distance of 569 miles.

The group was scheduled to take a 10:00 a.m. flight from St. Louis, and arrive in Oklahoma City (72 miles east of Weatherford) about noontime. However, shortly after arising to snow-filled skies, they were informed all flights had been canceled, due to blizzard conditions . They were assured that landing conditions in Tulsa were much better, should they decide to fly there, then drive nearly 200 miles to Weatherford.

They decided on the alternate route, and the driving distance seemed more like 2000 miles than 200 as they slipped, slid and slushed through ice filled roads and blinding drifting snow. They finally reached their destination safely, quite an accomplishment for youngsters who had earned their driving licenses in California, and had never before driven in such miserable conditions.

On arrival at their motel, where rooms had been reserved from them in advance. They learned their reservations had been canceled due to the large amount of people stranded there. Every motel and hotel room in town was filled with visitors stranded by the storm.

When the students of S.W. Oklahoma University heard of their plight, they invited the group to spend the night at their dorms. There were 150 girls to greet Karen when she arrived at the girl's dorm, weary from the travel, but grateful for a place to rest before the evening's performance.

Richard and Karen assumed that only a handful of people would brave the blizzard that continued to rage, to attend their concert. They were mighty surprised when the curtain rose, and they found instead, a very large and enthusiastic audience.

They were indeed gratified to discover their efforts to reach their venue in Weatherford were no in vain. The students of S.W.O.U. will forever be endeared in the hearts of Richard and Karen Carpenter.

Evelyn

Last changed: Mon May 23 22:13:33 EDT 2005