re: Who is Kate

[cbullard@HiWAAY.net (Len Bullard)]

[Wieland Willker]

>I don't think, anyone took it serious. Also, it was a very short mail, with
>a rather harmless title and maybe it slipped through.
>So, I think, I'm on the safe side.
>Otherwise, I would plead that I'm completely and utterly mad,
>which is proven so many times...

The Koton is swift and deadly. If you spot a beat-up
American LandYacht idling on a sidestreet in traffic,
cinch up your seatbelt and wait for the bang.  If you
survive, be sure to buy her a drink, but don't
let her buy one for you, and if she does, don't drink it.
Your best hope is that they are too busy working on
the saucerful of secrets to notice.  Good luck, soldier.  ;-)

>?
>Kate? Who is Kate?

A sense of humor, halelujah!  I was starting to wonder
about the LoveHounds.  ;-)  What, Me Worry?

I find the discussion of "Kate or Catherine" interesting.
It is a way to balance the madness.  I used to wonder
if it was worse for Americans who most often are introduced
to her accidentally, or by another crazy person. Then I
began to read this list, and realized, no its universal.
We're all on fire and slapping at the flames.

I caught it the first way and spent about two years trying to find
out something about this little woman I saw interviewed
one bleak Saturday morning on the old Max Headroom
Interview program.  I remember sitting there looking
at the video clips, then looking at the woman he
was interviewing and trying to convince myself that
these were really the same person.  I read
an interview where she was asked the same
question and she replied, "well, I've always thought she [Kate]
is much braver than I am [Cathy]", so it is a personna.
She has fun with it, and I think, so should we.

On the other hand, I watch the KateTopia video
(***great!!!!) and I see the clip taken surreptitiously
by the person at the movie awards banquet, and
the crowd that surrounded her as she walked to 
the limo and I ask myself how uncomfortable
and sometimes scary that must be for the woman.
She wasn't a recluse before she became famous.
Probably isn't really one now.  Just private.  We all need that.
During the recording of the second album, I've read,
the studio managers had to convince her that she
just couldn't bop up the street to buy snacks for
the band.  She showed up at an album signing
event for Nigel Walker(?), and he signed it,
"What are YOU doing here?"  I think,
perhaps, she resists the prison of fame,
but isn't entirely unaware of the dangers.  And
yes, I sense a fairly complex person there,
who like the rest of us, has become even
more complex with age.  What did the article in
Q say, "the nicest megalomaniac you'd
ever want to meet."  Perhaps.

So I separate the two.  My madness for Kate is
a fun thing, and I use it in my own art as fuel for
fantastic adventures, a heroine to emulate, a mark
of excellence to aim at.   My respect is for Cathy
Bush, the girl in the garden, much beloved by her
brother John, who photographed her and gave
us the beautiful little beige covered book of
his best work.   According to a friend of mine who
met her once in doorway during a rainstorm
in London, she is "the dammed nicest person
in the music business".   That is all I know about
the girl in the photographs.

This I know about my own madness:  the art of Cathy 
Bush gave me a sense of courage and detail when
I needed it badly, when I was ready to walk away
from my music, when my heart broke on the reefs
of contentment.  I only wish for her a little 
freedom from the prison of fame and fatiguing, 
sometimes perilous adulation, new and exciting 
adventures of her own to feed her art,  the comfort
of knowing she is well loved and respected, 
and all the happiness she can find.

To the girl in the garden:  a rose for her heart from America.
Silent eyes shine brightly for the distant star whose
light showed me the way to this earthly paradise.  The 
hand of love is always open.  The key is passed.
The prisoner is free.  

Be seein' ya.

len