Bear with me on this one.
Carpenter Shih was on his way to Chi, when he came to the place called Chu Yuan, where saw an oak tree which was venerated as the home of the spirits of the land. The tree was so vast that a thousand oxen could hide behind it. It was a hundred spans round and it soared above the hill to eighty feet before it even began to put out branches. There where ten such branches, from any one of which an entire boat could be carved. Masses of people came to see it, giving the place a carnival atmosphere, but carpenter Shih didn't even look round, just went on his way. His assistant looked at it with great intensity, and then chased after his master and said,'Since I first took up my axe and followed you, I have never seen wood such as this. Sir, why did you not even glance at it nor stop, but just kept going?'
He said, 'Silence not another word! The tree is useless. Make a boat from it and it would sink; make a coffin from it and it would rot quickly; make some furniture from it and it would fall to pieces; make a door and it would be covered in seeping sap; make apillar and it would be worm eaten. This wood is useless and good for nothing. This is why it has lived so long.'
When Master Shih was returning, the tree appeared to him in a dream, saying , 'What exactly are you comparing me with? With ornamental fruit trees? Trees such as the hawthorn, pear tree, orange trees, citrus trees, gourds and other such fruit trees? Their fruits are knocked down when they are ripe and the trees suffer. The big branches are damaged and the small ones are broken off. Because they are useful they suffer, and they are unable to live out the years heaven has given them. They only have their usefulness to blame for this destruction wrought by the people. It is the same with all things. I have spent a long time studying to be useless, though on a couple of occasions I was nearly destroyed. However, now I have perfected the art of uselessness, and this is very useful, to me! If I had been of use, could I have grown so vast? Furthermore, you and I are both things. How can you a useless man about to die, know anything about a useless tree?
Chuang Tzu
13 comments:
The Papendick family were the first neighborhood people we met when my family moved from Pittsburgh to Philly in 1976. Cece, one of Karl's sisters and I have been best friends ever since. The Papendicks were my alternate family universe.
His world was large and is now a tragedy for his nephew, sisters, parents, friends, students, artists and the community.
Karl was a lovely person and will be missed.
Karl always impressed me as a warm person who made people comfortable. I always felt at ease when engaging in conversation with him. My condolences to the family and friends who knew him better. He will be missed but not forgotten.
karl was one of my best friends and i am so heartbroken that there are no words for it. i will remember you forever....
stonehenge
(bill)
Thank you for reading this today, Steve. I've been thinking about it since, and I'm glad to be able to read it again to think about it more.
It's impossible to believe that Karl isn't going to be at the house in the next few days to let Luna run in the yard or to play backgammon with Jon. It's impossible to believe that someone could have spoken with him even for a few seconds and then done him harm. He is, and will be, so missed.
Seese/Bill -- e-mail me (janetfinegar@gmail.com). The local papers want to talk to Karl's friends for an article. . .
All:
There will be a party/benefit to celebrate Karl's life at the 700 Club (2nd and Fairmount) on Thursday January 15th from 6:30-10:00. I have a flyer PDF, if you would like to help distribute it email me and I'll send it to you. pahearn73 (at) yahoo (d0t) com
Steve send me your email so you can post the flyer on your blog.
-pete
I just found out about Karl's death this past Friday (1/30) and I am both shocked and heartbroken over this. Karl and I would usually run into each other while taking our dogs (Baci and Sol) out in the neighborhood or when I was walking mine past the 700 Club after work. Usually, we would share stories and mutual interests in the dogs, guitars, rock and roll, politics, art and the neighborhood. And with Karl, it would always be with a smile on his face. It shakes me to the bone to think that someone could do something so horrible and evil to such a sweat and friendly guy. Soon after we met at the Orianna Street Dog Park about 6 or 7 years ago, he held a party at his house to raise money for the Park. We were friendly ever since. Though I was not in Karl's inner circle of friends I will dearly miss him dearly. I only hope that the police department finds the person or people who did this and that they never see the day of light again.
My thought are with his family and close friends who must all be devastated by their loss.
Lek Domni
I was Karl's friend years ago while I was attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine arts and living in Philadelphia. Karl was a new student when I first met him, and I was in my 3rd year at the academy. Many years ago I moved back to my native Connecticut, but I never forgot my good friend Karl. We used to hang out at school or at his family's home in Kensington, and we went landscape painting many times together. The other night I was thinking of him, so I decided to google his name and see what came up. I cannot express the disbelief and shock I felt when the results of my search appeared on my computer. Tears came to my eyes when I read the horrific news. I am simply sick inside. As many have already stated, Karl was a wonderful guy. I daresay it would be a difficult prospect to find someone as friendly and warm hearted as Karl was. I feel awful for his family and friends and I'm am so sorry that I didn't make an effort to get in touch with him sooner. It is so strange that out of the blue I would think of him after 15 years only to discover the tragedy of what happened only a few months ago. It just goes to show you what kind of impact he had on people even after such a long time had passed. I pray that the perpetrator of this cowardly crime is apprehended soon and that justice is served. Karl, rest in peace my dear friend. I will never forget you. Randall D.
Karl was a teacher at the tech school I attended. Although the school itself was pretty crappy, he was a brilliant instructor. During class one day someone found his old photog site. I was shocked that his education was in art and not in computers. When I called him on this, he said something to me that changed me forever. He said in essence that computers were a means to end for him to pursue his real passion in life. At that time I was a bit lost in terms of what I wanted to do. His quote to me became my course and I've always been thankful that he shared that with me. I'm heartbroken to learn that I can't thank him for one of the most important lessons of my life. He was a great guy.
i too knew karl years ago- we even were in 3rd grade together at houston school in mt airy. we never got on too well either! just kids stuff. we hung out as teenagers, knew some of the same people. he was very talented and interesting guy. it is shocking to hear about this news. i can see he had grown in his standing and become more who he was meant to be.
R I P Karl
I miss you Karl. I remember moving to Mount Airy (directly across the street from Karl in fact) when I came to the states with my mother from Germany. Although I was young when we would hang out, you left a lasting impression on me, especially when it came to making music. I wish I could have seen you one last time and maybe we could have jammed together.. I hope you see me making music now and I hope you know that you played a big part in inspiring me to do so, and for that I thank you. You were truly a great person.
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