Carol's last day at work

This report is pieced together from several emails, none of which had adequate identifying information. I hope the true authors are not offended by my attempt to make sense of it.

I had the pleasure of attending today's tribute at the library with Carol. It was a wonderful tribute on a beautiful spring day! More than 100 people came to today's tribute. The highlight was when Rick Lightbody, Doug Mathews, and Mark sang a song that Carol wrote. She wrote the song in the early 90's, and Mark had recorded her singing it in three part harmony back then. Mark arranged an instrumental accompaniment that included flute, guitar, and bass clarinet to play along with the three singers.

It was a tasteful tribute with an upbeat and joyful spirit. Yes, there were some tears shed, but really, overall, it was a joyful afternoon. Carol works with so many dedicated and talented people.

Carol has always been so dedicated to her job. She was happy in her job, and happy to be at Cornell. And people have always been happy to work with her.

By the way, Carol has been working at the library since 1989.

Here's Mark's script for the event:

Mark: Hello, this is the CUL Orchestra, and we're here to pay tribute to someone whose smiling face has graced the circulation desks at Uris and Olin libraries for 16 years, and whose matchless voice has graced Ithaca's musical stages for even longer.

Of course I'm talking about Carol Buckley. She's the singular sensation, the thrilling combination, every move that she makes, give her your attention, and do I have to mention SHE'S THE ONE!!

Instrumental selection: "One" from "A Chorus Line"

Mark: I've known Carol Buckley since, oh, around 1989 I'd say, and known her performances since 1987. As a musician I admired her voice, her acting and her marvelous stage presence. Only later did I realize what a tremendous friend she could be. She was the perfect Gilbert & Sullivan heroine, she also sang folk music, and was particularly persuasive in standards by George Gershwin and Jerome Kern. And here to perform a couple of these standards is Joe McNamara, authority controller and guitarist.

Vocal selections: "Nice Work if You Can Get It" and "The Way You Look Tonight"

Mark: Carol requires a lot of care these days, more than even her husband Paul is able to supply, though he does a wonderful job nonetheless. A number of her friends have formed a share the care organization to assist both of them in doing all the things that need to be done. The name of this group is the Carollers, and it numbers at least 85 people, many of whom are right here in this room. Can I get a show of hands of how many Carollers there are here? Raise your hands. Clearly Carol has a lot of friends. This song is dedicated to all of the Carollers, and it's called "Someone to Watch Over Me."

Musical selection: "Someone to Watch Over Me" performed by Joe McNamara and Mark Simon

Mark: We all know Carol as the ever-cheerful, effective representative of circulation, one able to use her diplomacy and charm to deal with whatever problems may arise with patrons and the many students who work under her. We know Carol the singer and actress. Not very many of us, though, know of Carol the songwriter. Well, today we have a song that was actually written by Carol, words, melody and harmony. And here to perform it are Rick Lightbody and Doug Matthews, myself and the CUL Orchestra. This is Autumn Breezes by Carol J. Buckley.

Musical selection: "Autumn Breezes"

Mark: This final song requires some audience participation. If you look in your programs you will see the lyrics for this song. If you don't have a program there are more copies strategically located.

If you know anything at all about Carol Buckley, it is that she is a very huggy person. She hugs literally everybody. Everybody. You see Carol coming down the street, you KNOW you're going to get a hug! In fact, you look forward to that hug. You feel disappointed if for some reason, not very often, she is not in the mood for this hug. It's almost Pavlovian, you know. You see Carol, you think hug. Carol hug. Carol. Hug. She has to go to the laundrymat so many times just to get the saliva stains off her clothes. Anyway, that's why we're all mad about her I guess.

So this last song is "Embraceable You." Rick Lightbody is going to sing the verse and one chorus and then motion you all to join in for another chorus. you see the place where it says "Embrace me, you sweet embraceable you." Let him sing it once and then come in there the second time. Just watch him and he'll tell you when.

~~~~~~~

Mark told me in his email that Carol was delighted to hear her song. Mark has a tape Carol made maybe 12 years ago of "Autumn Breezes" on which Carol sings all three parts. I have asked Mark to please digitize the song, and after he does that, I can share it with you if Carol says it's okay to share (as if she'd say no!). I also think the song could be released as a (folk) single after cleaning up a couple of places (where she is counting beats out loud, for example). Carol sounds so sweet on this tape; I regret very much I never got to hear her sing in person.

Mark changed some of the lyrics to "Embraceable You" to personalize the song to Carol, and told me in his email that there "were a lot of tears all around when everyone in the room started singing Embraceable You." Easy to believe; I got teary-eyed just reading about it.

Alice