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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Sept 8, 2009 6:57:20 GMT -5
It is with a most heavy heart that I announce to you that my dear friend, Forum member Palma Pascale, composer of LOVE ME FOR WHAT I AM which was recorded by the Carpenters in 1975 and included on their hit album, HORIZON, died this morning around 5:30 a.m. in Nassau Communities Hospital, Oceanside, NY. Forum friend Frank Rendo phoned me right away, as he was with Palma as she made her transition to the other side of life, and was holding her hand when she passed peacefully from this world to the "Home" she often wrote about in her collection of Contemporary Christian songs. Palma was indeed a very special person. I can't tell you how painful losing her is to me, personally. My wife and I were so blessed to have visited her in July of this year, and at that time she was in the hospital, but things were looking much better. Palma fought so bravely, and continued to give of herself unselfishly right to the end. She produced and orchestrated Frank Rendo's new CD, DELIVER ME, and she told me it was the one thing she wanted to ensure she "finished, just in case!" That, she did. She had also been working on a new CD for Christian recording artist Al Barbarino. Interestingly, it was because of Al Barbarino that forum administrator Rick Henry was able to locate Palma for an interview he conducted in 2005. Palma went into the studio hour after hour in order to finish her work on Al's CD, in between the last two hospital stays. She was a trooper, and her music will live on. I've shared this with you before, but it's never been so poignant as it is just now, at least, for me. After hearing Palma's pop song "I'll Leave You The Music" for the first time, I asked her about it. I asked her what her mother said about this song, because it seemed such a prophetic song. She shared with me that her mother would not let her record it until her mother, herself, had recorded it (and her mother, Anne, did make a CD entitled "I'll Leave You The Music." Palma assured me it was not about "the unthinkable" but it did lend itself to that mindset. As I leave you this morning with these thoughts, I want to share, one final time, the entire lyric to this beautiful song, Palma Pascale's I'LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC from her CD by the same title. "...I wish you could stay with me, and I could erase All the sadness I see in your face. If it only were another time and place. You'd walk through my life with me I'd love you endlessly But if it can never be, I want you to know:
I'll Leave You the Music, I'll leave you my soul- All I am, all I love, all I know WILL REMAIN WITH YOU WHEN I GO.
I'll give you the "gift" I own, to be where I'm not. In the mind of the ear and the heart I'LL BE THERE, ALTHOUGH WE ARE APART. You WON'T be without me, here I'M IN THE SONG YOU HEAR AND IF YOU CAN HEAR THE SONG.......YOU'RE HERE WITH ME!
So, I'll leave you the music I'll leave you my SOUL All I have, all I love, all I know Will remain with you when I go..." And, if you can hear the song, you're here with me. Dear, sweet Palma, I CAN definitely hear the song, and you will remain with us, forever. We love you.
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Post by Rick Henry on Sept 8, 2009 8:09:22 GMT -5
Tim... I am so sorry to hear of this news. This is so unexpected. I knew that Palma had been struggling with cancer, but I kept hearing good reports and was sure was making it through this. Palma was certainly a bright spot here at Carpenters Avenue and in the lives of many. She had a zest and zeal for her music and for life in general. I will miss her greatly.
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Post by BethMosior on Sept 8, 2009 10:08:25 GMT -5
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Post by BethMosior on Sept 8, 2009 10:49:31 GMT -5
I think I'll listen to Horizon today to remember Palma My Mom and I were wondering about her song I'll leave you the music, can we get it , so we can hear it too thanx again Tim
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Sept 8, 2009 11:13:11 GMT -5
Hi Beth, Yes, Palma's CD's are available. Rick has posted this information before, so I suppose he'll be okay if I post it again for those of you who are interested. I would never use the Avenue to solicit, but you can certainly obtain Palma's pop CD's, as well as her Christian CD, THE BROKEN CUP by writing to me at bmjfan@mchsi.com. Palma's Pop CD's are: I'll Leave You The Music - In & Out of Love - All CD's are $15.00 plus $1.50 s/h Palma had completed 9 tracks for her own new Christian CD. Information will be available soon, plus she completed a "Worship" CD, all original music. Thanks for asking, Beth.
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Post by thecopey on Sept 8, 2009 12:26:51 GMT -5
Tim, your tribute to Palma was beautiful and well done. I am so broken over the news and it is strange that just last night I said a special prayer for Palma. I have prayed for her every day since she received the news of her illness.
As you know, I have known Palma for 37 years, and remember the day she wrote and sang the song, "I'll Leave You the Music." It has an extremely important place in my heart and soul.
I will try to e-mail you to find out some more details.
I miss Palma so very much, and the world has lost a wonderful person whose music touched so many people's lives.
David
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Post by beaner on Sept 8, 2009 13:17:41 GMT -5
Palma will certainly be missed. I consider myself fortunate enough to have been able to touch base with her personally through a letter or two and most importantly, the day she called my office and spoke to me personally when I was going through my own loss of a good friend. She herself was such an inspiration and to think she was going through her own suffering at the same time. What a kind and generous person she was!
I will always treasure the memory of Palma Pascale!
Sleep well among the angels, sweet lady! "Thank You For the Music!!"
Mary Ann (Beaner)
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Post by cinscorp on Sept 8, 2009 14:45:08 GMT -5
It's a great loss. Horizon and Love Me For What I Am are huge all-time favorites of mine... RIP, Palma - thank you for sharing your talents with us.
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Post by Rick Henry on Sept 8, 2009 21:56:21 GMT -5
In honor of Palma today I played my copy of The Broken Cup Cd and also played Carpenters' "love Me For What I am". "Love Me For What I Am" is such an important song in the entire Carpenters catalog. The song speaks of self worth and confidence. It has such a good message that we can all learn from. I am so grateful that I had the chance to get to know Palma. I never gave up my search to find her. I spent about a year trying to find her and finally one day a break came through and it was a long shot but through a series of emails from one person to another I finally connected with Palma and from this connection many many good things came about. I will miss Palma dearly.
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Sept 8, 2009 22:22:23 GMT -5
I spent about a year trying to find her and finally one day a break came through and it was a long shot but through a series of emails from one person to another I finally connected with Palma and from this connection many many good things came about. I will miss Palma dearly.
I was just reading about how you actually tracked Palma down - through Al Barbarino - she was always so amazed at that as we spoke of it many times. When you say "from this connection, many, many good things came about" nothing could be more true. So many wonderful things came from your connecting to Palma. I know my life was certainly blessed and enriched by having known her. I promised to give you details about the upcoming days, so here they are: Palma's body will lie in repose on Thursday, September 10 from 2pm to 5pm and from 7pm to 9:00pm at Thomas F. Dalton Funeral Home, 47 Jerusalem Ave, Hicksville, NY 11801-4936, tel (516) 931-0262 A Mass will be celebrated on Friday September 11 10:00am at Holy Family RC Church, 5 Fordham Ave , Hicksville, NY 11801, tel (516) 938-3846 with Internet at Saint John Cemetery, 8001 Metropolitan Ave., Middle Village, NY 11379, tel (718) 894-4888 RIP sweet friend.
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Post by smoothie2 on Sept 8, 2009 23:14:49 GMT -5
I love the picture of you and Palma Tim, and especially the words of her song. This is a deep painful loss for so many, and I'm very sorry to hear this news. My own heart and mind have been touched by Palma and all she has left us with, even though, I never met her, but I do feel this loss just the same. A sweet beautiful lady who gave her all. God will continue to give us strength we need no matter what. It's hard to understand or feel that now. You know we love you Tim and all of you who especially knew her.
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Post by enigma on Sept 9, 2009 4:15:39 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that Tim lke Billy Joel said only the good die young my sympathies go to you and all of pamelas family and friends I never knew her but what i did know of her she did seem like a good soul. This is indeed sad news she will be missed btw That is a beautiul picture you have of yourself and Pamala does her memory justice
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Post by carpentersgermany on Sept 9, 2009 13:01:04 GMT -5
Sad news!! I don't know too much about Palma, but from the comments about her that I read here on the Avenue, I always thought she must be a very sweet and positive person. Tim, I really love the photo of you with Palma - it shows her positive charisma!! The lyrics of "I'll leave you the music" are just wonderful! I copied them to read those lines from time to time..
I just like to express my heartfelt sympathy to everyone who felt close to Palma!!
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Post by Rick Henry on Sept 9, 2009 13:17:39 GMT -5
In honor of Palma Pascale I have made the Basement Party availablre for all the see. For those of you who are not familiar with The Basement Party, back in 2005 and 2006 we had a total of 6 Basement Party's. These were gatherings here on the forum in which we all enjoyed a round of communications and laughs, sometimes shared knowledge on different subjects. Usually these events would last anywhere from 3 to 5 hours. On December 10, 2005 we had our fifth Basement Party and Palma Pascale was our special guest. This particular party lasted almost 5 hours and we created a total of 295 posts. Palma was a most delightful and gracious guest. The following is the link to Palma's Basement Party: carponline.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=basement&action=display&thread=2791
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Sept 9, 2009 13:42:43 GMT -5
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Post by wisejester7 on Sept 9, 2009 14:57:34 GMT -5
Palma's passing has left many of us sad, but I will remember her in a positive light. Palma had the gift of music and she was so very willing to share her gift. Thank you, Palma. Thanks to Rick and Tim, also, for bringing Palma to us all.
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Dave
Ultra Emissary
"sleeping in the arms of the cosmos..."
Posts: 1,515
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Post by Dave on Sept 9, 2009 19:09:51 GMT -5
Isn't it strange somehow how things work out...people get to know one another better, and magic can happen?
Rick brought Palma here; we embraced her and welcomed her with one of the famous Basement Parties. We met Palm and Copey, and made them feel at home because, in a sense, they were.
We returned to our lives. Back on April 28, 2006, Palma sent me a copy of "I'll Leave You The Music", and here's what the sticky note says:
"Dear Dave, This is a "gift" from your pal, Tim. He thinks you'll really like 'Fly'. Enjoy your trip (I think I had to travel for work).
Love, Palma
She was right. When I heard "Fly", I thought of Evelyn Husband and her husband Rick. He died aboard the space shuttle Columbia on STS-107. The last song, "I'll Leave You The Music", is the 13th song on the album.
The relationship between she and Tim grew, and they became fast friends. Palma began to include Tim on her projects, something that would occasionally overwhelm Tim into tears..."why does she value my opinion on this?" was a common refrain.
In a sense, Tim was having his very own "great adventure". Suddenly, he became a peer to someone who'd had songs perfromed by the Carpenters, and he would struggle with this concept all the way through the release of her latest effort.
Tim was there because he belonged there. He earned his place. When Palma needed help contacting Martin Nievera, Tim turned the Internet upside down until he found the information. When the opportunity for a chance encounter presented itself, he arranged a meeting between Palm and Martin in Atlantic City.
That evening, Tim was in tears because he couldn't be there to see the fruits of his hard work...but Palm sent lots of photos. You could just feel the joy...all because Tim answered this calling.
Palma certainly deserved a better ending...but as my wife observed, thanks to Tim's dedication and hard work, she had a far better ending than she would have had otherwise.
Tim made a difference in her life, a huge difference, and none of it would have happened if our host Rick hadn't done his part to bring her out of the shadows.
As someone once told me, you both did well, but there is more.
A tagline from "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" states that all endings are also beginnings. Palma may be gone from our eyes, but not from our memories and hearts, and for those of us she leaves behind, it will have to do. She left us the music, that much is certain, but thanks to Tim and Rick, she was able to enjoy the accolades which eluded her as a result of having been in the Carpenters' shadows.
Today, the brilliant light of the sun illuminates Palma's face...her Earthly pains are all behind her, and like our good friend Jim, the mysteries and beauties of the universe have opened themselves up to her. No doubt, she had a great welcoming committee, with a lot of people who have told her that they loved her music, that they loved her for what she was. She has songs to write and sing, and I have no doubt that she'll be hard at work after she rests a bit. Life was tough.
She loved that basement party...scroll through them, and enjoy. She knew she was among friends.
And so, we have to say farewell, Godspeed...but not goodbye, for we know that when it is our turn to shuffle off this mortal coil, she may well be there for us. Friends and family, they say.
Palm was certainly a friend of ours.
Godspeed, my friend, and thank you for leaving us your music...
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Sept 9, 2009 22:06:59 GMT -5
Dave - I am so touched by your words! It's true, I always felt honored to be counted among the "close" friends in Palm's life. She certainly deserved much more "fame" than was afforded her, although as long as I'm around, the collective "we" shall hear only more about the genius of Palma Pascale. In her interview with Rick, she mentions Horace - a story that struck me at the time I first read it, and it continues to rear it's head every so often....Palm would laugh when I would refer to him saying something silly after one of her accomplishments like "take that...Horace!" Household name, indeed.....and one day, it will happen. I wish it could have happened while she was on earth to enjoy it, nevertheless, I intend to see to it that it does, indeed happen. Then, I plan to have a little chat with Horace, who I understand is still right down the street from Palm's house. I've thanked Rick many times through the years for bringing Palma into our lives via the forum - but I'll never be able to thank him, enough. What an amazing person she really was - and, funny!!! Oofah! Thank you, Dave, and everyone, for your words, here. Palma wanted so much to come back to the forum and visit - and one night, in the middle of the night, she did come and read many posts - for hours.....but, she forgot how to sign on and post. ( I told you ) She wanted to thank everyone for their loving thoughts, their prayers, and she couldn't believe we continued to think of and discuss her here. That meant so much to her - you'll just never know. I know I appreciate each one of you....thanks again!
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