by annie89509 » Thu May 14, 2009 6:45 pm
Wow … I have to say I don’t know where all this antagonism towards Kathy comes from. I believe I have mentioned that I used to be a member of the old Perryville SP/board a few times in passing. Although never a poster of high volume (or part of the inner circle), I was frequently around the forum before, during, and after all the excitement surrounding the PV ladies’ (chance) meeting of SP at the HWOF star in the summer of ‘06.
As I understood it, Perryfest is an annual weekend get-together organized by Kathy and her Mods on the boards. It was only shortly after I joined that discussions began circulating about the next Perryfest being held in LA on such a date, and that they were going to go see the Journey “Star” (the band having been honored in ’05). All PV members were invited, but I guess only the ladies that have known each other for a while on the boards actually made plans to show up together. I remember there was a send-off on the messageboard, with me privately thinking “wouldn’t it be something, with them going to LA, and Lora&Cyndy being friends and contributors on PV, might ask SP to show up, too.” Remember, Kathy does a lot of good things in the name of StevePerry, not only in tirelessly keeping up a fan website filled with his stories, photos, and music, but she also gathers funds and sends a sizeable donation check each year to Make-a-Wish, one of Steve’s (as I understand it) chosen charitable organizations.
Next thing I knew, PV was lit up with news that SP “surprised” the ladies, walking up to them (in a silver&gray suit) as they were standing at the Journey Star. As you can imagine, we were inundated with photos, videos, blow-by-blow accounts from each of the lucky ladies for weeks afterward. Of course, this news event spread across other Journey fan sites, so naturally, must have been a feather on Kathy’s cap that SP bestowed the honor of his presence on her PV ladies.
Admittedly, I have no idea what Kathy might have said to people in private, but I can state unequivocally that –on the boards—the SP meeting was represented to us as a complete shock and surprise. Believe me, people were grilling the ladies on whether this meeting was planned, and every one of them (including Kathy) said they had no idea that Steve was going to walk up to them at the star. You know, I think we all just assumed that it was through the efforts of Lora&Cyndy, as we got to know the 2 quite well on the board.
One more thing I’d like to add in Kathy’s defense is that, myself being hooked on SP and his story/music, at one time I scoured all the SP sites and fan boards that are out there to read/join, and hers was the best one by far (imo). Kathy and her board members get a bad rap. The posters were normal people, mostly down-to-earth, kept it clean, and there was absolutely no anguish toward SP, ever, that I recall. Contrast that to some other boards, where it’s anything goes. One topic it’s foaming at the mouth and ogling (with un-ladylike language to boot), next it’s anguish and lashing out (“the ingrate, we love him, why doesn’t he come back and sing for us?”).
Perhaps, not being an insider and privy to behind-the-scenes feuding and drama, I didn’t know what was going on when most of the old-timers seemed to disappear one by one. Then, one day, word came down that Lora was upset with Kathy over something someone posted previously (what about, nobody knew, at least not openly). Then, poof, Kathy says she is closing down the PV boards. I left there and started posting here.
For the record, I do not personally know or are friends with anyone …other than conversations with people on the boards and gathering thoughts through their posts. It just gets distressing when I see so much animosity among people supposed having something in common. We are fans of their music, aren’t we? Why the need to denigrate and put down each other? SJ, I’m talking about you.
And that’s my $.02! I’ll be back tomorrow to read Dan’s comeback to me. It won’t be pretty, I’m sure.
My youngest daughter just got an adorable angora bunny. We were told that you can't really tell what gender they are until they hit puberty. Lauren decided on 'Cinnamon' (it has strawberry blonde hair, and that's a pretty gender-neutral name) and we've decided that "it's" gonna be a "she" until we learn otherwise. Hope we don't 'confuse' her... 
