Karl Metzenberg was one of the most unique individuals I have ever known and a HUGE influence in my life. We met sailing. I was just a young carpenter-early 20s, new to sailing, and he was the older mentor with much acquired wisdom and big fatties to share. We sailed many a nautical mile together and he taught me so much along those voyages, not just about sailing but about life; how to accept things that needed accepting and to question things that needed questioning – often uttering Karlisms toward the sheer nonsense in life with words that still resonate fondly: “Ineffable twaddle!” Outside of sailing we would get together on occasion, have lunch, enjoy a dinner, whatever, and our discussions would stimulate such intellectual curiosity that I would emerge from each visit with new perspectives. He was encouraging to a fault when I decided to attend law school; inspirational, supportive and reassuring when I began to pen short stories for magazines, and was the very first to read the first draft of my first novel. And to top it all off, the good Reverend Metzenberg graciously officiated when my bride & I took our vows at a local yacht club overlooking water and boats, Karl’s very presence infusing nautical authenticity. Thank you KLM for being my friend and being a central character in many of my fondest memories. 

Still miss his cards and letters. So glad we were penfriends since Kate Wolf introduced us and we first met in Laurel Canyon in 1977. Fond memories of the time you and Janet visited us in Belgium. Great guy. Wonderful sense of humour.

Karl is still one of the most interesting people I have ever met. Miss his humor and the way he saw the world. 

3 years have passed since my father, Karl, passed. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him. As the silent generation ages, more of his dear friends join him. My father's staunch atheist views were instilled in me, but I sure hope we are both wrong and that they are all enjoying each other's company once again.

Karl lives on! He's out there sailing! Thank you Karl, for putting a big smile on my face in memory. So many good memories...like the time I sank my Catalina 27 in Bechers Bay in a the middle of a cold March night and appeared at your door, pretty shaken. We all had lunch and when it was over we were laughing over our perilous sailing stories. "Every sailor has one," you said, "and now so do you!". Laughter. Thank you Karl (and you too Janet) 

Karl & Janet were one of the first couples who I met when I first started dating Matt. I remember wonderful parties at their Laurel Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills. Karl always greeted us with a beautiful smile and twinkling eyes. His mode of personalizing each encounter was such that he made me feel so welcome.  He always gave such warm focus to each individual person to whom he was speaking. So when Matt mentioned that we could have Karl officiate at our own wedding, I was delighted. My first overnight sail and anchorage was with Matt skippering to Santa Cruz Island with Karl & Janet aboard, too. There was great conversation when Karl was present. Quite often after such a conversation with Karl, I would receive a note in the mail with an article attached, which he thought would interest me, always accompanied by that gorgeous calligraphy and unusual stamps. Karl will be sorely missed, but never forgotten. I feel blessed to have had his friendship in my life. As Matt would say, "Fair winds," our dear friend.

MEMORIES OF AN OLD FRIEND.

As I write this I am “burning one” in honor of Dr Metzenberg. We shared many such “burnings” in the past and I sorely miss that we are unable to do so anymore. The pipe I am using, once Karl’s, a bequest from Janet, is a very Metburgian device. Likely designed by a happily stoned engineering nerd, impeccably machined out of stainless steel and black, fifties bakelite, and with a built in, windproof lighter, it is, like Karl, humorous and witty. That wit, the word play, many of his expressions have found their way into my daily lexicon, and way too many bad puns, I am sure live on through many of us.

There was a lot happening in Los Angeles in the sixties and seventies among which was a small group of interesting people who cycled in and out of the friendly atmosphere at Karl’s west hollywood apartment and later his house in Appian Way. Always a generous man, it was his generosity of spirit which always managed to see the best side of people, which was maybe the core of those many informal gatherings. And of course his generosity with marijuana, illegal at the time, and which none of us, ever, in our wildest dreams, thought we would live to see legalized. From connections made there, many ripples spread out to the wider world. It was through Karl that I met many of the people who have come to have a significant place in my life. For that I am very grateful.

Marriage to Janet, and a family, and eventually a move to Santa Barbara brought many positive changes to Karl’s life, but throughout he always valued, remained interested in, and so maintained long standing friendships. And in later years all the postcards, what a wonderful reminder of the elegance of a fading world it was to find one in your mailbox. The medium was the message and when you saw one you always felt warmly about Karl, and knew he remembered and cared about you.

I met Karl in 1980, when I was at MGM Television. He was working as a reader, and I was story editor. I always looked forward to him stopping by with a new summary of a script or novel–mostly because I knew the delivery would be accompanied by some good conversation. Janet and I both had babies in 1985 and Conrad and Alix were playmates until we moved from LA in '89. Karl nicknamed my husband Mike, a deadpan man of few words, "the great stone face," a monicker so fitting I still occasionally use it!

Over the years, Karl made a point of staying in touch, sending his legendary calligraphed letters which invariably started out with "Worthies:" Mike and I always enjoyed sailing with Karl and Janet, first on their tiny sail boat and later on the mighty Currendera. Karl was a true man of the sea. I will never forget toddler Conrad, not yet speaking in complete sentences, but accurately identifying every craft in San Pedro Harbor, thanks to his Poppa's tutelage.

We loved Karl for his warmth and charm, his intellectual curiosity, his kindness, and his stories. He was a mensch and a true humanist and will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.

48 years ago, on a hot dusty road in the middle of a New Mexico desert, kindness and courage so typical of Karl led him to pick up a travel-worn German hitchhiker. Later he said it was the Leicas around the neck that convinced him it would be OK, and on his way to his parents in Sante Fe, Karl immediately included Heinz, a fellow photographer, in the family plans. Thus began a very special and enduring friendship, and the following five decades saw many, but never enough, 'Wiedersehen" in Laurel Canyon, in Munich, in Santa Barbara, in Prague, in Vienna ...

Heinz married Phyllis, Karl married Janet, and Kim and Konrad were born the same year 1985. Years later both of these globetrotting off-spring would also glean welcome and support on two continents. What a gift for our families - the laughter, the good times - always firmly cemented in Karl's amazing faithful correspondence. We, too, became collectors of those incredible cards and letters, that were literature, art and so much love! Thank you, dear Karl.
Heinz and Phyllis with Kim and Corin

44 years ago while a Registered Nurse at UCLA's 6 West orthopedic floor, I met and cared for a new admission of a not just a fractured, but a shattered leg. He was of course Karl. His ortho and I tried hard to save that leg, which was hung in suspension traction with a Hoffman Set providing dozens of pins holding all the individual, separated pieces of fractured leg fragments in position. While the leg was lost, a friendship was formed. Karl had the best cookies of any patient on 6 West and always was so generous in letting me know I could feel free to share, although I couldn't help a sense of the sneak thief as I silently tiptoed into his room at 2:45 a.m. to get one. He would inevitably awaken and welcome me, wanting to talk. Karl and I had sailing in common, as well as reading and counter-culture, and much else, and we sailed a bunch together, with him as skipper or with me as skipper, depending upon whose boat we were aboard. From the Laurel Canyon house to his wedding to Janet, to Santa Barbara and Hope Street, he regaled us with stories sometimes ribald and always interesting. Karl (the 'most reverend Karl Metzenberg, non-specific pastor') married my wife and I in 1985; it was wonderful. HE -- was wonderful. My kids know his gorgeous calligraphy from the many letters and postcards. "Hey Dad, that letter's gotta be from Karl! No one else in the world can write like that..." Through my friendship with Karl I was introduced to many wonderful people who have contributed greatly to my life, much as he and Janet have. There's no one like Karl, and I regret to say that there likely will never be, at least in my life.

I'd like to share this poem by Merrit Malloy, called "Epitaph."

"When I die give what's left of me away
to children and old men who wait to die.
And if you need to cry, cry for your brother walking the street beside you.
And when you need me, put your arms around anyone and give them what you need to give me.

I want to leave you something, something better than words or sounds.
Look for me in the people I've known or loved,
and if you cannot give me away,
at least let me live in your eyes and not in your mind.

You can love me best by letting hands touch hands,
and by letting go of children who need to be free.
Love doesn't die, people do.
So when all that's left of me is love,
give me away."

My husband Charlie and I met Karl over 50 years ago through his extraordinary sister Vanna. We were struck by his open mind, the way he was primed to listen, learn and discover things in the world in which we live. His attention, charm, talents and contributions to all that knew him were outstanding. He celebrated life with class, integrity, humor and passion. Charlie and I have always believed that he should be celebrated, appreciated and imitated. Karl will be missed but always remembered.

Jackie Schwartz, one of his lucky pen pals!

Karl has been, and will always be, one of my most favorite people. Having known him since his Reed College days when he and friends would come to dinner at our house on Sundays (I was 9 years younger) he was a kind of brother for me in those years. He taught me how to drive -- his friend Lee Mahoney tried to teach me music theory -- and we always had amusing times because of his wit and genuine love of all people. Karl, you will always be in my heart.

Karl is-- I emphasize IS-- one of those rare people you meet who then transforms your life as you get to know him. I've gotten to know him for 45 yrs. You are transformed into partly Karl for the rest of your life; your life constantly uplifted by his spirit and memories of the times you've spent together. I am partly Karl within forever.

Karl was fun to hang out with, always a good joke, always in good spirits, and when the conversation became serious, always inciteful. A lovely man.