Karaoke Forums

A newb was trying to find a way to make her own high-quality CDGs in order to save the cost of buying CDGs. She ended up downloading a bunch of shareware and free midi karaoke and once she put it all together she was very upset that it sounded like midi karaoke crap instead.

I jumped all over her about just going out and buying CDGs like the rest of us and was quite snappy, because I was in a bad mood. I just want to explain.

My roommate for 3 years and good friend from college is a Captain in the army special forces (Rangers) and has done two full six-month tours in Afganistan, two full eight-month tours in Iraq, and was recently sent back to Afghanistan for his 3rd tour there (and he's 29).

On Saturday afternoon, his company was hit by an RPG (basically a bazooka rocket) and he was seriously injured. He lost his left arm below the elbow, lost 14 teeth, has a gashing wound from his right elbow to his right shoulder, and has shapnel in his left eye, among some lesser injuries.

He arrived at Walter Reed military hospital this afternoon. They are preparing to remove what is left of his left arm below the elbow and remove his left eye. They have saved his right arm, which should fully recover except for a good bit of nerve damage where he was wounded.

The good news is that he has no neurological damage and is fully coherent and will make a full recovery in about 6-8 months with a prosthetic arm and eye.

This guy was an army lifer dedicated to a career as a combat officer. He has a wife who I am also very good friends with from college, as well as a 4 year-old son and another son on the way in March.

Anyone who has ever met me knows that I am one of the biggest pacifists around, but I do appreciate the sacrifices our soldiers make to guarantee the lifestyle we have here in America, and know that SOMEONE has to fill this function (it just isn't going to be me).

It is just a shame that there is such opposition to our current conflicts that our soldiers almost have to ask permission from the liberal left before they can even defend themselves these days. I know a good number of active soldiers, and they all say that we could end these conflicts in 1/4 of the time if they were just simply allowed to do what they are trained to do without being scrutinized on national TV every second of every day.

Anyway, these are all issues that are much too big for this forum, but I urge you all to just put the problems you **THINK** you have into perspective, appreciate what you have and why you have it, forgive those that you are withholding forgiveness from for silly reasons, call up those old friends you have lost touch with, and just generally love each other in the way that we ALL know we should without letting all the superficial BS get in the way.

_________________
C Mc
KJ, FL

hugs Topher.. I know what its like.. my brother was in Iraq towards the beginning of the war.. and spent about 12 months there.. lost 3 in their unit...

friend in prayers..

I will do that Topher.

Ah, godspeed to your friend.

You hear about SO many like that, but when they are "individualized" like this..... it makes you see the bigger picture.

As Cindy said:



You count me in too.

.

_________________
♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

I Love you Mister,

I love you, Man to Man.

You are big enuff to be anti-war, yet Human enuff to be sympathetic to another Man who suffered in your place.

I hope you visit him and offer him whatever you can, except your....Just visit him, Ok?

If you happen to be there when they plop his dinner down in front of him and walk away, please take the time to peel open his milk for him, and then prop his pillows up so he can at least reach his food while it is still warm.

Thank you for being his friend and understanding that he lost something you weren't willing to risk yourself....This is your opportunity to be as big a Man as he and never shed the first drop of blood doing it...Your hero needs you now...find your limits of compassion thru him, and his loss will be your gain and all will equal out for you both.....That is the only way you will ever stop feeling guilty when you look at him.....You both must sacrifice equally if you expect to remain friends...and you must both respect each other's limits of sacrifice....He needs to see you strain in pain like he does....He needs your friendship, but he wants you equal to him in some very important ways....He lost limbs, you need to show him you lost something valuable too....So give him your time and attention as he will value that most cause he knows your time costs you the most...If there is anything about you he envies, it's the time you have versus the time he doesn't.

I must warn you, tho....this guy you feel sorry for.....He might recover enough to eclipse you....Yep, it happens.

Sometimes guys rebound so far they bounce beyond even the us who set out to make them equal to us....and that's really COOL when it happens!

thanks for the reminder....you and your friend are in my thoughts....

btw...great post there keith....

Yeah, I'm keeping in touch with his wife and a good number of my friends and I are going up to Washington DC see him once he is stable enough and after his family has had their time first. He's going to be in the hospital for at least a month or two.

Also, a good number of my friends who can't make the trip are sending cards and the sort, so we're doing all that we can think of for him and his family...

Thanks to everyone...

_________________
C Mc
KJ, FL

What a touching tragic story. My prayers are with him and his family.
I am beaming with respect for a man who is willing to sacrifice so much
for us.  :hug:

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Topher, will you tell him thanks from me?

Yeah, how could I forget that?...Thank him for me too.

as a former military member, and loyal citizen to the U.S., please, thank him for me for answering the call. While I personally hate the war, and the reasons for being over there in the first place, I totally respect the warriors that are there, risking life and limb, and following orders.

God Bless, to them all and especially your friend and his family

UPDATE:

Just FYI, my friend's name is Ken.

Ken's mother is establishing a trust for him and his family. Funds raised for this trust will go towards the family's immediate needs, with the remainder rolling into a college fund for his kids.

I'm in the initial stages of putting together a fundraising party at a local bar to beniefit this trust. I went to an event at the same bar last year that a friend of mine organized for Katrina victims, and they raised about $2600 in one night. The guy just told me that the bar owner was extremely receptive to letting him do pretty much whatever he wanted, and beyond donating his bar for the evening, the owner gave 100% of the beer profits for that night to the cause as well.

Well being a karaoke DJ and generally gregarious guy, I know ALOT of people from all over. I also have tons of experience putting together large events. I think I could easily match or exceed the last charity event that went down there with proper planning. I already have free music (me), a place to hold the event for free, and a few contacts that would probably cater the event. I also work for a Fortune 500 company that just last week sent an e-mail looking for charitable causes, so I BET I could get them to match all contributions.

Anyway, I'll let yall know when the trust is formally established in case anyone wants to make a donation (gotta wait until it is official to be eligible for a tax deduction). Also, I'll certainly invite anyone in the area to attend the event once it is all put together, which would probably be in about 4-5 weeks.

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts!!

_________________
C Mc
KJ, FL

In my prayers as well, Topher ~ Thanks for sharing and caring !

_________________
Kelley
Star Sounds Karaoke & Mobile Recording Studio


[shadow=black][scroll]You have to respect your audience. Without them, you're essentially standing alone, singing to yourself....KD Lang[/scroll][/shadow]

That's great to hear. I will want to know how to donate.

I have the utmost respect for anyone who answers the call for their country but at the risk of being chewed up and spat out, isnt it time you guys voted for a change of president? I think the rest of the world was gobsmacked when he was voted in again

_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

There is a lot to say about that very subject. I'd like to do that in a PM. I will send you one.

They [highlight=gold]tried [/highlight]Morgan... it was called an election. There was dirt being smeared and flung all about. Different candidates from both parties...

Yet he was re-elected. ((shrug)) go figure!

Topher

I have been including your friend in my daily prayers since you posted about him.

Could you please let us know at least his first name so I can make my prayers more personal?  

Thanks,
Ellen

Hehe ya know what I adore Americans and have a lot of friends I talk to online, and not one person I have EVER spoken to will own up to voting for him...go figure

_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."