Karaoke Day
Well the big day was here. It was Sunday August 10, 2003. The big
party, the Karaoke night was finally here. Talk about being
nervous well that is an under statement. I was terrified. I
wondered are people going to sing?? Can I do this?? Will I raise
any money?? Will everyone show up?? Oh boy talk about butterflies
in your stomach. I think I had moths in my stomach!! But, after
all it went so smooth and it was truly beautiful. Well let me
start at the beginning. Jimmy, my father and myself went to KJ's
at about 4:30 pm with my frined Terri (she owns the place) to
"get the party started". As we were bringing the stuff
into the place, I saw two pennies on the steps. I didn't pick
them up because there was other people there and I didn't want to
look like I was nuts!! So anyway I knew right from then that
Frank was there already too. He usually was on time anyway. Then
when Amanda got there, she told me that she found two pennies on
the steps so she picked them up. I was happy that I left them for
her because she always loves to get pennies form heaven from
Dude! She gave me the pennies to hold. Well of course then we
started to blow up the green and white balloons (for the Jets of
course) when I found out that the Jets had won the game that
afternoon. Coincidence??? I don't think so! Then when Frank's
friend Vinny came in, I told him about finding the two pennies
and he asked if he could have one. I reached into my pocket and
gave him one. I never looked at them. At the end of the night,
Vinny told me that the penny I gave him was from 1974, the same
year that Frank was born! Another coincidence?? Maybe but I can't
believe that. I only have one penny from that year that Michele
had given me for my birthday. Well needless to say the whole
night was great. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Many
people were up there singing and laughing. It was such a special
night for all of us. When you see the pictures you will
understand. It was a BLAST!!! I was so proud of everyone. We are
a very talented group you know!! Well I want to let everyone know
that we raised over $1500.00 that night for the Alliance for Lung
Cancer. I am so proud of everyone for joining me and my family to
celebrate my brother's 29th birthday. By the way, my father won
the best karaoke singer. It was a $100.00 given by KJ's Ale
House. He in turn donated it to the Alliance for Lung Cancer. It
was a very special night in memory of a very special person.
Thank you all again. Enjoy the pictures!!! Keep visitng the
website and signing the guestbook and lighting those candles!!!
Eileen's words
This is what Eileen said at the Karaoke party to let everyone
know why we were all there on this specaial day:
Hi for those of you who don't know me, my name is Eileen. Back in
July 2001 a terrible thing happened to my family. My 27 year old
brother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. He fought this disease
for 5 months. And yes he was a smoker. That is always the first
question I get asked. But htat is not how my 27 year old brother
got this terrible diseasse. The doctors are not sure how this
happened. I feel that lung cancer is not recognized for what it
does to it's victims but for how it's victims may have attained
this disease. I feel that alot of people think that if you smoke
and get lung cancer that you gave it to yourself. Believe me if
you have ever seen someone go through this, you would no longer
feel this way. It takes your breath away! Lung cancer has very
sutle signs and usually by the time these signs are recognized,
the disease is in a late stage already which is exactly what
happened to my brother. Anyway I am here today to celebrate my
brother's 29 th birthday and to try to raise awareness about lung
cancer. All the proceeds from tonight will be donated to the
Alliance for Lung Cancer Advocacy, Support and
Education(ALCASE.ORG) in Frank's memory. Please help me along
with my family to celebrate one of God's most precious creations,
one of the strongest people I ever knew-- my brother, my buddy!!
My Mom's word to Me
My mother wrote this and had someone at the Karaoke read it to me
for her. She couldn't do it herself. I wanted to share it with
everyone. It was very touching to me:
Eileen,
Thanks for being the special daughter and sister you are. Thanks
for all the wonderful and special things you do to keep Frnak's
memory alive for all who knew and love him. The memorial tree,
the magnificent website and tonights wonderful event is a great
tribute to your brother. Eileen, thanks to you, Amanda and
Nicholas will know everything there is to know about their uncle
Dude. For all who know Frank, we all know just what he would be
saying, "Oh Sh-- they are definitely done!!!" and he
would be laughing at this "Bundy outing". But in his
heart he's loving all of this and saying thank you to all of us.
And last of all he's saying "keep up the good work SIS and I
love you".
The Thank You Poem
This is what I wrote and gave out along with the lung cancer
awareness pin and a short note about Frank's website. This was my
thank you to everyone who attended the party:
It was for a good cause...
It was a great night...
Too bad we had to do it...
Too bad he lost his fight...
He fought hard and strong...
He didn't suffer too long...
Now he's watching over us...
As we sing him a song...
So thanks for being here...
It's great to have family and friends near...
Please wear this pin in all that you do...
It's my personal thank you...
Remember this pin may look invisible too...
But unfortunately lung cancer is NOT invisible to you!!
May you always remember Frank and all he lived for...
Laughter, family, and friendships!! Love, Eileen and family
Click icon's to see the Staten Island article about Karaoke Nite and the original flyer that was sent out.
Below you will find 2 slideshows of pictures from Karaoke nite. Just click on the slideshow buttons 1 & 2 Click on the forward button to see the next picture.