Life is an adventure, so live it to the fullest.
You are currently browsing the General category.
I went to Iraq after my 3rd husband tried to kill me to “find” myself. I did that and so much more. I started down a path that would lead me to healing a very old wound, an abuse started way before that, when I was a child in the 4th grade. Oh yes, I was a confused and angry little girl after my parents divorce, and I would have eventually gotten over it; but then this new girl moved to town and for some reason, she hated me. From the day she met me till we graduated high school I felt like she had made it her life mission to make my life miserable. She would tell me that no one liked me, that I was ugly, that I was stupid and ask me why didn’t I just go away. She was not a pretty girl, in my opinion, so if she was telling me that I was ugly, I really had to be hideous. She was a “book smart” girl so I also believed it when she said I was stupid. I didn’t have many friends but none of them or my classmates ever really did anything to help so maybe she was right that no one wanted me around. Course, to be fair, what could they have done? Anyway, every time she called me Medusa I wished I could go away as well, I really wished I could die.
I came home from Iraq a much different person than I was when I went over there; more confident, independent, and for the first time in my life, knowing who I am. But there was this nagging thing in the back of my mind. I didn’t think about it often but once in while it would get out of the box in my mind that I had so neatly packed it in.
Over the last few years, through Facebook, I have reconnected with many high school classmates. Like many of us do with things like this, there are only a couple that I have really reconnected with. One, Scott, lives not to far from me now down on the coast and the other, Tressie, approached me trying to play cupid. We have hung out a little here and there and talked about “back then.” We have asked questions about different things that happened when we were in school and commented on how funny it is that we are friends now.
Then a year ago I found my best friend, Nanci, from 1st grade. We talked on Facebook and made plans to meet the next time I was over her way. That day came and went without us meeting but we commented here and there on what the other was doing. Then not to long ago, I was able to stop in and spend an evening with Nanci and her husband and do a bit of catching up. We talked about things we did as kids and laughed at how silly we were. Like we all do when we meet someone again from our childhood, we also wondered how our lives would be different if I had not moved away, or at least I did.
On that same trip, on my way home, I stopped in to see another old high school friend, Tressie. We finally had a chance to talk about our school days and she caught me up on many of our classmates. Then she asked, “What was Amy’s deal with you?” I had asked that question since 4th grade. I didn’t have an answer then or now. We talked a bit more and I made the comment that what Amy did to me in school laid the groundwork for how I lived my life for so many years. She laughed when I told her that the only reason I went back for our 10-year class reunion was for Amy to say something to me so I could kick her ass. I was driving a truck by then and had found some of my backbone. I was not scared of her any more. Tressie asked me if she did say anything to me. “No, she didn’t, not even hello! And she didn’t say a word to me at our 25th class reunion either,” I told her.
All these trips down memory lane in recent weeks started me thinking. I asked myself several questions. Why did Amy bully me in school? What would my life had been like if she had not been such a bully? What if I had been then, the person I am today? Does it really matter? Some of those questions I can answer and some I can’t. Only Amy can answer the question as to why she bullied me so much when we were kids. The “what if’s” don’t matter because “what if’s” don’t solve anything and I am just wasting my time thinking about it. The hardest question to answer was does it matter today? That is a complex answer.
Yes, I went through several different kinds of hell in my life. Some of it I brought on myself and some I didn’t. But to really figure out the true answer to that question I have to re-evaluate a comment I made to Tressie; “What Amy did to me in school laid the groundwork for how I lived my life for many years.” Was that a true statement or not? I have been thinking about that from the moment I said it. This morning I work up with the answer. The statement I made about Amy was a true statement, but not how I meant it when I said it to Tressie. At that time I was thinking about how it lead me to think very little of myself. Because of the lack of self-confidence I allowed myself to be abused and mistreated over and over. I blamed Amy in part for my life being such a mess. But this morning I woke up knowing that the statement really meant something else.
When I went to Iraq I thought that I had only survived the first 38 years of my life. I was determined to quit just surviving; I was going to really live it. And I have. No, it has not always been good or perfect, but it has been fun…and scary…and exciting! And even though that has led me to be a 46 year old disabled woman, I am glad that I have lived it and am where I am and who I am today.
In life, many people will cross our paths. Many will go unnoticed and many others will walk along with us for a while because we have something to learn from them. So Tressie, Scott and Nanci, thank you for being in my life today. You have helped me find a bit more inner peace. Without ya’ll I would not have woke up this morning knowing that I could say the following to Amy and mean it:
“I forgive you for how you treated me when we were kids. You must have had some really messed up crap in your own head to treat another human being as you treated me. I also have to give you my apologies. I know you don’t know it, but I have held a grudge against you for many, many years. That was wrong of me. Because, to quote another saying, “we are the sum of our experiences.” Without you and the first 38 years of my life being as they were, I would not have found within myself the strength to do the things that I have in the last 8 years. “
It is not what happens to you that matters, it is what you do with it afterwards.
Last year, sometime my mom asked me to record “Amazing Grace”. She said she loved my voice and wanted to me sing at her and my Mamaw’s funerals, without having to actually sing. I told her that my voice is not what it use to be because of my ex-husband trying to choke me to death back in 2003. She insisted that I do it anyway.
I started talking to one of the instructors on the USM campus about getting into a studio and getting it recorded. He asked if I wanted any back up. I told him that would be nice, but I was not sure how I would get that done since i don’t really know any musicians around here. This semester Jeff, the instructor, is teaching a class that does just want I was looking for and he approached me about allowing his class to record, edit and mix that song for me. We have been working on this for several months to get just the right feel and sound.
I wan to tank “The Gracenotes” for putting their hearts into this project for me and my family.
Members of “The Gracenotes.”
Jacob Arnold, Daniel Hartzog, Daniel Herrington, Bryon Johnson, Evan Jones, Paul Linden, Micheala Melton, Joshua Rosonet, and Stephen Scott.
Listen to the recording here –> 01 Amazing Grace
I received the email below today. I have no idea how long it has been floating around the internet, but it expresses my feelings on the issue of gun control totally!
From a guy in Texas :
My neighbor is a “lefty” of sorts (Obama bumper stickers, gung-ho socialized medicine, “guns should be banned”, etc.). So this past spring I put this sign up in my yard after one of his anti-gun rants at a neighborhood cocktail party.
The sign wasn’t up more than an hour before he called the police and wanted them to make me take down the sign. Fortunately, the officer politely informed him that it was not their job to take such action without a court order and that he had to file a complaint “downtown” first, which would be reviewed by the city attorney to see if it violated any city, county, or state ordinances, which if there was a violation a court order would be sent to the offending party (me) to “remove the sign in seven days.”
After several weeks he was informed that the sign was legal (by a quarter of an inch) and there was nothing the city could do, which obviously made him madder.
I tried to smooth things over by inviting him to go shooting with me and my friends at the hunt club but that seemed to make him even more angry. I am at a loss how to reconcile our long relationship (notice I did not say friendship), any suggestions would be welcome.
Word Press has a great plugin that filters spam called Akismet. It is so good that I heck my spam fold to make sure that legitimate comments don’t get caught up in it. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen once in a while. Most of the time what is in a spam post is link after link for senseless crap. Some times they try to complement the post to try to get it through. It doesn’t work, but they still try. I see spam from the same email address promoting the same websites all the time. Invalid email address don’t get through, comments with more than a few links wont get through and if they put a link in the box that is suppoesed to be for their personal web site and it is really to some ad, it wont get through. But I scan through them to make sure it isn’t something that should not be in the spam folder and them I dump them.
The last couple of days there has been a couple of comments in the spam fold that made me stop and really read them. Why? Because at first, I thought they were real comments. The English of the writer is better than most of the spam that I get on this site, but it is still not right. Because the English is not quite right I look at the link that the author has down as their website. I can tell right then that it is spam. The reason that I bring this up is that the content of the comment is a big different than most. As I said, the comment in most of this spam is just promoting something or give me great complements to try to get the website link they have put down as theirs on my site. But this spam comment is negative. Here is the comment:
The next time I read a weblog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I imply, I know it was my choice to learn, but I really thought youd have one thing attention-grabbing to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could possibly repair if you happen to werent too busy searching for attention.
The first time I saw this a few days ago, I laughed. I looked at the blog post that these negative comments are made on and I laugh even more. They have all been made on posts from my big motorcycle trip this past summer. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem allowing a negative comment to be posted, but this was clearly spam. I just wonder why someone would think that if I am not allowing spam that has good things to say about me or my blog through, why would I allow negative sounding spam through?
I am glad that I am not as dumb as some people hope that I am. I have been looking for a deal on a vehicle on Craigslist and eBay for several months now. The other day I ran across a listing that was “to good to be true.” But I am sure you are like me, you have friends that have gotten unbelievable deals on something because of someone else’s divorce or death in the family. Course, many times if the price doesn’t look right in one of these adds, it is because it was a typo. So when I saw and add on Craigslist for a 2004 Ford 1500 Super Crew 4×4 for $2990, I had to check it out. The listing didn’t have much information in it. Just an email address, Mellisa King <king.mellisa@gmail.com>, and the following picture.
Figuring that the $2990 was a typo I sent an email to the “lady.” Several hours later I received the following email in responce.
First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my truck. It’s a 2004 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4X4 in excellent working conditions, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title.
Mileage:67,935 miles, Transmission: Automatic, Title: Clear, Condition: Used, Body type: Pickup truck, Engine: 8 Cylinder, Exterior color: White, Drivetrain:4 Wheel Drive ,Eclipse AVN-5500 DVD/Navigation Head Unit w/ iPod adapter, JL Audio 10″ Sub-Woofer .Here is the pictures: http://s1122.photobucket.com/albums/l529/kingmellisa12/
I sell at this price($2,990.00) because I just finished the divorce with my husband. When the divorce has finished I own this truck. From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services.
We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account for $50.000.00 The final price that I want for this truck is $2,990.00 including shipping and handling.
If you’re interested to purchase just email me with your full name, full address and phone number so I can notify eBay that you are selected as my buyer and they will contact you to explain the entire procedure.
Thank you
Here are few of the pictures that are in the PhotoBucket album. (Just incase this person pulls the pictures)
Looks nice doesn’t it?
Being on guard because of all the scams out there, (and maybe hoping that this was not one of them), I asked “her” to set things up. In the mean time, I talked to my mechanic friend, Ken, and my dad about it. Of course they were concerned about it being a scam and suggested that I insist on paying cash. I just waited for the email that “she” said I would get from eBay. I had told her that I had an account on eBay and had given her the same email address that I use there. My thought was that if it email really came through eBay, it would be in my messages on there.
Late last night I received the following 2 emails.
Please forgive the slight bad formatting. The email does not transfer from email to here very well.
 |
eBay sent this message to Cynthia Morgan.
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay. |
|
eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection (VPP Case ID: 71S4P7463V52W)
|
 |
| |
| |
Item - 2004 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4X4
|
|
| |
 eBay Motors member Mellisa King, as the Seller, initiated a new transaction through eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection program and registered you, Cynthia Morgan, as the Buyer. We verified all the details of this transaction and we concluded that they are accurate and the transaction is approved. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely. Your vehicle purchase is protected for up to $ 50,000.00 or the vehicle purchase price, whichever is lower.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Vehicle Purchase Protection
Ensures that you receive the vehicle you paid for, with coverage up to $ 50,000.00 against fraud or material misrepresentation.
|
|
|
|
Condition Guarantee by Seller
Provides added confidence that the vehicle’s condition is accurately described and protects you if it is significantly different.
|
|
|
|
Extended Warranty
Protects you from unexpected repair bills after the vehicle purchase.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| New eBay Motors VPP Transaction |
| Case ID: |
71S4P7463V52W |
| Item: |
2004 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4X4 |
| Price: |
$2,990.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
Vehicle Purchase Protection Overview |
|
|
Buy with confidence on eBay Motors! The Vehicle Purchase Protection program protects your vehicle purchase against fraud and material misrepresentation. This program is provided by eBay Motors for FREE on all eligible vehicle transactions completed on eBay Motors. There’s no sign-up, opt-in, or registration necessary.
|
|
The following types of fraud and material misrepresentation are covered:
|
|
 |
Paying for a vehicle and never receiving it;
|
|
|
Sending a deposit for a vehicle and never receiving the vehicle;
|
|
|
Paying for and receiving a vehicle:
|
|
|
 |
That was a stolen vehicle at the time of the transaction;
|
|
|
|
With an undisclosed or unknown lien against its title;
|
|
|
|
Of a make and/or model that is different than what was described in the seller’s listing;
|
|
|
|
Without receiving the title for that vehicle from the seller, if it is impossible for you to obtain a title from the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles;
|
|
|
|
Whose title is subject to an undisclosed salvage, rebuilt, reconstructed, scrapped/destroyed, manufacturer buyback, or water damage title brand at the time of the sale;
|
|
|
|
With a model year that is different than the model year described in the seller’s listing;
|
|
|
|
With an odometer reading that is different than the odometer reading described in the seller’s listing.
|
|
Your vehicle purchase is protected for up to $ 50,000.00 or the vehicle purchase price, whichever is lower. The program covers Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, ATVs, Go-Karts, Scooters, Mopeds, Personal Watercraft, Snowmobiles, Boats, Buses, Commercial Trucks, Race Cars, RVs and Campers, Trailers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you,
eBay Financing Center Customer Support
Vehicle Purchase Protection Program
|
 |
Copyright © 2010 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looks real doesn’t it? Here is the second email.
Item Description: 2004 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4X4
Case ID: 71S4P7463V52W
Dear Cynthia Morgan,
Please tell us if you have received the invoice for payment. Once we receive the fax from you that will include the payment details as explained above, we will instruct the seller to start the shipping process. We will hold the payment until you send us your confirmation that you are satisfied with the product you received. As soon as we receive your confirmation we will release the payment to the seller. You will receive further details regarding the shipping process (courier information, tracking method, expected delivery date) after the payment confirmation.
*NOTE: It may occur that your e-mail doesn’t support HTML language and that is why you haven’t received the invoice from us. Please check your bulk/junk/spam/ messages, the invoice may have ended there because of the ever increasing filters of the e-mails nowdays.
Thank you,
eBay Financing Center Customer Support
Vehicle Purchase Protection Program
First I went to my eBay account to see if the email was in my messages there. It was not. so then I started looking for customer support phone numbers. I found it, but of course the email came in after the eBay phone lines were closed. They are open 6:00 am to 5:00 pm PST, Monday-Friday. BUT eBay does have a live chat service that is from 5:00am to 10:00pm PT, 7 days a week. So started the chat with the eBay agent. I gave her the information the “eBay” email and asked her to please confirm that this was a legit email from them. She was having a few technical issues and the chat ended unexpectedly. so I started another chat and got the same person. While waiting for her to respond, I did some checking on the eBay site.
In the “Contact Us” section there are 3 drop down buttons. I moused over the “Buying” button and clicking on the “Buying a vehicle” link under the “Getting Started” section. That brings up the following.
I clicked on the Learn how these scams work link and got this.
If you’re buying a vehicle on another site and someone offers eBay Purchase Protection or claims to be affiliated with eBay, it’s probably a scam.
Be cautious about vehicles offered on Craigslist, AutoTrader, or other online sites that claim to be eBay transactions. They’re not.
Have you already paid for the vehicle?
Yes
No
I clicked on “No” and got this.
Before you pay for the vehicle, please read this important information.
If you shop on websites other than eBay, always be aware of phone calls or emails from people claiming to be eBay representatives. There’s been an increase in reports of fake eBay Motors transactions that come from sites other than eBay, such as Craigslist and AutoTrader.
Remember, a vehicle purchased on eBay will always appear in the Won/Purchased section of My eBay and you’ll be shown as the buyer in the listing. Don’t pay for the vehicle unless you see these verifications on the eBay website.
Here are some tips on how to protect yourself from fraud.
If you receive an email or phone call that sounds suspicious:
- Don’t give out any personal or financial information.
- Don’t complete the transaction unless it’s on eBay.
- Verify that the email is really from eBay by checking your messages in My eBay.
- Don’t wire money using Western Union or MoneyGram.
- Report the scam to us by forwarding the email to car@ebay.com.
You can find out more about this scam and get more tips on how to buy safely.
The eBay agent replied to me after a few minuets and told me the same thing I had just read. If it doesn’t start and finish on eBay, then it can’t be paid for through the eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection. She asked me to please forward the email to them and to not respond to the email. I did that.
I have not bought anything off of Craigslist but I have off of eBay. I have never had a problem with my purchases on there. I know people that have made great deals on Craigslist, but as you see, be cautious. There are those great “to good to be true” deals out there, but they are far and few between. Be sure to check,recheck and check again ANY time you make a deal with someone on any of these online auctions or person to person want add sites. On eBay, payments should always be made through them. On Craigslist, if they are not willing to take cash, BEWARE! It will save you a lot of heartache.
I have a Philosophy class that, at times, brings up things that I have not allowed myself to think about in a long time and some of the readings touch me very deeply. I realize that the purpose of the class it to open the mind to new thoughts and ideas, and for us to apply these lessons to our own lives, but some times it is not easy for me. Being one of the older students in the class and having experienced twice the “life” as most of my other class mates, I know I bring a different perspective to the discussions. Prof Morgan has told me and the class time and again that he enjoys my being in the class for that very reason. But at times, I wonder if I should keep my mouth shut, more because of how talking about it will affect me rather than how it will the class.
The reading we have for Monday’s class is from Philip Hallie’s essay “From Cruelty to Goodness.” In the essay Hallie demonstrates several types of good and evil, cruelty and kindness. He also states that good or kindness does not always negate the evil or cruelty. As he goes on he talks about the French town of Le Chambon during WWII and how they risked their lives to saved 6,000 Jews from the Nazis. At the end of the text he tells the story of a woman that was at one of his lectures. At the end of the lecture a woman stood and asked him if the Le Chambon he was talking about was in the Department of Haute-Loire? When he told he yes, it was, she said, “Then you have been speaking about the village that saved all three of my children.”
The following is from my text book, “The Moral Life” by L. Pojman & L Vaughn.
She then asked to come up and say one sentence. There was not a sound, not even breathing, to be heard in the room. She came to the front of the room and said, ” The Holocaust was a storm, lighting, thunder, wind, rain, yes. And Le Chambon was the rainbow.”
In this class Prof Morgan requires us to pick 10 of the 35 readings to write a one page paper on. The first half should be a recap of what we read. (so he knows we read it.) And the second half is to be our thoughts and feelings about the text. We are to apply it to our own lives as well. The following is what I wrote in the second half of my paper.
I agree that in many instances, the good in the midst of the evil can make the evil far worse. Having been in two abusive marriages and been sexually assaulted while in Iraq, I know about physical and mental pain. Abuse is abuse. Mine is in no way on the scale of the Holocaust but the basic principles are the same. Just as the Jews were told they were going into a shower that was really a gas chamber, I too had my own chamber of death. In a vicious cycle of abuse and love, a person learns what is ok and what is not. To keep from experiencing the pain, mental or physical, you go out of your way to make sure you do the right things at the right time. When you find that it was not “good enough” and you have to suffer the pain again, you reprimand yourself for NOT being “good enough”. Over and over as this cycle progresses, the abuser gains more and more power over you till you do not know how to function without the pain. You begin to believe that you are the “bad” person and that they are the “good” one. Your self-worth decreases to the point that the abuse is what defines you as a person and gives meaning to your life. When this happens over and over again with, different people wielding the power, you set yourself up as a victim for the world. You become the door mat that they wipe their feet upon.
But once in a while a person is lucky enough to run across someone that is truly compassionate in heart. They help you pick yourself back up, dust you off, set you on your feet and stand beside you whispering in your ear that you are “good enough”, that you can break deaths grip on your soul, if only you will believe in yourself. That is what the town of Le Chambon did for the children. The woman that Hallie talked about at the end of the reading that only wanted to say one sentence summed this up very well. In stating that Le Chambon was the rainbow, she is saying that they gave them hope; hope that the pain would end, hope for a better life, and the reassurance that they are worthy of both. Without that, we never are able to dust off the residue left from the abuses we have suffered and will most absurdly allow ourselves to be over-powered by another. In the end, we are walking our own death walk to the chamber. Our spirit dies, our will dies, our soul dies, and all we have left to wait for, is for our body to die.
As I said in the beginning of this post, many times what we read in this class touches me very deeply. I don’t always know what to do with those feelings, because for me, showing them or talking about them leaves me open to attack. It is such a deeply touching subject it leaves me open to be hurt by those that I trust enough to talk with about it. I realize through many of the things I have read in this class that I have come a very long way from being that 2 time abused wife that I was many years ago. I have taken back my power from my abusers. But I have also realized, that in some small ways, I still give power, to hurt me, to those that I care about. Is that avoidable? I don’t think so. For to truly never give anyone the power to hurt you would mean to totally shut yourself off from everyone. My, my, wouldn’t that be a very lonely, pathetic life? So I guess I will take the risk and care enough about someone to give them a LITTLE power. Because loving someone means to trust them to not misuse the power you give them over you.
Some times we have to take a step back to move forward. A few weeks ago I reconnected with an ex-boyfriend, the one that got me into trucking, through facebook and made plans to ride to Dover, AR to see him and some other friends. I was not sure how things were going to go. He and I have not seen or talked to each other in about 15 years. But as ya’ll know me, I have never let a little fear stop me from doing much of anything. So, I packed my bike and rode to Arkansas for my spring break.
He hasn’t changed much, like me, he is older and wiser. The thing that has struck me as a bit odd, is the feeling I have that I have come home. I may have grown up in DeWitt, AR, and I only lived in this area for about 10 years, but coming here feels more like home than DeWitt ever has. I have forgotten more about the area than I remember, but what I remember is great!I realize that I am not that naive, 20 something, redneck gal any more. Oh, she is still partly there and it didn’t take long for the redneck part to come back out when we went up in the hills to do some riding on the ATV. As soon as I saw the first mud whole I was ready for us to pile off in it! I was just pissed that my wrists are messed up and I was stuck on the back!
Riding in the pick-up with Danny as we idled along the narrow trail brought back memories of deer hunting in this area and how I wouldn’t let any thing stand in my way of being out there on the opening day of deer season. Or how we would go out riding like that just to find a creek to go swimming in.
The yesterday I took a ride on the Harley up AR HWY 7 to Jasper. I remember my first trips across that rode back when I was learning to drive a big truck. Pea soup fog in the mornings and at night that was so thick that I would have to stand up in that old cab-over to see the road in front of me. Feeling the adrenaline rush from concurring Jasper mountain when I would finally find a place to stop for a rest was great. Oh how I would laugh, back then, at people that said that they would do everything they could to avoid that road. I think at one point I could have driven it in my sleep, and probably did a time or two.
I miss living here and the friends I had here and I have missed Danny. We have had some long talks and are getting to know each other again and it is great. I think we have both found that there have always been feelings for the other still there. And as life some times has it, there really isn’t much either of us can do about it right now. It is what is it is for now. We will get to know each other and try to make some time to see each other once in a while and let the chips fall where they may. At the very least, I will have a great friend out this and a person can never have to many really good friends.
But coming back here after so long has been good for me. I have experienced so much since I left here. I have been married and divorced twice, been to Iraq three times, written a book about it, hope to have a movie made out of that book soon, and I have grown up a lot. So many times I have been afraid that, because of the injury to my wrist, I would go back to being the person that I was before I went to Iraq. Or I have cast aside a guy I had been out on a date with because I was scared that he would drag me back into being that person again. This time here has shown me that I was not as bad a person as I thought I was. Yea, I was messed up, but there were some really good parts of me then. Maybe it would not hurt for SOME of that redneck gal to creep back into who I am now.
SONY MASTERWORKS SIGNS 4TROOPS
Young American Veterans Record Debut CD – Available April 20, 2010
Portion Of Proceeds Benefit Veteran-Related Charities
New York – January 26, 2010 – Sony MASTERWORKS announces the signing of 4TROOPS. Their debut self-titled CD will be available on April 20th with a portion of the proceeds from the sales to benefit veteran-related charities.
4TROOPS are United States combat veterans – three young men and one woman who served on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. While overseas, music played a crucial and very personal role in all of their lives. They would sing at everything from large military events to more intimate settings, where they would jam in their bunk after a long day in the field and try to recall a slice of home. They also used their voices at somber occasions like memorial services, where they would sing to remember those that had been lost. 4TROOPS now come together for a singular purpose: to sing on behalf of all troops, to honor their sacrifices and to create awareness for their needs.
The members of 4TROOPS are: Former Cpt. Meredith Melcher, Former Sgt. Daniel Jens, Staff Sgt. (Ret.) Ron Henry and Former Sgt. David Clemo. Melcher, 29, is the daughter of a retired three-star General. She served as a platoon leader on the front lines in Iraq where she led her troops in the successful ambulance evacuations of hundreds of wounded Americans and Iraqis. Jens, 36, served in Iraq and was most recently stationed at Fort Hood. He joined the army after the events of 9/11. Jens was one of the finalists on “America’s Got Talent.” He was released from the Army at the end of January. Henry, 41, served in the Army for 20 years. He was a transport manager in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, and also the leader of an Army singing group “Transportation Express.” Clemo, 30, served on the front lines in Afghanistan providing communications and logistics support for the 18th Airborne Corps. He and Melcher toured together in 2004 with the Army Soldier Show.
The album consists of well-known positive pop and country songs and some new songs. All of the songs take on a special meaning in the context that they are performed by these four combat heroes. The first song is For Freedom, an inspirational patriotic tune written by Matt Moran for his grandfather, a WWII vet. Country star Toby Keith gives his blessing for a new version of his popular and controversial post 9/11 hit Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue to be included on the album with lyrics revised to reflect a 2010 outlook. Another country hit on the album is Galveston, popularized by Glen Campbell. This song made the CMT list of the ten greatest country-western songs of all time. Other tracks include Angel by Sarah McLachlan, Lonestar’s I Am Already There, and a new song written by Victor Hurtado titled Here We’ve Been. The album is produced by Frank Fillipetti (Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, George Michael, Pavarotti) who produced James Taylor’s Hourglass album which won Fillipetti a Grammy® for Best Pop Album and Best Engineered Album in 1998.
(more)
The group was brought together by veteran Victor Hurtado. He has been part of Army Entertainment for the last 25 years, first as a Soldier and Music Director, and later as the Artistic Director. He is currently the Production Director for the Army Soldier Show. This show was established during WWI in 1918 by Sgt. Israel Beilin, better known as Irving Berlin.
Sony is in the process of finalizing arrangements to donate a portion of proceeds from 4TROOPS projects to one or more veteran-related charities, including the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). IAVA is the first and largest non-partisan, non-profit for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. IAVA has more than 180,000 veteran members and civilian supporters nationwide. IAVA was founded by Iraq veteran Paul Rieckhoff, the author of the critically acclaimed book Chasing Ghosts and a nationally-recognized authority on the war in Iraq and issues affecting our troops, military families and veterans at home.
Bob Woodruff, the ABC news anchor who was severely injured in Iraq, conducted the first TV interview with 4TROOPS which aired on Good Morning America (ABC) on Tuesday January 26th. Woodruff is personally invested in creating a better environment for injured troops who return from war. Through The Bob Woodruff Foundation and ReMIND.org, Woodruff’s goal is to provide resources and support to service members, veterans and their families to successfully reintegrate into their communities, in addition to educate the public about the needs of the injured troops and empower people everywhere to take action.
In March 2010, 4TROOPS will tape a concert special at a U.S. Military base for intended airing in the summer on participating PBS stations.
4TROOPS will also embark on an U.S. Military base tour at the end of March followed by a National tour in the fall. Upon hearing of the 4TROOPS, the Motel 6 hotel chain immediately wanted to be involved as a promotional partner and as a first step has generously donated lodging for the group throughout their U.S. Military base tour.
About MASTERWORKS: RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, MASTERWORKS Broadway and MASTERWORKS Jazz are labels of Sony MASTERWORKS. For email updates and information regarding RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, MASTERWORKS Broadway and MASTERWORKS Jazz artists, promotions, tours and repertoire, please visit www.sonymasterworks.com.
For more information on 4TROOPS visit www.4TROOPSmusic.com
For more information, please contact:
Angela Barkan / Sony Music Entertainment – Masterworks
212.833.8575 / angela.barkan@sonymusic.com
###
Many of us have seen the MSM misrepresent or not even report the good things that our military is doing in Iraq. We see TV shows and movies on the big and small screen that stand on either side of the issue. Some are very elaborate and in your face while others are more subtle. The latter was the case in last nights episode of CSI: Miami.
I don’t always watch the show, sometimes I watch “Castle“, so I didn’t know that Cain’s son had enlisted in the Army and been sent to Iraq. At the end of the episode they showed Cain signing into a video conference on his computer. The picture we see on the computer screen is Cain’s son, in battle fatigues and in Iraq. There are the usual parent/child pleasantries and concerns passed from one to another. They could have ended the scene with that, but they didn’t. They go on to have Cain’s son talk about rebuilding the schools and how happy the kids are to have them.
It was a short statement, but for me, very emotional. (I actually had a tear well up in my eyes.) The eloquence and simplicity in which it was done was a thundering message to those that have been there and done that. Even if the rest of the world misses the message, and I don’t think they can, at least those standing the line know that someone knows of the good they are doing and is making an effort to show it.
It’s kind of funny some times how things work out in life, weather it is money, job, family or love. Many times I have thought that I am happy with my life just the way it is, and then something happens and I wonder what if…..
Since I have been home recovering from my fall off the flatbed last November, I have made some really great new friends! Out of those new friendships I have seen some great marriages and relationship. (At least that is the way they look from the outside) When I see these friends together and watch how they interact, I think to myself, “Why can’t I have something like that?” Most of the time, I am totally OK with being alone. I don’t have to worry about being lied to, cheated on, or beat on. Some times I wonder if I keep myself single for that very reason.
I have also finally had time to create a Facebook profile. On there I have reconnected with some family, a few high school friends, former contractors I worked with in Iraq, some trucker friends, and made many new friends. It has all been real cool! I have taken some of the crazy and sometimes stupid quizzes on there as well. I don’t take them seriously, they are just fun to see what I will get on the other end and many times it is something to make fun of. But this morning I took one that was called “RAT- Relationship Aptitude Test!” and the result was “You need an exterminator!”
In order to avoid attracting nasty rodents and perilous pests you need a better Rat trap or to stop putting out such big chunks of chees…e~ Most of us are trained and programmed to be externally referenced, we learn that if someone likes us or wants to be with us we have value, in other words if someone wants our cheese we must be worthy of being loved! Here’s a news flash, all Rats eat cheese, they don’t care what kind it is. It doesn’t matter how pretty you are, or smart or how good you are in bed, you are wasting your time. It’s what Rats do. And whoever has the cheese is where they will go. So if you want to be in a relationship with another Rat keep doing what you are doing. If not heed my warning: Learn the difference between a Rat and a two legged, single, healthy, available person who wants a relationship. And don’t worry about all those rats, they will find some more cheese! You just stay out of the gutter and you should be fine
As I said, normally this is just something fun to pass the many hours I have to just sit here and be a couch potato. When I posted my result, I made the comment, “Oh tell me about it! This is why I have been single for so long….my picker is broke and I am trying to fix it!” A friend of mine in TN saw that I had taken the quiz on the news feed and took it herself with a similar result. We kidded back and forth about how we needed to start a “Broke Pickers Club” for those of us that can find the one and only weed in a field of flowers!
As she and I were making these comments back and forth, another friend of mine( I will call her Ms ‘M’) hit me up on the IM. She knew that I had a very special trucker friend (Mr ’X') stopping by and we had a dinner date (I cooked dinner) and she wanted to know how it went. Ms “M’ and I have been through some of the same crappy abusive relationships in our lives and we have a special bond because of it. We know how the other thinks on some things and can give them a kick in the tail when they need it and know we are still going to be friends through it all.
Well, I guess it was my time to get a boot in the a$$! I told her the dinner date was OK. He showed up late, really didn’t want to eat and seemed distant at times. We talked about many things during the evening and some where in there I said to myself, “This isn’t going to work!”, several times. Now to give him the benefit of a doubt, he did tell me on his way in that he was a bit nervous and maybe that was the problem. According to Ms ‘M’, and I quote, “You don’t want to be lied to. You don’t want to be cheated on. You don’t want to be beat on. You don’t want to be told what to do. You don’t want to be taken advantage of. You don’t want to be used. And that is all well and good. BUT… You have your 10 commandments posted on the door and you read them before you let people enter your life. Even though they are common sense. That can be scary to many people.”
As we chatted I thought about this and the quiz and the date. I thought,”What is wrong with knowing what you want and don’t want?” Yes, most of them are common sense. But is it the common sense ones that are scary, or the others that are details of the kind of person I would like to be involved with? You would think that if you knew what you wanted, that it would be easier to find it. BUT that is not the case! Oh yes, it does help a person from picking one weed after another, but I wonder some times if I am also passing up a few flowers in the process. Of course there are those weeds that look like flowers that slip through the weedanator once in a while. Those are the ones that make me step back and take another look at my “10 Commandments” again and wonder why I didn’t see it in the beginning. Those that slip though don’t last as long as they once did, but it does start a person thinking, “My picker is broke! Now how do I fix it?”
