I wanted to give everyone an update on my musician friend John (whose house was damaged in a fire). Lots of effort and a lot of good news, even in this sad event. John will be in town soon and will be able to look over the damage and take inventory of the surviving furniture and gear. Until then Alisa has organized the gofundme project http://www.gofundme.com/johnvaneaton which has raised $10,000 so far in less than a week. I think that is going to make a big difference in the next few days and weeks.
There are a number of people still working on cleaning and restoring items that were rescued in the search and recovery phase. Once John gets to look at the various projects, he will have a better idea of how to get back on his feet. We hope to have information from the team that is working on organizing a benefit soon.
https://midimike.com/2015/07/11/please-help-spread-the-word/ this is the original post about these events.
I’m also in the process of writing a song about the events using some guitar chords my wife was playing with recently and a little jam I was working on. Thank you all for getting the word out and helping as much as you can. I have come home from those salvage missions and realize everything that I have could be gone in moments. I am not rich, but the music and memorabilia would be irreplaceable. I will need them when memory loss really kicks in!
This song is for John, everyone who donated money and time to help him and all of you really cool bloggers. I’m going to post the lyrics first while I polish the song, but it will be up shortly.
“A Very Long Night” © 7-13-2015 Lyrics MSK Music MSK/ELK
Traveling for business
He is often out of town
From country to country
One city becomes the next
It wasn’t until he got the text
With pictures from the news
That he knew this was the beginning
Of a Very Long Night
He wasn’t home when the fire started
Everyone says it could have been worse
As we watched, broken hearted
Each tear became another verse
Unable to return any time soon
All my friend could do was watch
Phone calls and e-mail
The news from home was grim.
Some say it was best for him
Being out of town.
Some say it was best for him
He didn’t see it burn down.
Some say it was best for him
Not to see the damage from the flames
Some say it was best for him
As all that water did the same
It was a good thing he wasn’t home that night
It was a good thing he wasn’t home that night
It was a good thing he wasn’t home all right
It was just the beginning of a Very Long Night.
MidiMike 
I’m so sorry to hear about your friends house, but am happy to see that a good amount of money has been raised so far. I hope more money can be raised for him and everything turns out alright.
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Thank you so much for your thoughts. It was difficult to watch. With everyone’s help we have been able to get him started and hopefully make that part less painful. The emotional and financial support has been greatly appreciated!
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I like the song Mike. Your a good friend:) d
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Good to hear you enjoyed the song. Indeed, I am!
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