There’s no doubt about it, I just haven’t had the best of attitudes lately. Actually, I’m struggling. Another summer lost… another NFL season kicks off without Ryan cheering wildly — in his Washington jersey — at the large screen television, alongside me on the (entirely too) large sectional sofa.
So… I guess I’m posting this video of Kari and myself, below, as much for me as you. I need a good laugh. For whatever reason, we decided we’d get up in front of a small crowd and do a little karaoke. She never thought I would do it and I took it as a fun challenge. I still wonder why she sometimes doubts my silliness! Granted, I have a terrible singing voice. Just incredibly horrid, if truth be told.
That certainly doesn’t stop me from belting out whatever song comes to mind many times throughout the day. I’m sure Ryan is cringing inside, but it’s nothing he wouldn’t be use to from growing up. Like Weird Al Yankovich I am a master at parodying almost any song. It just comes naturally to me to make it funny.
I even parody Weird Al’s moniker by calling myself “Weird Ken Slap-a-Bitch”. My wife doesn’t find it particularly amusing — by scolding me about being so vile — but Kari and I laugh every time I say it. Admit it, it’s funny!
John Denver, Take Me Home (Country Roads).
So, a little set-up is called for in this case. Kari took me out one night in June. When we arrived at the upscale restaurant (with a bar off the dining area) the entertainment was being switched over from music playing over the ceiling speakers to karaoke. She dared me to do a song with her and we both immediately agreed on Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver right away. It is, for all intents, the song most associated with West Virginia University and she had just graduated weeks before.
Just to be clear — despite how it will appear — I hadn’t had (much) to drink. Not that this would have stopped (or further encouraged) me anyhow.
Okay, remember, I can’t sing worth a lick. Which is bad enough. For whatever reason I thought it would be entertaining to throw in a country accent. I reached back into my younger years and found the voice I had growing up on the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. what I found was with a more pronounced drawl than I expected.
Kari should have know better! I meant to draw unwanted attention to her… and she had no escape as I hammed it up. Enjoy!
Not able to view it here? Watch it on YouTube. You can also see other videos uploaded throughout the years.
NOTEWORTHY
- The Spa Lift is scheduled for delivery and installation tomorrow morning! I’ll believe it when I see it…
- Please take a look a Ryan’s Wish List to see if you can help by getting items for him or a Gift Card.
Awesome, glad to see you having fun 🙂
So funny Ken and it was great to see you both having a good time. Maybe you need to get back to living a little more. God Bless You all! Take your lovely wife out and have a little fun, I’m sure you could both use it and it’s what your son would want. Hugs!!!!!!
One word AWESOME! !!
That was awesome. When doing karaoke you dont have to be good at it, its about having fun and being able to stand up and sing in front of others. I loved it and as someone else said you know how to work the crowd. Im so happy to see you and your daughter out there having a blast. Even if it was just one night. You needed this and I feel she did too. Love and prayers to you all.
good for you guys ! Wishing you more let loose times !
That was great!!!!
It is so nice to see you having fun. Your family will always be in my prayers.
Good for you! Nice to unwind sometimes.
No matter where in the world one is, when this song is heard, you will find a Mountaineer! Ken, you are a true Mountaineer!! (Even if you are from PA!!)
You are an amazing dad and parent, in case you didn’t know.
Love it great to see you release some of that tension and I think she was great!
Thank you so much for this. Thank you for doing this to and for your beautiful daughter and for yourself.
Wow…this could seriously go viral it was so bad! LOL!
I don’t know if I’m laughing/smiling harder at your video, Ken, or John Maletta’s reply!!
I just watched this video. Now all of the dogs in my neighborhood are going nuts. 😉
Yeah, I have effect on the bitches…
Great to see you out with Kari. This is a well deserved Father/Daughter night out. For your next night out could you please do Elvis with the song Jailhouse Rock and dedicate it to Austin Vantrease. With enough thought I know you can come up with a million songs for that piece of crap.
Omg… Laughing and crying at the same time! I’m laughing because I am overjoyed to see the strong shining spirit that still lives within you and crying because that spirit is always fighting to be heard, but many times caves due to the heartache that lives beneath it.
Praying for your strong shining spirit to ALWAYS WIN…and of course for Ryans complete peace and healing.
With love and in prayer,
Keri, MY FRANKIE and Family
OMG! I LOVE THIS! You just crack me up—what’s wrong with your singing anyway?? I sing like that all the time (probably why my dad said years ago while I was singing in the shower, ‘tell that D** kid to shut the H*** up!). God bless you both, I love you all and keep on truckin’. SHSP NGA
Very entertaining and it was nice to see you relax some. Keep up the singing lessons though.
This is so funny….I love how you go out to work the crowd and ask for help every time the chorus comes along….Kari, you look beautiful in the white dress!
OMG, this made me fall out of my seat and laugh in a fit of giggles! I think this is my official “go to” video when I need to laugh. Thanks for sharing, Ken!
Enjoyably funny…..seriously poor Kari, cause Ken you CANNOT sing!! But Best Post Ever to see you enjoying life ‘a little bit’! Thanks for sharing!!
September 5, 2014 Better Late than Not at All
Ken, I am a musician and former singer in a quartet that sang on the radio, and a Sunday School teacher (Yes, we had to teach those little future Christians how to sing Jesus Loves Me, although this will surely come into question in their lives down the road!). My qualifications being bragged about, I am qualified to give you my much considered opinion of your rollicking, frolicking rendition of our beloved and adventurous (Think Rocky Mountain High before the “adventure” was cool–and legal in some states!) John Denver’s Country Roads. Now, Ken and Kari, to form my opinion took some time, since I had to view your video 17+ times (I lost count after 17), thus the delay in posting said “qualified opinion.” Now enough about me and my qualifications (did you ever notice how writers always go on and on about themselves until they get to the point? They tell you tell you more about themselves than what they’re going to tell you; tell you, and then tell you again! (Yeah, that’s what we do when we do this thing, don’chakno!), let’s get on with it and my opinion on the karaoke video starring you and Kari. I will make it short and sweet:
OH MY GAWD!!
Ken, to be honest, my first thought was, “Ken, we can fix this!“ I first thought of sending a voice teacher over there, but wait!! This is just too good to fix! Y’all are ready! We can take this show on THE ROAD! I SEE A BIG BUS — just like Dwight Yoakum’s, only it’s all painted up in the Blue and Gold, colors now made famous by our own Ryan Diviney, who didn‘t will it on his own! Picture this: Ken and Kari emblazoned on the sides in biiiig letters — get the picture? $$$$$$$$
Yup! Y’all might add “World Famous,” if you like, because you are! BTW–you can learn to play the uke right there on You Tube. Thank God for that!
P. S.
Why did I really view the Ken and Kari video so many times? It kept my spirits up! Yessir, it surely did! As if it was not devastating enough when we lost George Carlin (I cried for days), now we had to go and lose Joan Rivers! What really hurts the most, Ken, is all that cosmetic surgery Joan had? Wasted! As she said, she will make a beautiful corpse! I hope the entire funeral is on some TV station — I can’t wait! She promised us a real feast of humor at her funeral.
Ken and Kari, please hurry it up with the next video. I’m a dead duck if anything happens to another of my favorite humorists and writer at the Charlotte Observer, Celia Rivenbark, who writes books like, You Don’t Sweat Much for a Fat Girl (Amazon Books). Sign me, Always here, NGA
Happy happy thoughts for you both:) So good for you to get out and let loose for an evening! Enjoyed the video!!
I thought nobody existed in real life that sang worse than I do. Love you, Ken! Totally awesome!
Ken, it’s great to see you letting loose and having fun!! Much needed I am sure. You two are awesome!!
Haha I love this!!!!!!!!!!
Bless your heart Ken!!!!
I loved it!!! I know things have been so rough but please continue to make time for laughter and making memories with Kari!!!!
You’re the father everyone wishes they could have!!!!!!! I’m thinking of you all, always!!!! ❤
This is the best! Thank you for sharing a rare moment of pure joy with us. Maybe you should post more Weird Ken videos on YouTube — they would go viral, and you could end each performance with a serious reference to Ryan’s story and this website. You are a man of many talents and a creative genius, even if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket 🙂
Oh my goodness! I am grinning ear to ear. That was the best! Love my Mountaineers and every time I hear Country Roads no matter where I am at I have to sing it at the top of my lungs. So happy you let loose with Kari. What great memories with her. Just wish Ryan could have been up there with you two singing at the top of his lungs too.
Hi Ken, I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time I was watching this!! You definitely know how to work a crowd!!! Lookin good in that suit — which — the suit made the video even more entertaining because it’s this businessman singing his heart out to Country Roads : ) Kari looked as beautiful as ever and was displaying great grace under pressure LOL!!! So clear to see how much she loves being with you and how much fun the two of you have together. Talk about something precious!!! Thanks for posting this video, it really made my day. It showed me how even when things seem dark and impossible, there exists light and laughter in spontaneous moments — moments that become lasting treasured memories. Wishing you and Ryan a peaceful and positive day. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are gray” : )
Love, hugs, prayers and always hope!
Paula
Ken ,”(clapping)” So good to see you having a little fun ,but have to agree ,you do need singing lessons, 🙂 but I don’t think Kari is embarassed one bit. You both needed this .!!! Thanks for sharing..
Love you guys
Haha Ken, Courtney and I were in hysterics. I too sing to Courtney all day. I am sure much like Ryan, she is thinking please stop howling.
Glad u had a good evening out. U deserve it.
Great to see you out enjoying yourself.
love it, Ken! So glad to see you two having fun!
Looks like you had a much needed night out with your beautiful daughter. You look like you were having a blast. Thanks for sharing, I needed the smile this morning.
Awesome! So glad that you & your daughter were able to make that memory together! Sometimes you just need a stress reliever like that!
It made me laugh and cry at the same time. It’s awesome that you’re allowing yourself to do happy things with your daughter. I’ve seen people totally withdrawal because of guilt. Then it made me a little sad because I could just see Ryan being up there acting silly with his sister. God bless your sweet family.
That is awesome! Thank you for sharing!
I will never hear that song and not think of your family now……that was fun to watch and definitely worth a laugh!!
Awesome!
So glad to see you and Kari have a few minutes of pure fun. You both deserve it!!
Priceless!
Before I read. let me just say “OMG!” This has gotta be good! 🙂
Oh. My. Gosh. You know I love you but…you honestly can’t sing! Sooooo funny!! Good for you for having fun and Kari just proves she’s the most spectacular daughter ever <3
That was really fun to watch, I had a smile on my face through-out the whole performance. Was great to see you and your Daughter have fun together.