Okay, for the four of you still out there, it’s not as heavy as all that. I wanted to talk about 3 deaths that impacted my life of late. Let’s start with a dog picture. My boy Edzell:

Edzell, A.K.A. “Bugsy”

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I was enjoying the first really nice day in a while around this horrible part of the globe (long winter) and thought about my boy. This is the first time in the millenium when he hasn’t been here for spring. I chuckled over his nickname, Bugsy. Every spring he’d go sticking his snout into the garden, under the flowers and plants growing there, and come away with bugs on his head. Usually beetles or mites of some sort. Nothing that gave me any trouble. It was kind of amusing to ruffle the white spot on the top of his head and watch the critters jump around. It passed in a few days, he didn’t care, and I didn’t mind. It was always a sign of new life – mainly on his scalp, but in the garden as well. My spring and summer will be a little less joyous without the old fellow this year. He was a good friend.

The next death is that of my father. Oliver Courtemanche died 6 years ago today. He’d be ticked to get second billing to a dog, but I’m strictly going chronologically here.

Dad’s watch.

When my dad died, he left behind a family in tears. Now, six years later, it’s a bitter-sweet memory for all of us. I’m actually glad for him, he beat the rap on the last year of emphysema by his passing. Besides, his final words were, “I think I see Jesus.” Doesn’t get better for a Christian. Today I’ll pray for my mom and think about my dad. That watch is my big keepsake, I had a bigger band put on so I could wear it. Today I will do so in honor of him. Semper Fi, Staff. I’ve got the watch.

The final deaths to be covered are the ones that took place this week in 1986 when the Libyans bombed a disco in Germany and we gave some free landscaping in return. We lost pilots, they lost people. But it shut Khadaffi in his box for a while and put him on notice that things could get ugly if he kept it up. This attack, and our response, weighs heavily on a service member very close to me. They feel responsible for those deaths in Libya because of their role in the intelligence community. I’ve tried to tell them that it’s not their doing, they were an honorable person who was doing their job to defend the country. That’s small comfort to a Christian who feels guilt for those days and comes to tears and sadness each year on the anniversary.

Three different deaths: One a good memory of a buggy friend, one a father whom I miss, one an attack fomented by a terrorist strike against our people in Europe. All a part of my life. Death, a part of each of our lives.

I hope today you can spare a moment or two to pray for my mom. She lost her best friend six years ago today. Someday they will be together again. Until then, the love continues temporarily unrequited.

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