Of late, I’ve lost a lot of friends to the 'Grim Reaper.’  Most of them I’ve known face to face, had a chance to pray, break bread, or maybe smoke a cigar with; some I’ve only been blessed to know as well as one can know an individual that was met online.

Jodi Fowler was such an individual.  She and I 'knew’ each other for a number of years via the new 'neighborhood’ of Social Media.  We shared stories, thoughts, and friends; we wrote and shared information on each other’s websites; we even talked on the phone a couple of times.

Jodi had often talked about taking a ride to South Florida and meeting me and a whole bunch of mutual friends; however God had other plans in mind for all of us and it just never materialized.

Not even a month ago, Jodi fell ill.  Many of us prayed corporately and did our best to keep our spirits high believing that she would bounce back and be just as strong as ever.

Sadly for all of us, that wasn’t in His planning.  Our friend, our sister in Christ; Jodi Fowler went home just as we were beginning to celebrate Christmas last week.

I know that she is now pain free and dancing with her beloved Rusty; however her passing has left a hole for a lot of people.

Jodi, it could be tomorrow or who knows when on our earthly clocks, but only a blink of an eye in Eternity before a lot of us get to sit down and dine at His table with you.  Until then, you will be greatly missed.

Until we do finally meet and I have a chance to introduce you around, rest well my friend.  Like so many of my friends, you simply got to be with Jesus before me.  

See you 'soon.’ 

Ole Bach was one of those people that left a mark on everyone he met.  His warm, infectious smile never left his face and he had the wrinkles to prove it.  

When I first met Ole what seems like a hundred years ago, or maybe only yesterday, he had recently arrived in America from Denmark.  You could see in his eyes that he understood what America had to offer a man with his skills and drive, and while at the time he didn’t have two nickels to rub together, Ole went on to make his fortune and mark here.  In fact, if you know horses and racing, you know why his name sounded familiar.  Ole Bach was a pillar in that community.

He would have been and undoubtedly was a pillar in any other business or social community that he chose to be involved with, because he embraced life with zeal and a work ethic that many only think about.  

If you had a problem or just had something good to share, Ole would help you out or wish you well in your good fortune.

I think my favorite memory of him was the time many years ago while I was living in NJ for a very short but special season of life and he asked to see my license because of the photo. At the time, it bore one of those awful DMV photos and made me resemble of all people, Adolf Hitler.  I didn’t really think much of showing it to him at the time until a few months later when he and a whole gaggle of our mutual friends showed up where I was working one evening and kidnapped me to take me out.  You see, I don’t like to share my birthday with folks because I generally don’t do much and they really wanted to know when it was. That’s how they found out…when he asked to see my 'picture’ he was really getting my birthday and that’s the day they 'kidnapped’ me after arranging it with my boss.  I couldn’t even get mad at him; it was a great night and he was a good guy to do it.  

Time moved on, I left NJ, visiting on occasion; I didn’t see much of Ole after that time, however we stayed in loose contact via mutual friends and I watched his career skyrocket.

At the end of the day, Ole Bach was a great guy, a loving husband and father of three, and the epitome of American success stories who will be missed by many.  The complete impact of his sudden and tragic death on Thursday evening may never be realized.  He leaves behind his wife, three wonderful children, countless friends, business associates, and admirers. 

It was a privilege and an honor to know him and be among those friends.

Until we meet again, rest well Ole.

Charlie Bisol was an American Hero.  A little less than a year ago I accidentally met Charlie while we were both going about our business; I got to know him a little, and while it turned out as fate would have it that our friendship would be brief, my life was made better by it.  I only heard yesterday that Mr. Bisol passed away back in July.

His story would be typical if it were not so unique.  After I met him last year, I wrote an article about him and the book he wrote about his war time experiences titled “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) begins with a Bang.”  The following excerpt from that article says it all:

“Let me take a moment and properly introduce this blessed soul to you.  Charlie Bisol is just that guy next door, he got born at a rough time in our nation’s history; he grew up, and he did what kids have been doing since time began.  He had fights with other kids in his neighborhood in the morning, and laughed about it later that day with the same kids.  Maybe, more than a few times like so many other kids back in the day, he and the gang scraped up a nickel together and bought a pack of cigarettes and maybe snuck away with everyone else on the block.  The point is, he was just a normal kid growing up in the twenties and thirties. Guys like Al Capone and John Dillinger were on the newsreels in the movie houses and the world was a very different place, albeit a very dangerous place.

Then one day back in 1941, at the ripe old age of 16 or 17, Charlie, like millions of other young men everywhere on both sides watched the world they knew change in an instant. Yeah, the winds and rumors of war had been brewing for a while, but on the very fateful morning of December 7, 1941, without any warning, forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked our Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and forever changed the mindset of millions of guys and gals like Charlie Bisol.  We were at war and all bets were off.

As fate would have it, Charlie was sent to the European theatre and found himself up to his neck in some of the most intense battles of the war on that front.  Assigned as a truck driver, he found himself in lots of very dangerous and potentially deadly circumstances.  In any war zone, all vehicles are targets of opportunity, and trucks that can move men and supplies are prize targets.  There are snipers, mines, tanks, and who knows what else?  Every turn of the wheel could be your last moment….the kind of stuff that keeps you awake for days on end, and wakes you up in a cold sweat and shaking when you do drift off.

Such was and has been Charlie Bisol’s existence.  Charlie, and all the other guys and gals that did what they had to do to defend our great nation.”

Charlie Bisol; American Hero, husband, father, one of the last of a dying breed….my friend.  

Until we meet again and catch up, rest well sir.  You will be missed. 

No one ever said it would be otherwise, but life on this side of Heaven is not fair. The longer I live, the more I realize how truly blessed I am, but I also find myself saying goodbye to more and more friends and loved ones all too frequently.

Over the past year or so, I have been one of many that have helplessly watched my dear friend Melinda Campanale Galiano contract and succumb to the insidious, dreaded disease of cancer.  And it was just a bit more than a year ago that I watched another pass from the same thing.

I only knew Melinda for a brief time really, having only met her around three years ago.  However, Melinda was one of those rare individuals that touched and impacted everyone; she was that missing element to everyone she came into contact with, and from the moment we met, we became part of each other’s inner circle of friends and got to know each other very well.

She was probably the strongest, most fearless, and giving woman I have ever had the privilege to know.  Her undying patriotism and the hours she spent honoring our fallen military as a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, her endless support of Wreathes Across America, and her never ending generosity for those less fortunate are only a scant few of the things she will be remembered for.

We had started attending services together at Christ Fellowship Church on occasion and I remember the Saturday just near the end of last winter when she texted me to see if I was planning on attending the next day.  I did, and we sat together with a few other friends, but she did something I didn’t expect.

We always sat in the front row, but on this occasion we were a couple of rows back, and when Pastor Todd was wrapping up his sermon, he ended with an 'Alter Call’ inviting all in attendance who had never invited Jesus into their lives to pray and come forward.  Before I even realized that she had left her seat, I saw that Melinda was the first one standing in front of Pastor Todd.  I’m pretty sure she was a believer in her heart before that, but as far as I know, that was the day she officially confessed and accepted Him.  I still tear up every time I think of that day and moment.  

From that day forward, with rare exception, we never missed a Sunday morning service together and a coffee afterwards in the Cafe.  It was only about two months ago that she 'sealed the deal’ and was water baptized in a private event.

I know many of the 'Framily’ at Christ Fellowship Church, and I love them all…but it is never going to be the same anymore without Melinda.  I know I’ll see her again on the other side in Eternity, and I’m happy she is now free of the pain of this world, but her going Home will leave an un-fillable void for many in this temporary existence.

I can only join countless others and offer my heartfelt sympathy to Gary and the entire Galiano family, and I pray that they can find peace and solace in the Loving Embrace of Jesus.  

Rest in Peace Sweet Melinda, while Heaven is in for a rare treat, you are and will be missed terribly.