In Memory of Blake McIntosh

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.

- Revelation 21:4


I don't know what happened. All that I know is he's dead.

My Facebook friend, Dale, is someone whom I've actually had email conversations with and someone I've networked with in the past, not just someone in the virtual world I don't even know. Well, Dale's brother died. I found out about his brother's death on Facebook.

Dale posted this when he learned about his brother's untimely death:
"Oh Father in Heaven...please welcome my brother into Heaven today to meet my parents once again. I love you Blakey and will always keep you close to my heart. You've been there for me through all the hard times. You will be missed more than my words can express. R.I.P. Ziggy"

This desperate prayer—a pleading and heartbroken prayer—not only was heard by God, who knows all the thoughts and intents of our hearts, but his written prayer was heard by anyone of the 1080 friends he has on Facebook.

A couple of more postings and an host of loving, caring and kind words expressed in what seemed like never ending comments, told a heart wrenching story.

Dale was out of the country. He didn't have good phone communications.

There was time, and undoubtedly many tears, in between his posts. He would soon post this video from youtube, with a preface:

"Dedicated to my brother and comrade throughout my life. A true warrior within. I love you B."



As an explanation from one of this other FB friends, Dale wrote:

"There is a man in downtown Salt Lake who is in full dress and play the pipes all the time. Some of you may have seen him or will see him in the future. People tip him from time to time. But this song was the favorite of Bla...ke and I on the pipes. One day Blake was able to sit and listen to that gentleman play this song. Blake closed his eye and enjoyed every second. He was so excited that he called me when I came back in the country to tell me about his life preview. I wish I could have went and watched the live version with my brother B." (sic)

Yes, Dale mentioned he was out of the country. He and I have shared a lot in common. Perhaps that's one reason why I feel so inclined to write this blog. We're warriors. We share a warrior connection. We were introduced (and I believe we even had a few phone conversations) after—or perhaps just before—I returned from Iraq and was looking for work.

I used to be a private security contractor. He was too. I knew that. However, after a quick search, I just found an article I didn't know existed. I can share some of his feelings as the newspaper quotes him. ("Utahn gets 'rush' as bodyguard", by Doug Robinson, Deseret Morning News)

Later, after more tacit mourning and tears, my brother-in-arms, asked urgently if anyone had any connections to any police officers in Salt Lake City. One can only assume that he wants more details surrounding the death of his older brother.

Warrior SOS was created to help warriors. I created Warrior SOS, and I recognized this moment, seeing a warrior in need. The compassion I felt for my brother, Dale, led me to do some searching, reach out in love and help. An SOS—the international signal of distress and call for help—was and is badly needed.

I wanted to learn more about Dale's brother, Blake.

Google turns up no immediate results.

I waited. I wondered.

Time passed.

I did another search of Dale's FB page and I noticed something incredibly peculiar—almost too powerful to be ignored.

Less than an hour before Dale posted his prayer, after realizing his brother had been taken from this earth and had passed on to a better world—a world where there is no more pain and no more sorrow or tears—Dale wrote a post via his brother's FB page.

His brother, whose earthly mission was now complete, posted this news report as one of his final postings, if not his very last one.

As family is the most important thing in all time and all eternity, I cannot help but to think that this posting has significant and serious meaning, not only for Dale but for each of us. The article is about families.

And with Dale's mom who passed away, and then his dad, and now his brother—and as I think about and pray for my brother, Dale, whom I don't know that well, but I whom I know well enough—I pray he can find peace and return home. God bless you, my friend.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392235/Minority-American-couples-tied-knot.html

Number of American couples tying the knot drops for the first time

Married couples are in the minority in America for the first time.

In last year’s U.S. census, married couples represented 48 per cent of all households, down from 52 per cent a decade earlier.



Photo taken from the UK online article has the following caption...
Drop: Married couples are in the minority in the USA for the first time

Experts attributed the change to a fast-growing older population who are more likely to be divorced or widowed, and young people delaying marriage amid fears of not being able to hang on to a job and a shift away from having children at a young age.

Meanwhile the number of opposite-sex couples living together rather than marrying jumped 13 per cent from 2009 to 7.5million.

The median age for first marriages has climbed steadily in the U.S. since the 1960s, when men got married at about 23, and women at 20. Now men are waiting until they are 28 and women until 26.

Americans are also living longer, with an average life expectancy of 78, nearly a decade longer than in the 1960s.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392235/Minority-American-couples-tied-knot.html#ixzz1P1lqQsx9


To read amazing interviews with warriors, check out Warrior SOS: Interviews, Insights and Inspiration, the book on Amazon.com. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D3WO7VK