FILLER
elcome to Mel’s Memorial & Tribute Thread. It’s never easy to lose a good friend. It’s never easy to say “Goodbye” to the people we care about who have been a part of our lives. Although we mostly never meet one another in person, we all share enough time and fellowship here together to find a place in the psyches of each other. There is much more to all of this than avatar photos and black & white words on a screen. There are real people here, the same as you and I, with similar hopes, fears, challenges, dreams and lives. I know this to be true because it always hurts when one of us passes on.
Mel was my very good friend. Mel was everyone’s very good friend. Mel was a very good person. In the seven years since I knew him originally from Weasel Zippers, he never posted a single unkind word to anyone; and, I never saw anyone ever post an unkind word about him. Mel was an independent, self employed craftsman who specialized in custom finish work, mostly for private residences. He would occasionally post photos of his projects either completed or still in progress. Mel was also a patriot who cared deeply about America and shared the same frustrations as all of us about what is now happening. He lived in Albuquerque and loved his girlfriend and his dog “Buddy.” He emailed me right after he lost his fourteen year old dog “Pilot.” He was very upset and distraught. I told him that he would probably start feeling better once he got a new puppy. He assured me most certainly that wasn’t going to happen because there wasn’t another dog out there who could take the place of “Pilot.” However, in less than two weeks later, he was proudly posting puppy photos of “Buddy.”
I don’t know whether or not Mel ever served in the Military. Unfortunately, I never asked him. There are probably many things I wish now I should have asked about his life, but didn’t. I feel sad and slightly ashamed; in this moment of reflection, I realize I probably could have been a much better friend. Mel impressed me as being a very nice and moral person who kept to himself. I already posted about this last night, but there was a time at Weasel Zippers when he asked me where I would go if they ever banned me. He said if I ever left, he wanted to know where so he could follow me there.That’s the kind of friend Mel was. Mel’s favorite time to post was early in the morning during Muster after which he would usually announce he was going back to bed.
Mel made his final posts on Sunday a week ago. In them, there is absolutely NO indication of anything out of the ordinary. Nor did Mel ever post anything about having any sort of medical problems.
Mel also never locked or took his Disqus account private. If you would like to visit his Disqus profile page, scan his comments or leave him a message, I have unlocked the comments and reopened the last couple of threads he posted on.
Here is a direct link:
I’m not completely certain if MEL was saved but I strongly suspect he was. Another question I wish I would have asked him. I noticed he would often uptick Tokaise’s daily featured devotionals and he seemed to respond favorably to comments in religious discussions.
After the holidays he wrote me an email because he was worried about how he was having difficulties finding new business because of the weak economy. During the course of our conversation he confided, “I guess I just need to have faith that God will take care of me.”
I so really want to have faith that God is taking good care of you now, Mel. I don’t know why he chose to take you from us so sudden and unexpectedly. I pray your entrance into his Kingdom was peaceful, seamless and comfortable; because someone of your good nature and generous heart certainly deserves nothing less. Whatever his reason, we celebrate your deliverance from all the sadness, confusion and darkness which now dominates this earthly realm.
Thank you for the blessing of your time, kindness and love you shared with all of us. It will have to be enough to last us until we all meet again. Of course our hearts are very heavy , but that’s only because now that you’ve gone on to the next part of your journey, we wish we could still have had more time.
Thank you for everything.
Fare well,
Dear Friend
