In Loving Memory... For you, Dennis

It's been three years, on January 20th to be exact, that a dear friend of mine died in Afghanistan. I spoke about him a bit in my previous 4th of July post. Not a day goes by that we don't miss him.... 


All the years we spent together, there was always music involved - talking about it, listening to it, sharing random musical fun facts, debating on who was the best band of all time.... VH1 Classic was the channel always playing on the tv at our friend's house, many times the songs playing on Metal Mania and Headbanger's Ball sparking some of these debates. So strange to think back now to those times knowing he is no longer with us...


My best friend, Melissa and I wanted to honor our friend in the best way we knew how. Dennis was a huge Iron Maiden fan, all the way to the end. Melissa and I had talked about getting tattoos to honor and remember him. After much debate, deciding what to get done and finding the right time to do it, our wish finally came true two days ago on the anniversary of his passing. Everything seemed to finally come together, and the timing of his anniversary seemed most fitting to the occasion. 


So on we went to meet with our tattoo artist Rod Whitesinger at Disciple Tattoo in Chandler, AZ to get inked with the lyrics from Hallowed Be Thy Name.... "Catch my soul, it's willing to fly away, Mark my words, believe my soul lives on, Don't worry now that I have gone, I've gone beyond to seek the truth....". Melissa and I played a bit with the verse order, but here are the final results.


Back of my left shoulder:

Left side of Melissa's stomach:

I know Dennis can't come back to us, but at least now he will truly always be a part of us... Always to love, never to be forgotten. 

Catch My Soul, It's Willing To Fly Away.....

On this 4th of July, I've been thinking of a very dear friend, Dennis, that we lost three years ago to the war in Afghanistan. Before he moved and joined the army, we hung out all the time with two other friends of ours. The four of us were very close and have so many memories together. My favorite was one particular 4th of July....


Dennis and I were at our friends' house barbecuing in the afternoon. Later that night, I remember sitting on the roof of our friends' house watching fireworks in the distance - we must have seen 6 or 7 different set of fireworks going on that night all over the Phoenix metro area. I sat on the lower part of their roof that was level and felt safe, but Dennis jogged up to the top of the steep, angled roof with his young daughter in his arms without hesitation or fear. 


Tonight I sat on that same roof and looked back to the spot I last saw Dennis standing.... Still so strange that he is gone from our lives. I miss him so much. As if that weren't enough to think of him, driving home I heard an Iron Maiden song, Hallowed Be Thy Name, on the radio. 

"..... Catch my soul, it's willing to fly away, mark my words, believe my soul lives on, don't worry now that I have gone, I've gone beyond to seek the truth.... ". The very words my best friend and I are going to have tattooed later this month on the 3rd anniversary of Dennis' passing. Dennis was the biggest Iron Maiden fan. I can't think of a better way to honor him and never forget how much he meant to us.... to me.


I dedicate this post to Dennis ~~ May he forever live on in our memories and our hearts ~~