It will be used in a National campaign to raise funds with 100% of all proceeds going to the Wounded Warriors fund.

Jeff says that in reference to the song, “It’s been churning about inside of me since April 2006.”

[See post to listen to audio]

If you were a friend of Randy’s please pass on the group info to other people that might not be aware of it yet.

Let’s make it a place to share memories or photos or stories and things of a great man that was taken from us way to early.

I am in the process of making a slideshow or two but it won’t be ready for a little bit yet.

I also remember the pride and honour I felt when he asked me (of all people) to be the best man for his wedding which was taking place as soon as I got posted back to Ottawa from Hawaii to this girl Jody he had been telling me so much about… Wow, it was a great first impression of a lovely girl who I can say know is one of the strongest women I know. Of course being an uncle and “The Godfather” isn’t something I take lightly and I was truly very honoured to be asked, I will always look after them and help out to the best of my abilities.

It worked out that it was one month to the day after Randy’s funeral that I ended up getting his name tattooed on my chest over my heart and above his name I got a red poppy which sits on the bottom corner of a red maple leaf. Just a little something to keep his memory alive with me all the time.

Like I said in an earlier post when I was an extra thoughtful mood, remember, each day we have with each other is a gift and each day is an opportunity to live, love, laugh and make a difference in the lives of those around us.

I have received hundreds of photos from Afghanistan from people there when Randy was there and wanting to pass on their condolences and letting me know much he meant to them. They would comment on his infectious laughter and personality and it is amazing to see the effect he had on so many people as he touched their lives in one way or another.

They say the first year after something like this is the hardest as it is always “the first” of many things. The first Christmas, the first birthdays, etc and we have managed to somehow make it this far. It has been challenging at times but I feel we have to keep going, for our sake, for the kids, and because Randy would want us to…

The only problem with my uploading these new photos is that I had wanted to keep it as chronologically correct as I can, so you might have to search through the page to try and discover exactly which ones I submitted. I have received over 100 photos of his time over there and as you can imagine, they cover a varied amount of time. I was very fortunate to get alot of his last day and treasure them very much.

It is by Silvia Pecota (www.silviapecota.com) who has done some amazing works over the years dedicated to the Canadian Forces and more to The Canadian Army in general.

I was first exposed to her work during my tour of Bosnia-Herzegovina when I found a copy of a postcard she had made for the troops called “The True North Strong and Free” and was amazed at the technique used to create the images: combining oil painting with photography.

Silvia has been selected as an Artist for the Army (Canadian Forces Artist Program) and is apparently working on a book about the Canadian Soldier which I will definitely purchase when it becomes available.

Needless to say, the gift of this print had a very powerful and poignant effect on me. The detail is amazing on the print I have, if you take a close look (it was hard for me to see at first with the tears), but the helmet band on the soldiers kit left behind to convey the sense of a lost comrade, you can make out the date of 22-04-06 which is the date my brother was killed in action in Afghanistan.