Mike Pollock

Michael J. Pollock II, 20, of Fort Jennings, died at 12:47 a.m. Saturday, November 22, 2008, at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima.

Mike was a good friend of mine. Even though I have not seen him since our last day of High School at Vantage Career Center, I still miss him and have lots of fond memories. Mike, along with most of the students in our Computer Networking Technology class at Vantage played games religiously at lunch. Our senior year consisted mostly of Battlefield II. Mike, Kevin, Dustin, and myself were privileged enough to travel to Florida for Business Professionals of America and compete at the national level. I have a ton more memories of him. Mike was a pretty swell guy, and he will be missed greatly by all of his friend and family.

I attended his funeral today. He is the second friend of my age that I have outlived. Life is short guys, and death helps remind me of that fact. I have thought about life being short, and I don't have any life changing advice to summarize how I feel about our existence on this earth. I do know that love is a key part of life, and makes life worth while.

This passage has been on my mind a lot lately, it's full of good stuff.

1 John 4:7-19 NKJV
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^[a] into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for^[b] our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19We love because he first loved us.

(From left to right: Dustin, Kevin, Mrs. Moore, Mike, Me. Florida 2006)

--John D.