Heaven vs. Hell

Five days ago Prescott suffered the shocking loss of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters deployed at the Yarnell, AZ fire. Prescott is a relatively small community of about 40,000 residents, so we all know someone affected by this tragedy. Nineteen young men with loved ones and families. Nineteen brave men who just the week before saved the homes of hundreds of people in the Granite Mountain/Williamson Valley area. The fire came within five miles of our home. We wanted to say "Thank You", but the Hotshots were on to the next fire where they did their jobs and lost their lives. Our throats are constricted with unsaid words and impotent grief.

As a community, we are coming together to express our love and provide support for the families of the fallen and the people in nearby Yarnell and Peeples Valley who have lost their homes. We all want to help and to take care of our own. We owe the "Prescott 19" no less than this.

Of course, the media highlights the best and the worst of us in the aftermath of this event. Westboro Baptist Church is praising God for the Arizona Wildfire that killed 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots, and claims that our heroes are currently in Hell pleading for Westboro to come and picket their funerals because, supposedly...God hates fags. WTF?? Make no mistake, Westboro is proof that Evil exists in our world - mingling with Heroes and Angels.

The false church of Westboro Baptist is one of evil and cowardice. If their screwed up disciples show their faces in Prescott, our citizens will block the Evil with the Love we are sharing to overcome this tragedy. Heaven vs. Hell.

Granite Mountain Hotshots in Yarnell.

The Granite Mountain Hotshots knew in their last moments that Death was upon them. As highly trained as they were, the conditions were too unpredictable and ferocious to overcome. I take comfort in my belief that in their moment of intense need, our Heroes were comforted and shielded from pain by Angels. Angels and firey Death - Heaven vs. Hell.

It was painful to hear that erratic wind gusts generated by the sudden monsoon rains we celebrated in Prescott on Sunday were what consumed the Hotshots on the hills in Yarnell. We needed that rain, and we needed our firefighters. For our little taste of Heaven, the Hotshots paid in hellish conditions they could not overcome.

We were miraculously saved in Williamson Valley, and thankfully enjoy our little slice of Heaven. Yarnell and Peeples Valley suffered awful destruction.

Heaven: 5, Hell: 5. I guess we'll be going to overtime. My money's on Heaven.