Watch over us all, Bradley, for we need the strength to move beyond this and many other struggles. 

When I started this website in memory of Brad, I couldn’t write anything for the legacy section of the site because I felt he missed out on building a legacy. So I put the above information in as his legacy, but as everyone assured me time would heal my heart a bit and things would get better again, and they have gotten better. I don’t think any of us will ever forget, or stop loving and missing Brad, but having some time under my belt has allowed me to reconsider writing a legacy for Brad. I searched tons of sites for information about who Brad was. I entered all kinds of life path, astrology, soul and spirit websites and did all the little quizzy type things. I emailed some of Brad’s friends and asked for input, and this is what I came up with. 



Bradley, you tend to operate on a rather different wavelength, and many of your friends may not really know you very well. You can be a true perfectionist in a very positive sense of the word. You are very logical, and usually employ a quite rational approach to most things you do. You can be so rational at times that you almost seem to lack emotion, and when you are faced with an emotional situation, you may have a bit of a problem coping with it. At full maturity you are likely to be a very peaceful and poised individual. A tendency to be highly introverted can make you a bit on the self-centered side, certainly very much self-contained. You neither show nor understand emotions very well. Your home and family are likely to be a strong focus for you, perhaps the strongest focus of your life. Friendship, love, and affection are high on your list of priorities for a happy life. It is extremely important for you to have harmony in your environment at all times. You are known for your generosity, understanding and deep sympathetic attitude. With such a strong sympathetic attitude, it is easy to become too emotional. Sometimes the desires to render help can be over done, and it can become interfering and an attitude that is too protective, rather than helpful and sometimes people tend to take advantage of this very giving spirit. You may tend to repress your own needs so that you can cater to the demands from others. You dream of being a leader and one who is in charge. You want to be known for your courage, daring, and original ideas. You seek unconquered heights. People may get a first impression that you are very aggressive and sure of yourself. 



When that paragraph came back from one website, I read it and thought to myself, those people couldn’t have pegged Brad any better had they actually known him. Brad was that kind of person…strong, courageous, always trying to be the leader, yet always willing to give more of himself than he even had. I think a first impression of Brad is that he was very sure of himself until you got to know him, and then you saw the fun-loving guy, with so much spirit and energy, just a real love for life. It was easy to make friends with Brad because of his magnetic, open personality. He was not judegemental of others, and instantly you knew you could trust him. A true friend.
 


I sent out an email to some friends asking them to describe Brad in one word, and I got back that he was kind, loving, trustworthy, awesome, honorable, friendly, and understanding. Someone told me he was the best friend they ever had, someone he could talk to and know that it would be between only him and Brad. Another person said smiling, which was also so true of Brad. He was always smiling, and to be honest every time I left him he would say “BE HAPPY”. Brad’s smile was enticingly alluring, and left you wondering what kind of no good he was up to. It was the most magical smile. Even if your whole day was horrible, one flash of his beautiful smile, and all your worries of the day were carried away. A smile we all miss terribly. Another good friend used the word “volatile” to describe Brad. When I first saw that word I thought I wouldn’t use that word, but after thinking about it further I realized that volatile was actually a very good word to describe Brad. Brad was very unpredicatable at times. You never knew what he was going to do next sometimes. He would spontaneously decide to do things, like get in the car and go for a drive to Kingston, or Ottawa, just for something to do. He was also very good at sneaking up on you and scaring you. That was one of his favourite things to do. He was a big kid at heart, always teasing and joking around. The word I chose was dreamer. Brad was a dreamer. He always dreamed big. He had high hopes, and thoughts of where he wanted to be in the years to come. He and I talked many times about his hopes, dreams and fears. His spirit always had some sort of dream behind it. He told me once that without dreams what do we really have …nothing. And I guess he was right about that. But I think my all time favourite response I got back from one of his friends was the word “decent”. I thought I knew what this person was trying to say but I asked just to be sure, and the answer that came back was the best description of Brad I have ever heard. “It means an all-round decent person, who is respected and gives respect, someone you trust instantly for some reason. Us down home hicks would call him a good old boy.” A good ole boy, that is the best possible way to describe Brad Blakely. He was a good ole boy, with a heart of gold. 



Brad, we all miss you greatly, and continue to love you. We wish we could have shown you the way out of the darkness you found yourself in at the end. Our hearts are left sad, but our memories of you are never far. Until we meet again, Angel.