{"id":144904,"date":"2023-07-26T11:15:39","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T15:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=144904"},"modified":"2023-07-26T11:47:49","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T15:47:49","slug":"jonn-lilyea-five-years-since-he-left-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=144904","title":{"rendered":"Jonn Lilyea, five years since he left us \u2013 Midweek Open Thread"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It seems like recently that Jonn Lilyea was on here, cranking out multiple posts a day. Not just stolen valor articles, but articles that got the community going. We had gotten used to a steady supply of information and the engagements the posts brought about. Then there was a delay, no posts. Other contributors stepped in to provide article updates.<\/p>\n

This was followed by a call for those who wanted to contribute articles. This was in 2017. When I got wind of what had happened, I threw my name into the hat. For a portfolio, I provided a link to my own blog, mainly articles talking about a specific individual associated with a fish, a block of cheese, and an alternative outlook on life. I received a password, and an email asking me to get a hold of Dave Hardin. This was in 2017.<\/p>\n

I reached out to Dave and got a chance to talk to him. He turned out to be cool, willing to help, and happy to have someone else onboard. AW1Ed, ExPH2, and ExOS2 had already become article contributors by the time I reached out to Jonn. Things hummed along, Jonn appeared to get back into the swing of things, providing us with a steady stream of posts to engage each other with. Then the posts stop arriving.<\/p>\n

It was 2018. Before we got wind of what happened, AW1Ed, ExPH2, ExOS2, and I stepped in to keep posts coming. We quicky found out that Jonn had big shoes; what was easily done by one man the four of us and others were “scrambling,” running emails back and forth to coordinate post placements and who was doing what. The urgency to work with each other, and to find posts, jumped up when we found out that Jonn had moved on to the other side.<\/p>\n

This was on July 26, 2018, five years ago today.<\/p>\n

Posts detailing the event popped up and the community came together. Folks who had already reduced their activity on the blog came back to pay their respects. Those of us who were present paid our respects as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Not long after this event, in one of my nap dreams, I saw Jonn.<\/p>\n

Jonn looked different from what we’ve seen in the pictures and video, but enough features were there to indicate that it was him. He didn’t say anything verbally, but what he wanted to communicate “flowed” to me, like a telepathic streaming of information. I understood what he was communicating.<\/p>\n

The impression that I got was that Jonn was grateful for what every one of us has done for this community. He was grateful for what each of us had done, and for what we had collectively done. It was like Jonn was stopping by to say, “Thank you,” and to encourage keeping his project alive.<\/p>\n

So, whether you’re a contributor, someone who hangs out in the comments section, someone who submits links or articles for posting, donates… Whatever role you have done for the community, Jonn Lilyea is thankful and appreciative for what you do. He truly cared about us in addition to caring about This Aint Hell.<\/p>\n

Additionally, another impression that I got from the event was that Jonn was alive. He was not “dead.” If you’ve had a dream where you’ve seen someone who had passed away, you’ll understand the thought… It’s like the person never passed away, that death is as illusionary as the “blindness” you subject yourself to when you blink your eyes.<\/p>\n

Of course, Jonn had left us with advice, back in 2016<\/a>, when he spoke on behalf of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and of veterans who have passed away:<\/p>\n

Mostly, those warriors who went on before us, just want you to enjoy the life that they helped secure for you. Enjoying the time that you spend with your family and friends, doing the things with your life that make you smile is honoring the sacrifices that were made for you. I think \u201clife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness\u201d were all mentioned in the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s not what you do one day out of the year that honors veterans, it\u2019s what you do the other 364 days. It\u2019s not the \u201cthank you for your service\u201d that matters, it\u2019s what you say to me before you know that I\u2019m a veteran.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We honor Jonn by continuing to have a positive impact on this community, as well as by following the advice that he left for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems like recently that Jonn Lilyea was on here, cranking out multiple posts a day. … Jonn Lilyea, five years since he left us \u2013 Midweek Open Thread<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":661,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-open-thread"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=144904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=144904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=144904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=144904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}