Month: April 2008

In memory of Clinton Shelton. We still miss you brah…

Another shot from the memories:

I remember finding out when I was a junior in high school that Bronson Shelton’s youngest brother, Clinton, went to our school. I went to St. Joe and it was really small and Bronson had been one of the better athletes we had at our school. He even had another younger brother that went on to play football at Utah. Something about that family’s genetics. So I was a bit surprised to see this short kid with huge feet. We played basketbal for St. Joe so it was a big deal to check out everyone’s shoes and talk shit about everything. I remember everyone had nicknames and for whatever reason, Will Lee dubbed him something inappropriate. Stupid kids talking shit. He looked like a puppy that hadn’t grown into his feet yet. I remember that basketball season. He had a pretty good one. I remember thinking that it was like the second coming of his older brother and looked forward to the next basketball season where he probably would have played varsity with us. Well, the next year rolled around and he went to public school to play football. The second coming left us.

It wasn’t until I was again a junior, now in college that I saw Clint again. Dude was like 6’3″ or something. Kid grew like we all knew. Heard he had a pretty good high school career playing football and was trying to walk on at UH. We talked stories here and there. Hung out with mutual friends. He even worked in the same housing area as a UP while I was an RA. Went on that great camping trip where, Kev is right, we should have all gotten food poisoning, and my old cub scout pack was having a campout. Hilarious. I forgot about the water gun fight Clint had with the kids until I saw the video Kev made.

The next year, I was training Muay Thai and somehow Clint and I got to talking about it. He went with me to check out a new class. I remember we lifted then went to Muay Thai. He was living in the apartment doing work trade and he made steak. It was classic. We ate steak and potatoes out on the walkway. It was the start of summer so only interim and staff was around. I told him the steak was good and I remember he had this look on his face like, you’re damn right it is. We talked about boxing and muay thai and he told about how his dream would be to be a fighter and get paid to train and fight. I remember asking him how long he’d been with his girlfriend and he told me how knew that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life. I remember thinking the kid, then 20, was real mature for his age.

We never really hung out after that. I saw him in passing, would talk story here and there, run into him in the oddest of places like Exotic Nights when he was with his girlfriend and one of my residents, Dawn. People would talk about Hale Aloha Maintenance and how some of them never did anything I remember I would always remember seeing Clint working and doing stuff and I was always like “Nah, Clint is cool.”

The last conversation I recall was this past summer after there had been some altercation between some people I knew and that Clint knew. We went to go talk stories and sort it out. Clint may not have liked what we said but he always did this understanding kind of nod and was always respectful.

It’s amazing that when someone passes away that you remember everything about that person. Clint was definitely a good guy and I remembered alot. I knew him for almost 10 years and it never occurred to me that there wouldn’t be more years to come. His parents raised a great young man and he will be not only remembered but missed by many. Aloha Clint.

pono was cruising aimlessly around waiks when it hit him. it being da most solid idea eva. now pono had so many ideas on how fo get rich quick but bra, this was da one. guarans ball bearins.

he smiled from ear to ear as he rode his homemade skateboard home thinking about all of the possibilities to expand on da most solid idea eva. he neva wen look to his left and right just like wen he was one small keed cause he was so focused on da most solid idea eva.

he was thinking about how he was goin to be da man now and how he coud finally get a brand new skateboard, one of those sick ones that were like a skateboard that you see all the tourists and peopo from da mainland carry around but no ride cause they no can.

he was thinking about how he had called his mom from da payphone and how he knew she was like, “yeah right bra” but he had to get home right away and would den tell her da most solid idea eva and den she would see. chee hoo!!!

landon was driving home and decided to swing through waiks just cause he had one long day and always wen make him laugh cause of all the side show kine attractions get and den all da people crusin around like they were in hawaii of the movies but he knew, bra he knew, dat wasn’t da real hawaii.

he had spent the latter portion of his work day downloading songs and uploading them on his ipod cause bradah was so on it that he had finished everything before lunch and was now relaxing and making some bucks cause honeslt neva had anything else for do, (yeah right bra, always get something for do his wife would say).

was like there tenth wedding anniversary coming up and he was stoked cause he had da most solid idea eva fo surprise her cause she was da kine dat always knew wot was up. he was all smiles that afteroon as the sun was setting and the sky was like a beautiful painting. wot could be betta

he neva like the song that was playing, well not that he neva like um cause was on his ipod but cause he neva felt like it fit da mood he was in. it was more like some lifting weight music and he wanted something fo go along with da most solid idea eva, da painint in da sky, and his happy thoughts.. for that split second he wen look away…

“ho bra, i wen see um all. da guy was ripping um down the street and he neva even see da keed on da skateboard. hi mom.” junior boy said to the reported hoping he would be on TV. Shoot, he bettah be, he wen use all his bus money fo call everyone and tell them to watch the news.

HPD rolled up rather fast cause they get one office down da road and saw one man sitting with headphones on and just staring in dismay at one wrecked car. da officer wen look at the dent on the roof first, then at the shattered windshield and the dented hood. he saw a part of a skateboard stuck to the front tire.

the ambulance had already left and the officer was sad cause from some of the bystanders it sounded like da guy driving and da boy who got hit was all smiles and something like dis had fo happen.

pono’s mom wen cry out wen she heard da news. she was in the kitchen and she just knew dat from da TV dat was her baby dat wen get hit. her boyfriend came running in from da garage and did not know what to saw as she yelled, “my baby, my baby.”

da most solid idea eva, never heard, not once, but twice, and how many other times cause it was neva shared. peopo always waiting fo da right time, da best time to say wot is on their mind. but wot if dat time neva comes. wot if was or wasn’t.

until part two. wot if was, wot if wasn’t.

live, alove, aloha