When my father died many moons ago, the fact hit home not to wait to tell the people that we love, or run across in life, anything positive that is in our minds at the time. Life is short. Time is short. So here goes… after the fact.

I recently found out that Shawn Mortensen had passed away this year. I am always surprised when I hear about someone dying from high school, or from life in general. Part of me thinks… “Wow, I outlived another one,” but the bigger part of me feels loss and wonderment.

I remember riding a big yellow school bus with Shawn for a year or two to El Toro High. At the time, he was heavily into The Who and looked right out of the movie Quadropenia. I remember him having these great eyes that were hard not to look at. People’s eyes always interested me. Eyes are the key to the soul. When talking to him, I would find myself spacing out sometimes just to look at them. He would realize that he had lost me in the conversation and would laugh.

At school, he was a part of a small click of aspiring artists and musicians. Like most people from back then, I lost track of him. It was satisfying to see that he had excelled in a field that I love along with having many diverse adventures and experiences along the way.

Rest in Peace Shawn Mortensen and to all of those to follow.
Sean Surlow
spsurlow@yahoo.com

http://www.shawnmortensen.org/