My Friend Sean Fleming

Sean is one of my best friends. He was a great guy with a great heart. He was always positive, always laughing, funny, determined, had a quick wit, fearless, and one of the toughest guys I have ever known.

I met Sean when I was about 11yrs old because our sisters, Danielle and Rachelle, were friends. Sean and I quickly became friends. Before long I met Matt Arriaga through Sean and then Rob Donahue. From then on it was trouble for the next 4-5 years…maybe longer.

We met more people along the way, but there was a stretch of time where I think the 4 of us spent everyday, all summer, at the beach. Get dropped off at 8am and picked up at 5pm for nearly two years in a row. Good times.

I experienced a lot with Sean:
*Same homeroom for two years at Matilija
*Matilija dances wearing MC Hammer pants and dancing like Kid’n’Play
*AYSO All-Star Soccer – Sean was the goalie
*Played Eagles Football together. Hardest hitter we had.
*Had a Garage Band – he played guitar and sang
*Learned how to clean a hill during fire season
*Built toboggans with 8ft long 2x6’s and 2 skateboard trucks and shot his driveway
*Butt sliding in Rancho Matilija
*Went camping at Lake Mead with the family
*Split his head open slightly while playing Marco Polo…who doesn’t cheat a little bit
and peak while playing Marco Polo?
*Boxing after school – hardest hitter.
*JV football – Called him the “white flash” because of his speed
*Learned to surf together
*Taught me to never fall asleep without blowing out all the candles in my room.
*Prom
*If you are a Firefighter your Senior Year of high school you only have to go a half
day.
*Cruise to Ensenada, Mexico – Likely still not allowed back to Papas and Beer
*Week in Cancun
*And more.

Sean was the toughest and most fearless of us all. He was good at everything he did and would always be the first to try one of our ingenious ideas. And he was always encouraging. I can still hear it…”c’mon Bri, you can do it. If you don’t, it won’t hurt that bad”.

Sean was also always positive. He liked to have a good time and never gossiped. He took things as they were and did his own thing. Even after I’d been away at college or lived in another town, when I came back it would be as if I never left. No matter how long it had been or what life had thrown at us, we would jump right in where we left off. It was great.

What I will remember most about Sean was his determination and persistence. He always knew what he wanted and went after it. This was most prevalent in his journey to become a firefighter. He knew at 16 or 17 years old what he wanted to do. He was beyond his years. He worked hard toward becoming a firefighter. He never gave up. Sean was living his dream.

What I learned from Sean is to slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy life. I need to do a better job at family and friends and worry less about the little things. I need to be better at keeping in touch. Very cliché, but as Sean would typically say, “don’t worry bout the small stuff.”

Rest in Peace. Love you brother.

Brian Farrar