But let me describe in so many words a little bit of how I got to know of him. I moved into Santa Clarita Valley in 1994. It wasn’t long after we needed to find me a school to attend and that is when it all started. There was a new school being built named Stevenson Ranch Elementary School and there was this skinny dark asian kid in class who soon became this chubby nerdy little kids’ friend. He recently moved here as well and somehow we just both clicked. Later on that year in the 6th grade we both decided to start playing the saxophone, which took us all the way to Junior High. Once we hit high school we no longer wanted to be involved with music, probably because of the whole marching band thing. But it was in high school where this “fam’ly” really grew and became one. Ian bumped into new people who introduced us to others and basically stuck around and we became a close knit group of homies. He then started driving and a few of us always jumped in with him to get lunch almost everyday of junior and senior year of high school. Also during that time I started driving and somehow after school we always ended up at Glendale Galleria just to kick it, sometimes Northridge for boba, of course back then there was Lollicup which is now gone. One of our favorite spots was Yoshinoya in North Hollywood. Once Ian started driving the Previa there was always a full ride. He’d never say no to anyone even if there was more bodies then seats, he made it work.
Ian was an easy going kid. If you needed anything, like a ride, food, a place to stay or even someone to talk to he would never say no. I know it sounds cliche but he had no enemies. It’s like he was a magnet that brought everyone together. When he joked, people laughed and when he told his stories, everyone was all ears. He told awesome stories that many of us would love to hear over and over again. No matter how many times he told it to us it would still be funny! Once he joined the Army, every time he came home it was always a block party. It was like people we haven’t seen in ages would pop up and show up. If you wanted to bring someone new he wouldn’t mind that either. He was loved by many, especially his family. That is why we all couldn’t wait til the day he got out of serving his country, so that he could spend all his time with us. Sigh, as I sit here and type this now it hurts when I realize he won’t ever be around again…I’m going to stop here. =/
Below is the mass attention his death brought to our valley, not to mention internet sites all over the world.. I still remember driving in the convey, along with all the other cars, vans, trucks and war vets on their motorcycles. I gave me that proud feeling that my friend was a hero and he deserved all of the respect and attention that he was getting. Hundreds of locals stood on the streets holding up “We Love Ian”, “We Miss You Ian”, and of course the American Flag itself. I felt so honored to know of him and I am still proud to say Ian was and will always be my friend. I truly miss this kid but I promise he won’t ever be forgotten.
R.I.P. I.T.D.G.
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