By: Ron Waltman

In 1987 Deputy Dan Scott, newly assigned investigator to the Sheriff's Child Abuse Unit, became my trainee. All was going well until near the end of training he asked to take off June 18th to celebrate a birthday. As everyone knows, June 18th is Paul McCartney's birthday but I didn't think it warranted Dan getting the day off. That is when he announced that Aurora was scheduled to give birth to their son, Daniel. I told him this was rather superfluous, as he already had a beautiful two-year-old daughter. Regardless, Dan prevailed, the Department gave him the day off, and Daniel came into the world at 9:00 AM.

The young man spent his youth in Walnut and, as with all little brothers, his favorite pastime was tormenting his sister Chelle, not Michelle, just Chelle. He constantly endowed her with acts of love and kindness like pulling her pigtails, chewing on her hair, pummeling her with cotton balls, or locking her into a room and then turning off the lights.

In the beginning Michelle was the golden child as she excelled academically, socially, and in the world of sports. Daniel would usually be relegated to sit on the sidelines in her shadow. As always Daniel walked to the beat of his own drum. He wasn't mainstream and in sports, well his gangly arms and legs seemed to have a mind of their own.

And then, somewhere in his junior year, it all changed. It became a race to see which was to be the leader of the pack. Was it going to be speed of the hormones that jettisoned him upward and gave him his good looks? Was it is his insatiable desire to know how everything worked or was it his passion to debate anything from social issues to politics to the number of breeds of sharks in the ocean? He had a photographic memory and could retain every detail that came from the Discovery Channel or any other science related station.

That drum beat I spoke about earlier, well it turned into a mantra for others to follow. If you have any doubt - count the number of those under 25 at this service today. His newly found physical prowess drove him to excel in every sport he tackled. Snowboarding became his passion and it was not uncommon for him to get off work and head to the slopes to board late into the night. A black diamond run was a warm up exercise and venturing off a well groomed course to barrel down an uncharted mountain was routine. If he wasn't on the slopes he was excelling in mountain climbing, scuba diving, wake boarding or shooting. Daniel was a part of the Bishop Amat swim team that went to the CIF finals.

This gangly, pesky, jerky little brother now became the champion and citadel of "Chelle", his little-big sister. They were inseparable and some say even their hearts beat in synch. If he wasn't acting as her lookout when she was eating whip cream out of the refrigerator, she would be hiding him under her bed or stuffing him in her closet to avoid his being dragged back to his homework by their mother. On his My Space web site today, Michelle is listed as his best friend.

Everyone remembers him for his love of laughter and always having a good time. I was told that all parties started when Daniel got there. He loved to play jokes on his friends. Last night, just shortly after praying that nothing would go wrong today I bit into something and lost my front tooth. OK, Daniel, you got me once again.

Then David not only entered Michelle's life but he also became a permanent resident in Daniel's heart. Daniel would be the first to tell someone, "David is not my brother-in-law. He is my brother".

Daniel had two other loves in his life. One just had a little more hair on their face. Having always wanted a 'manly' dog, one day Dan, and much to Aurora's dismay, brought home a puppy with the promise that the dog would remain outside. This pact was honored until about sundown when Daniel would open his bedroom window, remove the screen and allow the puppy to sleep with him on the bed. This seemed to be a working plan until Aurora realized that the puppy was in fact a Giant Schnauzer that eventually blew past 100 pounds and was too big to fit through the window. The two have never been separated and until this week, these two six footers would sleep side by side. At this very moment Lugar is sitting on that same bed waiting for Daniel to come home.

His other love of life was of course Maya, his niece. Friends would tell me that when Daniel would return from a visit in Hawaii how they would have to endure viewing his latest collection of Maya photographs. He loved children and his constant gentle nature when around them testified to this.

Daniel adored his maternal grandmother, whom he called his Nana. He reveled in the auto racing stories of his grandfather, Landy, and his memories of Aunt Bubba and Uncle Gil are classic. Jake has been his constant friend and classmate since preschool. Today Jake and another friend, Nick, are two of his pallbearers.

But the relationship that personified love at its finest was that between Daniel and his father. In the last few years, Daniel and his dad transcended a father-son relationship to become the best of friends. They shared everything from road trips, to confidences, watching "Two and a Half Men", to eating Meat Lovers pepperoni thin crust pizzas.

Yes, Daniel had to have the best of everything. Whether buying a snowboard or an IPOD it had to be the best. But he didn't stop with the material things of life. This new adopted standard also became his guide post for life. Going in to the Army was not sufficient - he wanted to join the Special Forces.

Daniel cared for everyone. From an early age, when he would see someone struggling to get through a door, without any provocation or prompting, he would rush over to open it. Coupling his kindness with having to be the best became the cardinal ingredients for his friendships. He cared for his friends and looked out after all of them. So many have told me that you could have a quarrel with Daniel in the morning but he would be at your side by noon. During his last day with us he not only showed compassion for his 'brother' David but later his friends. Helping others, as well as being stubborn is a part of the Scott psyche. It is embedded in their DNA. For anyone to try and take responsibility for any of Daniel's final decisions would be an injustice and insult to his memory.

We often judge someone by the company they keep. Over the past week, the core of us who have been alongside his parents have seen a litany of fine young men and women come to pay their respects. Their caring manner, gentle approach and true sorrow are a compliment to Daniel's memory. Working in a world that often leaves you jaded with our youth, this week has been truly refreshing.

Daniel, we miss you. We will always cherish the 7,738 days that God allowed you to be with us. We love you and you will always be in our hearts.

 

Email: RememberingDaniel@att.net