#rip brent

[raphcrow]

Deeply saddened by the passing of Brent Hinds from Mastodon, one of my absolute favorite bands. I want to share one of their best songs and some old art it inspired from me. I hope you give it a listen and pursue happiness with diligence.

The Sparrow

[knuckle-actual]

[goldenghoulboys]

Fuck that’s a hilarious bit

The last time we investigated this case, Brent was still alive

[octoburfrost]

My grandfather brought a whole bunch of old photos from the 70s. It's great.

[naiku-haru]

Death mention under the cut. Just trying to process things

One of my cousins had a massive heart attack and died a couple hours ago and I just...I don't know how to process this. I met him maybe three or four times that I can remember in my life, and we were never really close on either a personal level or geography-wise. In the past two years he had gotten his life on track; he quit a shitty job, got married to a woman he loved fiercely, and they had a beautiful little baby girl who isn't even a year old yet. He wasn't even forty. He'd been through a lot and was finally happy.

When we first found out I didn't really feel much of anything, which I feel terrible about, but now...I'm just sitting in bed crying. He's never going to see his daughter grow up and she's never going to know him in person. He's never going to see his mom continue to kick breast cancer's ass. It's just one of those really unfair, stupid things life does where it gives people something and then takes it all away. 

I'm so sorry Brent. You are loved and will be sorely missed. Rest well, cousin.

[4chanisbetter-than]

I'm pretty sure Brent just got spit on by a venomous snake.

[phasesofobsession]

Who Knew?

So, today is my cousin, Brently's, 24th birthday.

We fit together really well, since we're both the brains in the family (though he was a lot more well-rounded than I am as well as a lot more sociable), as well as have geeky interests. He introduced me to Pokemon Blue when I was three, before I could even read. He played Kingdom Hearts on the couch as I sat at the foot of it, hiding my eyes at the scary parts. Hell, he even partly brought Idina Menzel into my life.

I can remember he and Ryan would come over and we'd write plays to preform at the annual Christmas party, or we'd choreograph musical numbers based off of The Lion King. We got along so well (maybe a little less so with Ryan, since he had different interests than us and was stubborn).

Since I was homeschooled, I didn't have a lot of friends. There wasn't many playdates or birthday parties or anything like that. But I always had Brent there, eager and willing to spend time with a little kid. He was honestly one of my best friends.

I can remember in the summer of '07, he spent nearly every day at my house swimming with me since he was going to UCF in the fall (on full scholarship). We would bounce between playing Pokemon and racing each other, eating snacks in-between.

Then he went to college. He came back and visited us nearly every weekend, though. I still remember him coming over Labor Day weekend, and him saying, as I showed him my newly clean room, "Ew. Socks." I can still hear his voice, echoing around the walls of my head.

But then he left. We waved him off and said, "See you in a week or so!"

The following Saturday, I sat on the floor past midnight, watching the Kim Possible marathon and waiting for the Ashley Tisdale episode, since I was a High School Musical junkie, when I heard a staccato pecking on the window, scaring my parents out of their sleep. They ushered me in my room in case it was a robber, but it wasn't. It was my Aunt Sissy. She rushed in, flustered, and asked where I was. She told me to stay in my room.

To be honest, I thought something had happened to Ryan, since he's a pretty sickly guy. I figured he had a really bad seizure or something. So, when my dad came into my room, knelt down, and said, his voice calm, as only my father can do, "Brently has died."

Of course, I was confused. I was eleven and no one had ever really died in my life, especially not a healthy eighteen year old. I asked questions, but there were no answers at that point. I spent the rest of the night and morning curled up with my Memi and my puppy, Dale.

The next few days were a whirlwind. I didn't know what to do with this new information. He was eighteen! This didn't happen to eighteen year olds.

I saw his casket in that church for years to come, only replaced by the vision of my Memi in the same spot.

It's been five-and-a-half years now, yet it still hurts. It doesn't hurt as much as it did, though, having been replaced by a deeper hurt, but still there will be moments where I'll think, "I wonder what Brent would've though about this," or "Damn, I wish Brent were here to experience this." It's hard to think about all the cool stuff we could've done together. Theatre. Concerts. Video games. I feel like he would've been someone I could trust now with everything. We just got each other.

But Brent's death has affected me in so many ways. He upped the ante on myself, since it's up to me now to be the 'brain'. He's influenced my interests and beliefs. He's made me worry about my health, since I'm approaching eighteen and I have asthma, which is what ended up killing him. I'm scared of it happening to me.

The worst pain one can experience is the death of a loved one. This taught me that.

Brent 1989~2007