Todd Shelton
I have to count myself as being fortunate and grateful to Thomas
for raising me in such a beautiful place.
For the chance to grow up in a small Florida town.
I also count myself fortunate to have a father who indulged my young curiosity.
He allowed my love of photography to grow, taught me to love the history of the automobile, gave me my love of racing, gave me my love of radio communications, my love of country, and gave me stories of a Florida that I could still see glimpses of while growing up.
He gave me a place to call home.
Thomas was a humble man. He would rarely talk about himself or the things he had done in life. He was however, always a proud American.
The one story I will share is when I was stationed on on one of my ships. We were finishing up a short cruise in the Caribbean and afterwards had a Tiger Cruise. A Tiger Cruise is when family and friends are allowed on board for a short underway period, and they are exposed to a tiny slice of life aboard an active warship. Ours began in Key West and went to Pascagoula MS. He was extremely excited to go on this cruise, and I know he enjoyed it.
I recall vividly our 2nd day out, we did a small arms fire from one of the bridge wings about 35ft off the water. Seas were calm with a bit of a rolling swell, so the ship had a bit of roll, and we were standing back about 15 feet or so watching the other Tigers shoot at this barrel floating about 100ft out, and missing. I had never seen him shoot any sort of gun in my life, so I asked him if he would like to shoot? He said it had been awhile, but he'd give it a try.
He steps up, is given a choice of a M60 Machine Gun on a mount or an old M14. He chooses the M14 because he had used one in the Army, is given a 10 round magazine, lines up on the unharmed barrel and slowly and methodically fires all 10 rounds into the barrel, hands the rifle back to the gunner, said his thanks and that it brought back memories.
My dad always down played the serious things in life. He's probably looking down, wondering why we're all making such a fuss.
Although I will mourn his passing, I will celebrate his memory when I see an old car, when I take a picture, when I enjoy an auto race, or when I watch a baseball game. BUT especially when I take a photo of an old car at an auto race around a baseball stadium. I believe that he would enjoy that.