FULLERTON – Rhett Martin was a foul-mouthed bully known for his bad temper and poor sportsmanship when he met George Angus three years ago.
Angus was a shy, awkward teenager with autism whose mother sent him to Fullerton’s Boys & Girls Club teen center hoping he would come out of his shell.
They couldn’t have been more different – nor could they have a better fit for each other.
“You were standing by the vending machine for three hours and no one came up and talked to you,” Martin, 17, told Angus, recalling their first conversation in 2011. “I just decided to talk to you – I was going through that phase where I wanted to change.”
Although Angus said nothing at first, Martin recalled, “then you started talking about heroes and superheroes. When you opened up to me and started talking, just little by little it made me more tolerant. I enjoyed life more.”
“You’re the very first person to talk to me,” Angus, 18, acknowledged.
And thus began a close friendship that transformed both boys’ demeanor and interest in the Boys & Girls Club Richman Teen Center.
Martin, who began volunteering daily at the center, was appointed president this year of its Keystone leadership club, where he heads up community service initiatives. Martin also took the reins of the center’s Gents program, which teaches adolescent boys about maturity, relationships and sex.
Angus, meanwhile, began assisting Martin daily with selling soft drinks and candy at the center’s snack bar. Angus also started forging other friendships at the center.
“The more time I spent talking to George, the less time I spent bullying others,” Martin said. “George is the person who keeps me company and keeps me sane.”
Their bond was solidified last summer at a weeklong Boys & Girls-sponsored camp in the Mammoth Lakes area – and they both planned to go again this year. The Register Campership Fund underwrites the cost of the camp each year for 25 of the Fullerton teen club’s most involved youth, said branch director Mike Lozano.
It will likely be the pair’s final camping trip together, Lozano said. Martin, an incoming senior at Fullerton’s Sunny Hills High School, will graduate next year, and Angus, who goes to an adult education school, is already 18.
Still, last year’s camping trip is a time they remember fondly – and one of the few subjects that gets Angus talking.
“I left my lunch pack in the cabin,” Angus told Martin, recalling last year’s camping trip.
“No, you didn’t!” Martin replied, aghast.
“I heard the girls screaming because they thought they saw a bear,” Angus said, bursting into laughter. “I didn’t even know I brought my lunch pail!”
“Well, lucky you,” Martin said. “Thankfully we are all here today.”
“Maybe I will do it again,” Angus said, still giggling. “I don’t feel comfortable leaving it in the kitchen.”
Contact the writer: 714-796-7802 or smartindale@ocregister.com
