Amazing Max

My friend Max is a pretty amazing guy. Kevin and Nancy had told me that he was getting close to 40 before I met him, but the first time the four of us went out to celebrate a birthday-this is a tradition of ours-I couldn't believe them. I was sure that they were trying to pull one over on me. There was no way that this young guy with so much energy could be just shy of 40.

I didn't really know Max for awhile. As time passed by, however, I began to realize what an amazing guy he really is. The four of us always gathered to celebrate one another's birthdays. This always means dinner, followed by the theatre, a movie, bowling, or some other fun activity. My first year up here it was Max and Nancy who so thoughtfully made me an American Thanksgiving dinner, just so I wouldn't miss my family too much. They made turkey, stuffing, and everything. We always gathered together to watch "Survivor," and although Max was all chatty and fun during commercials, once the show started it was "Silence!" I even remember a time that he had an old cardboard roll, you know, the kind that have wrapping paper on them. Any time someone began to talk during the episode, he would bop them over the head with the cardboard roll.

Max has lived all over the place with many different people. Everyone that meets Max adores him. He has written books on hearing disorders, and he is well respected in his position as an auditory specialist in the school district. Max travels all over the place. We always joke that if you want Max to be at a special event, such as a wedding, you'd better plan it around him, because one never can be certain that Max will be around!

Max is one of those people that does what he says he will do. He does not make plans and say, "Someday..." This determination came into play in my own experience with Max. One time, in passing conversation, I mentioned that I had always wanted to go sky-diving before my 26th birthday arrived. He asked me how old I was, and when I said 25, he said, "Let's go!" What? Let's go? What did he mean?

"Let's set a date! When do you want to go?" Oh, that's what he meant! I had talked about going with several other people through the years, but it had never actually happened. Max would not let me NOT do it. He did the research, found a place, and we were off! In April of last spring, Max and I went sky-diving together. That's a bond that we will always share, and that's just the way that Max is.

One of the most incredible things about Max, however, is his absolute love and devotion to people. Max is one of the most giving people I have ever met. He is always there to help if you need him, but his ultimate passion is for the people of Africa. He has been to Africa 6 times! He doesn't just go for a week over spring break, either...his last trip was 6 months long! On that trip he created a database of all of the AIDS patients in the area in which he was located. He helped deliver babies, he transported patients, he fixed huts, and did just about anything else that was asked of him. He spent his time there in a little hut with a Canadian flag hung for the door, and he often wrote home about his grand adventures, such as the day he was the only one available, so he had to help the doctor give an anesthetic before surgery, or the time that he took people to church in an ambulance. All of this he does as a service. He is not paid to go...in fact, he saves money for months before he takes these amazing trips, and he fundraises for months in order to have supplies to take with him to give to the people.

Max is simply amazing. On Friday night, we held a going away party for him. Once again, he was leaving everything he owned and all of his friends and family here to go to Africa for, get this, a seventh time! I was honoured to be a guest at his party, because this meant that I was a good friend of this amazing guy. As many of the important people in Max's life finally met in one place, I couldn't help but notice the quality of the people I was surrounded by. I realized that we came from all walks of life and had different experiences, yet we all had one amazing thing in common, our friend Max.

Today, Max arrived in Zimbabwe after two days of travel to get there. As of Friday night, he had not yet packed...anything! He was sort of ready, but we weren't worried. We knew he would make it. As we left the party on Friday night and gave him a big hug, I was thankful to be a part of the life of this guy. He has blessed us in so many ways, and today, as I thought of him arriving there to do his good work, I was reminded again of the everyday heroes that we encounter in our lives.

Thanks, Max, for being an everyday hero in my life, and showing me what it means to live life with no regrets. We love you and miss you and can't wait to hear about this trip's adventures in Africa.