I first met Max around 1960, when I was about five years old. We had bought the ranch next to Max’s and were getting moved in. We went to the neighbors and to meet and greet. I got of the old car there stood the neighbor kids. They were not much older than me, but Max was the youngest being just about my age.  When I got out they stood there staring at me, I stared at them, they stared at me, I stared at them, they stared at me, I stared at them. Alright somebody has to do something here and I guess I was the man for the job.

                I looked around and found a nice big stick let out a war hoop and proceeded to make friends. I raised it up and took after them and they scattered like chickens from a fox. They all disappeared around the corner of a building and I was in hot pursuit after them. When I rounded the corner I tried to put the brakes on, but it was too late they were lying in wait.  

                They jumped on me and down I went with my nose in the dirt. We all got up and eye balled each other. They pushed the smallest one toward and we hit it off right away, no really, we punched each other a couple of times and then at the same time we hit each other in the nose and down we both went. That was all it took we were friends forever then.

                I got up and told them who I was and they said who they were. There was Johnny the oldest brother, Cash the next and then Max the runt of the family, his two sisters, Loretta the oldest and Lynn who was later renamed by Max and me to Gargoyle, and so it began, the adventures of Max and me.

                We spent a while getting all moved in to the new place and Max would come down and help or get in the way according to our parents.  Max helped me unpack my comic books I had a huge collection in the day. It always gave us things to do if the day was slow, sit around and read, but it also gave us ideas for new things to do or get in trouble with, depends on who you talk to.    

                Our place had a pond on it that was lower down on then the house, corrals and barn. It wasn’t a big pond, more of a mosquito resort.   Max and I were out playing in the car one day just driving everywhere. No country unvisited, no city unseen. We had been everywhere and I was driving. Max decided that he wanted to drive and I didn’t want to give it up so he grabbed the steering wheel and I grabbed it back and during the shoving match the car started moving backwards.   

                I looked at Max and he looked at me, his eyes were about the size of saucers, me it took it in stride, NOT. I couldn’t have closed my eyes if I wanted to, my eyebrows had crawled clear up to my hair and my hands were stuck to the steering wheel like glue. We headed down the hill into the pond coming to a stop in the middle pond.   Max looked at me and I looked at him, “Wow” he said, “Wow. Can we do it again?” I asked. Max looked out the car window and seen my mom and dad running down the hill towards us, “I don’t think so” he said.   I looked up, huh ho, this doesn’t look good, dad came up and opened the door, looked at us, looked at the car, looked at the pond and then back at us. “Out” was all he said. We crawled out into the pond which was only about a foot deep and waded to the shore.  

                “Why don’t you two go play someplace else for awhile” Dad said. Me and Max decided that may be a good idea. Definitely probable be in our best interest. Maybe a camping trip was in order we would have to get on that.