Originally posted to my Facebook on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 (what would have been Max's 45th birthday).
Every teenage boy should have a good group of friends.
The ones pictured (and others) were incredibly generous to my parents (Jay & Marlene Keller Omerza), coming by on what would have been Max's 17th birthday.
Max would be 45, were he alive (on earth) today. I know the birth years and dates of all my siblings, but sometimes I forget none of them are in their 20s, or even their 30s anymore.
I really have no words.
But I'm grateful to every person who orbited our lives in 1997, and since, particularly the ones who knew Max (his peers, the adults, the parents of his peers we only met later).
Max's friends shared stories with my folks, after his passing. Funny stories about teaching Max to drive a stick shift before he had his permit (and was legal).
One of Max's friends (in these picts) came to Tucson with his school band while my little family was living there (maybe it was Thatcher or Payson . . . man I'm getting old). I remember being so impressed at the time how kind he was, thoughtful, and mature for his age.
In our last family picture with Max (not included here), Max is quite a bit taller than me, which isn't surprising. To me though, every new experience with Max was a bit of a surprise. I only lived at home with him for brief periods, after he turned eight, so I never really even knew him as a teenager. And the more time that passes, I'm even more grateful for the pictures . . . every single one that gives me a glimpse of the little (big) brother I hardly knew.
In some ways I feel incredibly connected to him, but maybe that is just a figment of my own fertile imagination. We are siblings at least; we share DNA, and family history. In many ways, he intellectually left me in the dust a long time ago, like 14/15-ish. He started learning Japanese that last year on earth.
I'm counting on the fact that he's been busy since.
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