My dear friend Max

I am so lucky and grateful to have met Max (a Jamaican) in Jamaica on vacation. He moves with such grace and beauty. He is soft-spoken, polite, and humble. Yet, he is a MMA (Mix Martial Arts) fighter with sharpest acuity in England.

His life is so fascinating..filled with many highs and lows. There are people who moan and blame their past failures, hardship, circumstances, or family on how they or their life turned out. But Max has never complained. When he told me he was homeless for a year living out of his car hustling for a dollar. I was amazed. When he told me he lived in the ghetto and saw his friends getting killed on the way to school. I was horrified. When he told me that elections were so bloody in Jamaica... that he spent most of his time lying on floor of apartment to avoid being shot. I was first mortified but then I was filled with great compassion and empathy for my friend. He is such a gentle giant with a beautiful soul. Through all his harrowing and life-altering experiences, he bears no hatred for mankind or terrible disgust for humanity. He remains unchanged to his true values, beliefs, and morals. His faith is strong and his courage...insurmountable.

I wish there were more Maxes in this world. What a better place this would be....