His name is Max Farias. He's fifteen years old and a sophomore at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix. He lives with his mother and father, Tammy Patrick and Jeff Farias, and their dog, Brutus. Oh, and he's my nephew. Here's a picture of Max and me in the Badlands of South Dakota two years ago. Yes, he was only thirteen years old!
Max was held hostage for about two hours Wednesday afternoon in the family's home by an armed gunman as helicopters circled above, police cordoned off all the surrounding streets and SWAT teams encircled the house!
During the entire ordeal, Jeff was doing his radio show in their studio in the back yard. To hear Jeff tell the story, I encourage you to listen to the first fourteen minutes of The Jeff Farias Show from yesterday, October 23rd's podcast. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.Am I a proud uncle right now? Absolutely! Is Max a hero? In my mind, absolutely! Could the situation have ended differently? Absolutely, and many of the scenarios could have been bad! The critical thinking skills he demonstrated are truly astonishing!
It's just another example of how many of our young people are being nurtured by loving parents who are teaching their children to do the right thing. Like I've said before and will say again, "Young people may not always tell you how important their relationship is to you as parents, but you are the most important role model in their young lives!
WAY TO GO, MAX!
I look forward to your comments.
Later,
Mike
3 comments:
Mike….
What hits me, is not the bravery and maturity of Max…..what hits me is your recognition of him.
20 years from now, Max won’t think of how HE handled the situation. What he’ll think about is what OTHER people thought of him during this crisis situation. What he’ll think about is how his Uncle thought about him and said about him. Our young adults need this kind of affirmation and recognition.
Job well done!
Doug
A bunch of Brakkes listened to the radio show together yesterday after hearing from you about it.
I can guarantee you that the old guy in the group would not have had the presence of mind that Max demonstrated.
Very lucky family. I concur that your nephew probably did what he
did and how he handled himself is directly related to how his parents raised him. I strongly feel kids can be overachievers, bright,articulate, rewarding and
just plain interesting if adults would stop and listen to them.
Jeff seems pretty laid back himself. His voice is pretty calming. Thanks for sharing.
I'm glad it turned out so well.
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